Discover Barbian: Waterfalls, Churches and Plums

Barbian combines waterfalls, churches with a long documented history and guided nature experiences. The waterfall trail, the churches in Barbian and Dreikirchen, as well as the guided herb and plum activities, provide specific focal points for your time in Barbian.

Waterfalls and Trails

The circular hike “Waterfall Dreikirchen Circuit 2” leads from the village centre of Barbian to the two Barbian waterfalls and continues via Katzenleiter, Kasserol and Stangen to Briol and Bad Dreikirchen. At the Upper Waterfall and along the Katzenleiter, some steep and narrow sections require sure-footedness and suitable footwear. When planning the route, these two passages should be considered separately as more demanding sections. From the last Barbian waterfall cascade, a wonderfully rugged path leads to the Upper Waterfall. The Lower Waterfall is 85 metres high and the highest of the waterfall series.

Churches in Barbian and Dreikirchen

The parish church of Saint James the Elder has been documented since 1378. It was remodelled in the Gothic style and consecrated in 1472. Inside are a copy of the Crucifixion of Wechselburg, twelve apostle windows, a rose window above the main entrance and several wooden sculptures from the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Church of Saint Gertraud in Dreikirchen was first mentioned in 1237. The chancel of the Church of Saint Nicholas in Dreikirchen is richly decorated with frescoes. The Church of Saint Magdalene, built towards the end of the 15th century, is late Gothic and has no frescoes today. It is also the largest of the three churches in Dreikirchen.

The Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre lies below the road from Ponte Gardena to Barbiano, near the “Wohlaufhof” farm, and has a simple Baroque altar. It was probably built in the 17th century in connection with a Way of the Cross; three crosses along the path commemorate the Stations of the Cross.

Herbs and Plums as Special Experiences

At the organic herb garden at the “Oberpalwitterhof” in Barbian, 50 different herbs are cultivated according to organic guidelines. The guided herb garden walk in “Kreitla” lasts one hour. The guided plum excursion focuses on the Barbian plum; the easy to moderately difficult hike takes about 3.5 hours on foot and begins at 10:00 a.m. in front of the Barbian tourist information office. With around 3.5 hours of walking time, it takes significantly longer than the one-hour herb garden walk.

Practical Guidance for Planning

Bus route 346 connects Klausen, Waidbruck and Barbian. From 20 May to 28 October 2026, free guided tours of the pine-oil distillery on the Barbian Alpine pasture are offered every Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; each tour lasts 20 minutes. If you organise your days around fixed times, you can take this offer into account as well as the starting time of the plum excursion. The time window for the Alpine pasture tour spans six and a half hours, but the individual tour lasts only 20 minutes and therefore covers a clearly limited period.

For further travel planning, you can also discover Natz-Schabs, Maranza, Villanders, Mühlbach, Bressanone, Luson, Rodengo and Villnöss.

For the overarching travel overview: Eisack Valley.