Sand in Taufers: Waterfalls, Castle and South Tyrolean Culture

Sand in Taufers between Waterfalls and Castle

If you are considering Sand in Taufers for an individual trip, two particularly tangible sides of the town come together here: the Reinbach Waterfalls and the history of Taufers Castle. The three waterfalls are located in the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park and form cascades ranging from ten to forty metres in height. Taufers Castle was formerly the dynastic fortress of the Taufers baronial family of the same name. Both themes give your stay different focuses, without requiring you to commit to just one way of travelling. When choosing accommodation, it helps to decide on your personal focus in advance: nature and trails or historic rooms and local culture.

Hiking Trails and Waterfall Experiences

The Tauferer Ritterweg trail leads past the Reinbach Waterfalls to Taufers Castle and then back to Sand in Taufers. The route therefore follows a clear sequence of nature and a historic destination, while the return route leads back into the town. From the starting point at Bad Winkel, the first Reinbach Waterfall is about a 20-minute walk away. The section along the forest road and St. Francis Trail is suitable for pushchairs and has an elevation difference of 40 metres. The Waterfall Fly-Line begins slightly above the third waterfall and descends through the forest and alongside the waterfalls in tight and wide bends to the first waterfall.

What the Castle and Nature Park House Show

At Taufers Castle, visitors can access the gate complex with its former drawbridges, the castle garden and the large inner courtyard with a forge and ice cellar. More than twenty furnished rooms are presented in the castle, including the courtroom, library, chapel, knights' hall, sickroom, late Gothic office, ghost room, armoury and cardinal's room. The Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park House presents the park's special features in various exhibitions. These are complemented by audiovisual impressions of life in the park, a film from an eagle's perspective and a relief featuring mountains, huts and trails. The Nature Park House is a one-minute walk from the bus station in Sand in Taufers.

Churches, Museums and Living Tradition

The parish church of the Assumption of Mary in Sand in Taufers was built at the beginning of the 16th century. Despite later renovations, its Gothic interior has been preserved. At the Mineralis Mineral Museum, you can see minerals from the Tauferer Ahrntal; at the Sheep Wool Museum, you can learn how various garments and everyday objects are made from sheep's wool using traditional techniques. The Taufers Parish Museum is accessible only as part of a guided tour. The Krampus procession in Sand in Taufers is a long-standing custom and also an event featuring well over 400 Krampuses and hand-carved masks.

Regional Cuisine and Special Events

Tauferer Street Food takes place every Tuesday evening from mid-July to the end of August and offers South Tyrolean specialties in the open air. The Sand in Taufers Cheese Festival takes place every two years as a gourmet market, trade fair and culinary event with cheese tastings. For planning your trip, these two formats are clearly distinguishable in terms of timing: the street food event is tied to a summer period and a weekday, while the cheese festival follows a two-year cycle.

Other destinations: Vintl, Pfalzen, Floronzo, Prettau, Sankt Lorenzen, Sexten, Rasen-Antholz, Mühlwald

For the higher-level travel overview: Pustertal.