Via Alpina Purple Route: Riemannhaus – Unken

The Via Alpina Purple from Riemannhaus to Unken is a one-way, five-stage alpine traverse, not a day hike. The stage figures total about 39 miles (62.7 km). Their listed walking times add to roughly 19 hours, plus a 35-minute boat crossing; spread the trip over several days and allow time for stops. The mapped route is closer to 37 miles, so treat the total as approximate. It begins at the Riemannhaus high on the Austrian side, crosses into Berchtesgaden National Park at Baumgartl, passes through the Königssee district, then leaves the park again across the Reiter Alm to Unken in Austria. You must take a passenger boat from St Bartholomä to Königssee village between stages A41 and A42. Current end-to-end marking and access weren't verified; check present-day stage information, hut arrangements and the boat before setting out.

From Riemannhaus, A40 crosses the open Steinernes Meer plateau past Salzburger Kreuz at 2,135 m. Red-and-white trail marks cross the pale limestone, where rain has cut grooves, caves and funnel-shaped hollows into the rock. Rotwandl's red Jurassic limestone stands out across the karst. Snow or mist can make this broad plateau surprisingly hard to follow even when the marks are visible. The way descends past the small Schwarzen Lacke waterhole to wooded Baumgartl, crosses the border into the park, and continues through forest to Funtensee and Kärlingerhaus. Listen at Teufelsmühle, the lake's underground outlet: water gurgles below the rocks, but you can't see it.

A41 leaves Kärlingerhaus toward Ofenloch and Oberlahneralm, then drops through the stony Saugasse on 36 tight hairpins. The path is not exposed, but the long descent is hard on knees. A roughly carved crucifix called Foaster Herrgott marks the lower end of the switchbacks. From there, sparse beech woods lead past Schrainbach stream and a waterfall to St Bartholomä's alluvial shore, beneath the nearly 2,000 m Watzmann East Face. Saugasse is an avalanche hazard in winter and cannot be treated as a year-round crossing. At the lake, the route switches from walking to a boat ride before the next stage begins at the village.

After the boat, A42 climbs from Königssee village through woodland to Grünsteinhütte, then descends through a gully and crosses the meadows of Hinterschönau before reaching Engedey. A43 follows the stream to Söldenköpfl and the Soleleitungsweg, then climbs from Wachterl onto the broken limestone tableland of Reiter Alm. Keep to the marked line there. Dolines dimple the karst, and the plateau holds some of Germany's oldest Swiss stone pines, including trees up to 500 years old. A44 starts with a high meadow walk, then drops steeply on wooden steps past a spring to Alpaalm. That descent is often wet and slippery; below it, shady ravine-like forest gives way to the Innersbachklamm gorge and the Gaissteig path along the Saalach to Unken.

The stages name refuges at Riemannhaus, Kärlingerhaus and Neue Traunsteiner Hütte, plus stops such as Grünsteinhütte, Hammerstiel and Söldenköpfl. St Bartholomä has a restaurant and fish smokehouse in the route description, but current opening and reservation details weren't established. The church there was consecrated in 1134 and took its present Baroque form in the late 17th century; the Watzmann East Face was first climbed by Johann Grill senior in 1881. Königssee is a glacial trough about 8 km long and 214 m deep, separated from Obersee by a terminal moraine. This point-to-point route starts at a mountain hut and finishes in another country, so plan transport at both ends; no single parking arrangement was verified.