Go hiking in the Alps around Salzburg these days and you won’t be surprised to hear a resounding “Hol-la ra-e ho-e he!“
Amid the green pastures and snowy peaks that famously inspired Julie Andrews to launch into song in “The Sound of Music,” a new Yodel hiking trail — the first in the world — hopes to teach tourists and locals this unique art of singing.
“Hops ho-da re-i-ri,” “ho-da ria drai dul-i-jo,” “hul-jo-i diri diri“: the lyrics have little meaning but the tunes, alternating constantly between head voice and chest voice — a little like a Tarzan cry — take some getting used to.
Dotted around the landscape at an altitude of 2,000 meters (6,560 feet), five trail stops now offer guidance with audio recordings, sheet music and props, including a gigantic cow bell, an echo wall and two cones acting as voice enhancers. With mostly cows as an audience, budding yodellers need not fear embarrassment if they belt out a tune.
“I’m fascinated, really excited. It’s great that this exists,” Astrid Berchtaler, decked out in a typical Lederhose (leather breeches) and red-checkered blouse, told AFP on a recent hike along the trail.
“I always thought only a few talented people could yodel,” said the nutrition expert, who traveled 200 kilometers (125 miles) to hike the trail and also joined a one-day yodel workshop here.
“It’s liberating, it opens the soul. It’s just really fun to sing really loudly and to yodel,” she said.
The idea for the “Jodel Wanderweg,” as the trail is known in German, came from Christian Eder, who runs a local hotel and learned to yodel just two years ago.
“I always find it easier to yodel, and let out these ‘Juchiza!’, these cries of joy, when I’m up on the mountain,” he told AFP.
“Yodelling has a mythical status, perhaps because it’s not so common, so people think it’s difficult.
“But our slogan is actually that everyone can yodel.”
The trail, inaugurated in August and free of charge, is open to all and easily accessible via a cable car.
“It’s a great idea,” said Barbara Glaser, 31, a primary school teacher from nearby Mittersill. “The trail was made for young and old. It’s not hard to walk it, you can just spend a beautiful afternoon here in gorgeous weather.”
Originally, yodelling was used by shepherds to communicate from mountain to mountain.
Not just an Austrian tradition, it can be found all over the alpine region, from southern Germany to Switzerland and northern Italy.
“It’s an expression of joy, harmony and happiness,” said Hermann Haertel, a folk musician and researcher who has been organizing yodel workshops since the 1970s.
In recent years, he has seen a “boom” in yodelling. “Yodel workshops are usually sold out,” he said.
With initiatives like the Yodel trail, tourists can see that the idyllic images of “The Sound of the Music” are real, Glaser said.
Among Haertel’s pupils are not only locals but also foreigners — from France, Italy or even Sweden — and many young people, who no longer see it as kitsch, but are curious to reconnect with this old tradition.
“It’s a bit ‘back to the roots’. Yodelling is completely pure: I have to be myself ... and it doesn’t have to be 100 percent correct,” Eder said.
Markus Moser, 26, seemed more dubious after his first yodelling experience on the trail: “I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. But it’s difficult,” he said, laughing. “It’s something completely different.”
One of the goals of the trail, as well as the workshops, is to get people of all backgrounds, including novice singers, to drop their reserve and discover their voice, Haertel said.
Yodelling is joyful, spontaneous, like a “hurrah,” he said. “There are hardly any mournful tunes. The point is to have fun.”
Glaser agreed: “Yodelling is a unique art and not everyone can do it,” she said.
Yodelling all the way in the Alps
Yodelling all the way in the Alps
Russian cyclist finds warm welcome on Saudi Arabia’s roads
- Anna Rodnishcheva’s ride through Kingdom is defining chapter in solo expedition
- Rodnishcheva cycled to Aqaba, crossed the border into Saudi Arabia, and has since traveled through Tabuk, AlUla, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif on her way to Riyadh
MAKKAH: Solo adventurer Anna Rodnishcheva, 27, has undertaken an ambitious journey that spans countries, climates and cultures — on a bicycle.
Born and raised in Moscow and trained as a biologist before becoming an event photographer, she now finds herself pedaling thousands of kilometers across unfamiliar landscapes in pursuit of discovery, connection, and the simple joy of movement.
In her conversation with Arab News, Rodnishcheva offered a detailed account of her ongoing route in Saudi Arabia, describing how the expedition is her third major cycling adventure.
After previously riding from Moscow to Sochi and later from Vladivostok to Sochi — a route that stretches across the entirety of Russia — she felt compelled to explore foreign lands by bicycle.
She set off from Moscow heading south last June, passing through Russia, Georgia, and Turkiye before flying from Antalya to Amman. She cycled to Aqaba, crossed the border into Saudi Arabia, and has since traveled through Tabuk, AlUla, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif on her way to Riyadh.
Rodnishcheva explained that physical preparation played only a small role in her planning. She began slowly and allowed her body to adapt naturally over the first month.
The true challenge, she said, was in the mental and financial preparation. She spent a year and a half planning the journey, even though she originally intended to postpone it for several more years.
Ultimately, her belief that “life is short” convinced her to start with the resources she already had. Although she sought medical evaluations and additional vaccinations, she was unable to complete them all and decided to continue regardless.
Her journey through Georgia and Turkiye presented unexpected difficulties. Simple tasks such as finding groceries or locating bicycle repair shops became more challenging outside of Russia, where she knew how to navigate on a budget.
She also encountered language barriers, though the situation improved when a local cyclist joined her in Georgia. The intense midsummer heat added another layer of difficulty, but she had prepared herself for such conditions.
One of the most striking moments of her trip occurred as she crossed from Jordan into Saudi Arabia. She described the experience as surreal and emotionally overwhelming, likening it to the adventures of a literary hero traveling across the Arabian Peninsula.
Her anxiety eased unexpectedly when she got a flat tire at the border, bringing her back to the present.
Despite being warned that crossing by bicycle would be prohibited, the process went smoothly, and she was struck by the friendliness of both Jordanian and Saudi officials. She expressed particular surprise at meeting a female Saudi passport officer, an encounter that challenged her previous assumptions about women’s roles in the Kingdom.
Rodnishcheva said the hospitality she had experienced in Saudi Arabia surpassed anything she had encountered on previous journeys. Drivers frequently stop to offer her water, fruit, or sweets, and several families have generously hosted her in their homes or guest flats.
She emphasized that she feels completely safe traveling across the Kingdom, especially on the open roads between cities, noting the strong and visible security presence.
She has also observed significant differences in weather. While the stretch from the border to Jeddah was hot despite being winter, the climate changed dramatically after climbing Al-Hada in Taif, turning cooler and windier — a climate she compared to Russian summers.
Rodnishcheva documents her travels primarily through Russian-language platforms such as VK and Telegram. Although she maintains YouTube and Instagram accounts, she explained that her schedule left little time for frequent updates.
Offering a message to women around the world who dream of embarking on similar adventures, she said such journeys were “not as scary as they seem before you start,” though they may not suit everyone.
Her closing advice? “Listen to your heart.”
