The surviving tower of the Parish Church of St. Andrew stands as a free-standing campanile and defines Zams’s distinctive townscape. Various trails also lead through the town and its surroundings: from the challenging E5 long-distance hiking trail and the Way of St. James to the Inn Cycle Path R3. The Zammer Loch and the circuit through the Zammer Lochputz gorge also offer their own highlights. When planning your trip, it is worth distinguishing between the different destinations and routes.
Hiking Trails with Different Destinations
The challenging E5 long-distance hiking trail leads from Memminger Hütte over the Seescharte at 2,599 m through the Zammer Loch to Zams. From Zams, the E5 continues via the Wiesensteig to Zammer Alm and Schihütte Zams, then on to the Venetbahn mountain station and via Glanderspitze at 2,505 m and Wannejöchl at 2,495 m to Larcher Alm and Wenns in the Pitztal. This makes Zams the destination of one described section and the starting point of the other. The named waypoints and elevations make the two routes easy to distinguish.
The Way of St. James follows a different route: it comes from Kronburg via Rifenal and Anreit, descending into the center of Zams. By contrast, the destination of the Rolli-Weg Innradweg is the Patscheid meadows below Kronburg; the route is designated as wheelchair accessible and follows the Inn Cycle Path. The routes therefore differ not only in name, but also in their respective destinations.
Different hiking options also start at the Venetbahn mountain station: it is the starting point for leisurely family hikes and more challenging summit tours. Those wishing to include hiking in Zams in their trip will find further options on the Venet in addition to the E5 sections described. The range extends from family hikes described as leisurely to more challenging summit tours, so you can choose a tour to suit your interests without conflating the different routes.
Water and Rock in the Zammer Loch
The Zammer Loch is one of the most beautiful mountain valleys in Europe. On the circuit through the Zammer Lochputz gorge, the route passes, among other things, a derelict forge, the Mirror Cave and a stone bull shaped by water from the rock. These details reveal different facets of the circuit: natural formations sit alongside traces of human construction.
The Zammer Lochputz experience also includes a water fountain, the Lötzer waterfall, a long tunnel, the Roman Tower and a Kneipp pool. Visitors can also tour a small hydroelectric power station. Water is thus a recurring theme both in the formation of the stone bull and in several of the features mentioned, while the tunnel and Roman Tower are further striking elements of the experience.
Townscape and History
The campanile of the Parish Church of St. Andrew is a free-standing tower that defines the distinctive townscape. The church’s history is also closely linked to a specific date: after the great fire of 1911, it was rebuilt the following year as an enclosed hall church with a deep transept, modeled on the Baroque style. It was solemnly consecrated on June 10, 1913. The surviving tower and the post-fire reconstruction offer two different starting points for discovering Zams through its townscape and architectural history.
Cycling Through Several Towns
For cyclists, the Inn Cycle Path R3 follows an approximately 51 km section from Landeck via Zams, Schönwies and Imst to Telfs. Zams is one stop along a longer route that passes through several named towns. This distinguishes the cycle path from the destinations focused on Zams along the Way of St. James and the E5 sections: in the section described, the R3 connects Landeck with Telfs, while the hiking trails each have their own waypoints and endpoints.
Discover more destinations: Ladis, Piller, Langesthei, Galtür, Flirsch, Vergötschen, Sankt Jakob Am Arlberg, Landeck.
Back to the main travel overview: Landeck.
