The Liechtenstein Trail, the whole country on foot

Walking the full length of a country in five days isn’t something you can do in many places, and Liechtenstein has turned it into a waymarked route. The Liechtenstein Trail sets off from the Swiss border at Balzers and finishes at the Austrian customs post in Schaanwald, taking in all 11 municipalities on the way. I can’t think of a better way to get the measure of the place, because you cover it at the pace it deserves.

How long is the Liechtenstein Trail, really?

There’s a small muddle over the numbers worth clearing up before you book anything. The tourist board says you walk “over 75 km”, and the national portal talks about 75 kilometres. Yet if you add up the five stages published on that same website, you get 73.7 km. On top of that come two loops, one around Malbun of 7 km and another around Vaduz of 5.4 km, which aren’t part of the south-to-north crossing. Include both and the total reaches 86.1 km.

I’d plan around the sum of the stages, because that’s what your feet will actually cover. It works out at roughly 21 hours of walking, with 1,914 m of ascent and 1,951 m of descent. That’s a fair amount, but spread over five days it averages a little over four hours a day, leaving plenty of time for a proper lunch and a museum or two.

Five stages, five sides of the country

What I like most about the route is that the scenery changes every day. Stage 1, Balzers to Triesenberg, starts below Gutenberg Castle, crosses industrial Triesen and climbs to the Walser village. It’s the hardest in terms of ascent. Stage 2, Triesenberg to Vaduz, hits the high point of the whole trail at 1,109 m, then drops past the Schalun ruin and the castle into the Städtle. That’s my favourite.

Stage 3, Vaduz to Nendeln, mixes a winery, Roman remains, the Dux tower and the hamlet-sized village of Planken. Stage 4, Nendeln to Ruggell, is the flattest and the most village-hopping, with a break at the Grossabünt bathing lake. And stage 5, Ruggell to Schaanwald, the longest, crosses the Ruggeller Riet, passes the Schellenberg ruins and ends at the border with Austria.

What sort of walking it is

If you’re after proper mountains, this isn’t your route. The tourist board itself says the trail runs over meadows, footpaths and tarmac roads. The highest point doesn’t reach 1,110 m and the lowest, 429 m, comes on the final stage. What you get instead is a string of villages, churches, vineyards and castles, with the Rhine valley on one side and the Alps on the other.

For serious hillwalking there’s the Fürstensteig or the routes out of Malbun, which I cover in the hiking guide. Here they recommend walking boots, poles if they help on the climbs and a water bottle, as there are drinking fountains along the way. Waymarking is good, and the official LIstory app follows the route by GPS without needing a signal, with 148 stops telling stories about the country.

How I’d organise it

The big advantage over most long-distance walks is that the country is tiny and buses reach every village. That means you can stay in one place and head back each evening. I’d choose Vaduz, halfway along, and catch the bus to the start point each morning.

For the first stage, the tourist board suggests route 11 or 13 from Vaduz to the Balzers, Höfle stop, then about 20 minutes on foot to the old boundary stone where it all begins. If you’re staying in a local hotel, ask about the free guest card, which covers LIEmobil buses. Note that the buses don’t take cash, only cards or the app.

There’s another option if you’d rather not think about logistics. The tourist board sells packages with hotels right on the route, luggage transfers (drop your bags before 09:00 and they reach the next hotel by 17:00), packed lunches and the ALL INCLUSIVE adventure pass, which covers public transport and over 20 attractions. I’d only go for it if you want a new hotel every night.

Worth knowing before you set off

One practical warning from the tourist board that plenty of people miss. Many restaurants along the way have their rest day on Saturday, Sunday or Monday, so on those days I’d set off with food in the rucksack. The best season is spring to autumn, when the meadows are green and the days are long.

And one touch I rather like. When you finish, the Liechtenstein Center in Vaduz, open every day, gives you a personal certificate for crossing the country. It’s only a piece of paper, but after 73 kilometres of villages I’d be glad to take it home.