Skip to content
← Blog

2 May 2026

Elferhütte Stubaital – Gondel or by Foot?

The Elferhütte at 2,080 m is the landmark of Neustift. The 360° panorama over the Stubaital, the view of the Serles and in the direction of the glacier – for that, hikers come from all over Tirol. The question is only: Gondel or by foot?

By Gondel – 10 minutes, no effort

The Elfer-Gondelbahn starts directly in Neustift and brings one to the Elferhütte in about 10 minutes. In high summer, in operation daily, first ride usually at 8:30 am.

Advantages:

  • Ideal for families with small children or luggage
  • More time above, less time on the ascent
  • Also tolerable in bad weather

Disadvantage: Gondel costs. And one misses the ascent through the forest, which has its own charm.

By Foot – 2 hours, 1,100 meters in altitude

The ascent to the Elferhütte by foot is no small thing: about 1,100 meters in altitude on about 5 km, through the Elfer forest and over open alpine meadows.

Route description:

  1. Start at the Elfer-Gondelbahn parking lot in Neustift
  2. Signposting towards Elferhütte / Elferkogl
  3. Through the forest – first leisurely, then steeper
  4. Above tree line: first panorama
  5. Elferhütte (2,080 m) – a snack is deserved

Walking time: 2–2.5 hours up, 1.5–2 hours down Difficulty: Medium – for experienced well doable, for untrained strenuous

What awaits above

The Elferhütte (Bewirtschaftet, DAV-Hütte) offers:

  • Panorama terrace with view of the Serles, Stubaier Glacier, Inntaler Mountains
  • Typical hut food: goulash, cheese spätzle, strudel
  • Overnight accommodation (bunk, room) – good for multi-day tours

Further on from the Elferhütte:

  • Elferkogl (2,480 m) – 1 more hour, summit experience
  • Kreuzjoch – connection to the Pinnistal
  • Starkenburger Hütte – for experienced, part of the Stubaier High Trail

Recommendation

Gondel up, by foot down – the best of both worlds. Up early, have a leisurely breakfast, then take the footpath down. The descent is easier than the ascent, and one sees more.

Those taking on the ascent: early start before 8 am. The path is full from 10 am – especially in August.


Mit der Gondel – 10 Minuten, null Aufwand

becomes the second section:

By Gondel – 10 minutes, no effort

Zu Fuß – 2 Stunden, 1.100 Höhenmeter

becomes the third section:

By Foot – 2 hours, 1,100 meters in altitude

Wegbeschreibung

remains the same, as it contains coordinates and geographic names, which remain the same. However, the translation of ” Wegbeschreibung” is “Route description”.

Was oben wartet

becomes:

What awaits above

Weitergehend von der Elferhütte

becomes:

Further on from the Elferhütte

Empfehlung

remains the same, as it contains translated sentences, but the translation of “Empfehlung” is “Recommendation”.

Oeffnungszeiten

becomes:

Operating Hours

Im Hochsommer täglich in Betrieb, erste Fahrt meist 8:30 Uhr. becomes: In high summer, daily in operation, first ride usually at 8:30 am.

The rest of the text remains the same, as it contains numeric values, geographic names, and mountain/hut names, which are all kept in their original form.

However, I noticed that ‘oeffnungszeiten’ in the original text is misspelled as ‘oeffnungszeit’. I corrected it to ‘oeffnungszeiten’.