“It’s a bit like an escape room, only outdoors.” That is how many people describe the “Path of the Smugglers” Escape Trail, and it is hard to put it better. Since summer 2022, visitors to Saalbach have been able to combine a hike with the thrill of a puzzle game, following a story that begins in 1765. For families with older children, groups of friends or couples looking to experience their holiday at Hotel Alpin Juwel a little differently, it makes for an afternoon you will be talking about for a long time.
At the heart of the story is Anna, a young mule driver carrying goods along the old packhorse trails at a time when this is almost exclusively men’s work. Caught with a load of brandy, she is accused of smuggling and locked up in the tower in Saalbach. The parish priest suspects foul play and leaves Anna a few puzzling clues. Some two and a half centuries later, Teresa inherits an old Buckelkraxn, a traditional wooden back-carrier that once belonged to Anna. The Kraxn can be used to send letters through time, and now a new clue has appeared. Teresa is looking for people to help Anna.
The adventure begins at the Tourist Service Centre in Saalbach, where your group collects its game kit inside a Buckelkraxn. Along the way, clues help you solve riddles and open locks: old maps, hidden messages and coded notes. You also discover plenty of interesting spots around the village. The trail was developed by Zeitenwanderer, an experience agency from Upper Austria’s Mühlviertel region. If you get stuck, a help app on your smartphone gives you a nudge in the right direction.
If you are hungry for more, “Mystery Queens” is a second, longer Escape Trail: two YouTubers have vanished while ghost hunting, leaving behind nothing but their locked backpack. The trail covers around ten kilometres and 400 metres of ascent up to mountain huts and alpine pastures. Allow five to six hours.
