Vertical walls, a roaring stream and protruding rocky noses: the Eggental road goes through a gorge that is so narrow that the foolhardy project that  built a road through it is often met with amazement. But don’t worry, when you book a holiday flat or room in Karneid you won’t stagnate in a dark ravine. The municipality stretches up from 235 to 1,680 metres above sea level and the farms are all situated up on airy Karneider Berg enjoying views of the Rosengarten area. The villages of Steinegg, Gummer, Kardaun, Blumau and Karneid belong to the parish.

A journey through time
Finds from the 7th century B.C. show that life was always good in Karneid. The area was inhabited in the mid-Stone Age, which may be seen from remains of hill forts in the Karneid area. In the past few centuries, farmers from Karneid were cut off from the outside world, as the only path leading to nearby Bozen was a very steep one. This is why they produced practically all that they needed for their daily lives  themselves. Steinegg 'Heimatmuseum' shows what farm life was like. Other contents of the exhibition include rural rootedness in religion, farmers' attitude to nature and the various crafts practised in times gone by. Visitors have to be accompanied by a guide and tours take place every day except Mondays.

Over the course of time
Nowadays, the people of Karneid are no longer self-reliant: since the municipality was connected with several roads, lots of inhabitants commute to work in the nearby province capital of Bozen. Guests on a Farm Holiday in Karneid will no longer be staying on a self-sufficent farm: most farms are livestock  farms. Cows, pigs, goats, sheep, hens and rabbits populate the stables and meadows. Yet the berries in the home-made jam still come from the farm. There’s hardly any farmer that would do without their own little fruit and vegetable garden.

Walking through the planets
A trip to the observatory in Gummer near Karneid is obligatory. Expert astronomers will let you observe the sky through a telescope. If you’re feeling energetic, you can walk the Planets Path, which allows a walk through the the solar system on a scale of 1:1 billion. A ride alongside the Eisack river beckons for keen cyclists, and this may be combined with cultural trips: the ’Kunst kennt keine Behinderung‘ (‘Art knows no disability‘) cycle path, which is lined with sculptures, columns, flags and wall paintings, runs betweenn Bozen, Kardaun and Blumau. The works of art originate from  an integrative project by artists from a sheltered workshop and children from the municipality.

The earth pyramids at Karneid
If your holiday flat or room is in Karneid, then you should definitely take a trip to the earth pyramids. These earth pyramids may be found all over South Tyrol and are a special natural spectacle. In places where there is very loose soil, the rain washes the earth away unless it is protected by boulders, resulting in the formation of earth pyramids with a stone roof. In the parish of Karneid, these may be found near Steinegg and Gummer and may be reached on foot via the 'Pyramidenweg' path.