Zillertal

The Zillertal ("Ziller valley") is a valley in Tyrol, Austria that is drained by the Ziller river. It is the widest valley south of the Inntal ("Inn valley") and lends its name to the Zillertal Alps, the strongly glaciated section of the Alps in which it lies. The Tux Alps lie to its west, while the lower grass peaks of the Kitzbühel Alps are found to the east.

The Zillertal is one of the valley areas in Tyrol most visited by tourists. Its largest settlement is Mayrhofen.

Geography

The Zillertal branches from the Inn trench near Jenbach, about 40 km northeast of Innsbruck, running mostly in a north-south direction. The Zillertal proper stretches from the village of Strass to Mayrhofen, where it separates into four smaller valleys, the Tux valley and the sparsely settled, so-called Gründe – Zamsergrund, Zillergrund and Stilluppgrund. Along the way, two more Gründe and the Gerlos valley, which leads to the Gerlos Pass and into Salzburg, branch off.

Unlike other side valleys of the Inntal, the Zillertal rises constantly, but only marginally, from one end to the other – only about 100 m over 30 km. Permanent settlements cover about 9% of the entire area of the Zillertal municipalities.