Kühtai, Kuhtai

At 2020m, Kühtai is one of the highest ski resorts in Europe, certainly in Austria where many of the famous resorts are comparatively low lying by modern standards. Indeed the highest lifts at a few of the world's best known Austrian resorts do not reach the height of Kühtai village, at the base of the local runs.Considering its long history, this is a very convenient resort with slopeside lodging and most facilities a few steps from all accommodation. There's a friendly, relaxed and intimate feeling to the place. It's also very easy to reach in under an hour from Innsbruck.Kühtai is referred to for the first time in the records of the Counts of Tirol in 1280 as Chutay. Emperor Maximilian purchased the hunting rights in Kühtai in 1497. Around 1622, the construction of a princely castle was begun and in 1624, a road was built through the Sellrain Valley. The Hunting Lodge survives to this day, converted in to a rather nice hotel, the Jagdschloss and still managed by a descendent of the Austrian Archdukes.