Fasting Hikes in Autumn: The Second Fasting Season of the Year

Key points at a glance

• The shift into the darker half of the year is the natural moment for a relieving Buchinger therapeutic fast.
• Stable autumn alpine weather minimises the risk of storms and, thanks to inversion, gives hikers mild air on the summits.
• The eight-day Hike & Fast programme at the Tannerhof runs in small groups of no more than ten participants.
• The rebuild days after the fast draw on the culinary harvest bonus with fresh organic cuisine in the spirit of the Planetary Health Diet.

The second fasting season: why autumn calls for a physical clean break

When we feel the shift from bright summer into the darker half of the year, our biorhythm responds too. It is a natural turning point that calls for a deliberate caesura. This is exactly where the idea of a second fasting season of the year comes in: a break with our Hike & Fast programme at the Tannerhof creates room to leave the old behind and prepare the body for winter. The combination of cool mountain air and the deliberate abstention from solid food helps us to pause and gather new energy for the cold months to come.

From a medical perspective, this autumn clean break is an effective relief for the immune system. The supervising doctors at the Tannerhof emphasise that deliberate Buchinger-style abstention gives the body the chance to reduce chronic inflammatory triggers and guide the metabolism into regeneration. It is a time of exhaling, in which the cells can do their own housekeeping.

• Retune the biorhythm: the shift of light signals retreat to the organism. Deliberate abstention supports this transition and reorders the metabolism.
• Strengthen the defences: Buchinger therapeutic fasting relieves the whole organism and lets the immune system exhale in time for the winter cold season.
• Find inner quiet: when the mountain paths empty out in autumn, the calming atmosphere of the house makes it noticeably easier to settle mentally as well.

In this autumn transition phase, reduction at the Tannerhof unfolds its own particular power. While nature outside lets its leaves go, a similarly liberating cleansing takes place inside. Amid the autumn mountain setting of Bayrischzell, this deliberate letting-go succeeds almost effortlessly, carried by medical expertise and the clear air of the Bavarian Alps. So you head into the darker half of the year strengthened, ordered, and full of vitality.

Stable mountain weather and clear views: ideal conditions for autumn fasting hikes

When summer slowly says goodbye and nature prepares to withdraw, the most reliable hiking season of the year opens in the upper Bavarian Alps. Where high summer often brings oppressive heat and sudden afternoon storms that complicate route planning, autumn shows a remarkable meteorological calm. For active people who want to cleanse the body and clear the head, this phase offers ideal conditions: the risk of heat-driven storms in the mountains falls to a minimum in early autumn. On the paths around Naturhotel Tannerhof, you can hike with a reassuring planning certainty that mirrors the inner retreat of fasting perfectly.

A particular physical phenomenon shapes these weeks: the autumn inversion. While the cool morning mist often lingers in the valleys, the mountains above enjoy bright sunshine and a noticeable mildness.

• No more summer heat: the mild autumn temperatures relieve the circulation considerably during the body's transition.
• Remarkable long-range views: the dry air of the inversion lets the eye travel far beyond the alpine peaks on clear days.
• Better footing: without the constant worry of sudden weather changes, each step can be set more consciously and in even rhythm.

The autumn fasting hike in practice: routes, rhythm and the clarity from day four

Our autumn Hike & Fast follows a proven, quiet rhythm from Sunday to Sunday. The programme runs over eight days and is deliberately capped at ten participants to ensure personal, clinically grounded supervision at Naturhotel Tannerhof. While the morning belongs to movement in the clear alpine air, we devote the afternoons to regeneration and targeted treatments in the house. After the hikes, Kneipp alternating pours, fasting massages and breathing therapies gently support the body in regulating rather than pushing.

• Five guided tours from six to twelve kilometres in length, led personally by Vroni Waller and Jonas von Mengershausen with a fine feel for the fasting pace.
• The classic mountain hike over the Taubenstein to the deep blue Soinsee, which opens the view over the Bavarian foothills across eleven kilometres.
• Gentle, considered routes through the valleys near Geitau and Osterhofen that bring the autumn forest to life in all its facets.

The first days ask the body to adjust. On Monday we clarify the starting point in the initial medical consultation before the actual hiking week begins on Tuesday. Around the fourth fasting day, a noticeable change takes place in the body. As the glycogen stores empty and ketosis sets in, the brain releases more messenger substances such as serotonin and dopamine. This hormonal shift brings the often-described fasting euphoria with it. The head becomes remarkably clear, the step on the autumn paths lighter, and the cool, pure air of the late months amplifies this feeling of inner freedom and openness.

The autumn culinary bonus: rebuild days that taste of harvest

Breaking the fast at the Tannerhof is not a casual moment but a ceremonial ritual of transition. When, after days of deliberate abstention, we taste the first freshly harvested apple from the Bayrischzell region, eating becomes a deep, tactile pleasure again. Every bite carries the cool clarity of the autumn mountain soil. These sensitive hours open the important breaking of the fast and rebuild days, in which the body slowly gets used to solid food again and regeneration is consolidated.

In our kitchen we celebrate this sensitive phase in the spirit of the Planetary Health Diet, in which human health and the protection of our planet go hand in hand. That means: harvest-fresh, regional vegetables take centre stage, accompanied by gentle warming soups and textures that carefully reintroduce the digestive tract to solid food.

For your personal planning of this autumn new start, we offer several autumn dates. Arrival and departure for our Hike & Fast programme are always on Sunday, so you can spend a full week of eight days with us at the Tannerhof. Secure your place in good time in one of the small groups of up to ten participants, as the days grow cooler and nature settles into quiet.