Germany

The Malerweg is a long-distance hiking trail in Saxon Switzerland, in the far east of Germany close to Dresden and right on the Czech border. It winds for 116 kilometres through the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, the dramatic landscape of sandstone cliffs, forested gorges and flat-topped mesa mountains that inspired a generation of Romantic painters and gave the route its name: the Painters' Way. This guide covers everything you need to plan the Malerweg trail, whether you want to walk all eight stages from start to finish or pick the most rewarding section for a long weekend. At Bookatrekking we take care of your accommodation at each overnight stop and organise luggage transfer between them, and our app gives you offline navigation, GPX tracks and the current weather forecast per hut so you can leave the paperwork at home. If you already know you want the complete loop, head straight to the Full Malerweg.

If you're planning a hut-to-hut hiking adventure, the Bavarian Alps offer some of the most scenic and unforgettable routes in Europe. At Bookatrekking.com, we have curated a selection of self-guided tours that will lead you through some of the most iconic landscapes in this region. Whether you're aiming for an exhilarating summit or a serene walk through lush valleys, the Bavarian Alps provide something for every type of adventurer. Below, we've highlighted three of our favorite hut-to-hut tours:

Deep in the south of Germany the land rises up to what is known as the Bavarian Alps. Rugged mountains covered with evergreen forests and picture-perfect mountain pastures make this part of the Alps an outdoor heaven for everybody. One of the absolute highlights of the region is impossible to witness unless you're in it: the spectacular Partnachklamm gorge. For millennia the Partnach river has carved out the mountains south of charming Garmisch-Partenkirchen, creating a huge crevasse in the green foothills of the Bavarian Alps. It's a true natural gem, with impressive vertical walls and a thundering river slicing through it. The good news is that you can actually hike through the gorge. The walkway across the Partnachklamm is a great day out, or if you're keen, a perfect start for a 2-day trek that we call the Partnachklamm Explorer's Hike.