Five days you walk around one wall. And it keeps changing.
Wilder Kaiser — the Wild Emperor — doesn't reign over Tyrol by accident. From the valley you see it as a saw blade: a wall of gray limestone with Ellmauer Halt at the front, 2344 m, the highest peak of the entire Kaiserkette. Kaiserkrone, the "Emperor's Crown," leads you around this wall in a loop. You start in Going, after five stages you return to Going — and in between you circumnavigate the massif from all four cardinal directions.
Why this one? Because it's a circuit, not a traverse. You leave your car where you end; no arranging transport from finish to start. 65 km, around 5000 m of elevation gain — that's close to four climbs up Ben Nevis in a row, just with a pack and staying at huts. And yet it's not a ridge for alpinists. Most of the route follows pleasant mountain paths below the walls. Seek adrenaline, you'll find it. Don't, and you'll bypass it.
The terrain has two faces: the sunny, southern side of the Wild Emperor and the shaded, northern side. The first day out of Going you climb to the Gruttenhütte beneath the foot of Ellmauer Halt — the hut has stood here since 1900 and is the launch point for anyone who wants to touch the highest peak of the Kaiser. The trail then circles the massif, passes the emerald Hintersteiner See, and climbs to Stripsenjoch — a pass that bridges the ridges of Zahmer Kaiser (the Tame Emperor) and Wilder Kaiser like a causeway. Precisely there stands Stripsenjochhaus, a hut of the Kufstein section of the Alpenverein from 1902. Around you sits a stone cathedral, and from the summits you can see from Chiemsee all the way to Grossglockner.
Seeking thrills? There's Klamml on the route — an exposed section secured with cables and steps. It's not mandatory — there's an easier way around. But those brave enough scramble through a gorge right in the heart of the massif.
Daily stages measure 8 to 16 km and five to seven hours of actual hiking. You sleep at mountain huts: besides Gruttenhütte and Stripsenjochhaus, depending on your chosen variation also at Gaudeamushütte or Kaindlhütte. The huts sit far apart, and between them you won't find anything to buy — carry food and water from hut to hut.
For whom? For an accomplished hiker with a sure step and unafraid of heights. No climbing demands, but it's five days straight and serious elevation gain. Families with older, fit kids can manage it; toddlers and strollers, no. When? From June through mid-October, depending on snow — ridge passes hold snow long into summer, so late June through September is ideal.
By the way, this landscape will feel familiar, even if you've never been here. The area around Ellmau and Going has since 2007 been the setting for the German series Der Bergdoktor — the "mountain doctor's" office and the film tavern Wilder Kaiser stand right here, beneath the wall you're walking around.
How to book? The huts mostly fall under the Alpenverein — reserve beds ahead, especially on weekends when peak season crowds arrive. Starting on Sunday or Monday is savvy: you'll dodge the weekend rush. From Going, a free shuttle bus runs to the Hüttling starting point.
Five days you walk around one wall. And on the fifth day you realize you've circled it — and it never let you out of sight for a moment.
Pick a start date — for every night on the route you instantly see the free beds and book directly through the official Alpenverein system.
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