Stanzach is a small village in the Lechtal, the long valley of the Lech river in Tyrol, and the river is the making of it. The Lech here is still wild, with a broad bed of pale gravel, braided channels and shifting banks that change after every flood, and conservationists have protected it as part of the Tyrolean Lech Nature Park, because few Alpine rivers still run free in this way. Kingfishers, dippers and the rare little ringed plover nest on the gravel, and in spring the water is the colour of milky jade. Hikers on the Lechweg, a long-distance footpath, pass through the village.
The village itself is little more than a cluster of farmhouses and a church, with painted facades and flower boxes, and is a classic Tyrolean settlement, quiet and tidy. A few guesthouses offer bed and breakfast, and a bakery or two has fresh bread in the morning. In the Middle Ages this valley was a trade route and a place for timber rafting, with logs floated downstream to the plains, and the old rafting trade left traces in names and customs.
For riders, Stanzach is the start of the Namlos Valley road, a narrow, lightly used route that leaves the main road and climbs a side valley in a series of bends through spruce and pine forest, past waterfalls and old farms, toward Namlos and Berwang. It is a road for taking slowly: the width is limited, the surface can be patchy with gravel on corners, and cows and cyclists share the tarmac. In return it is peaceful, and the views of the limestone peaks of the Lechtal Alps are magnificent. In spring, meltwater turns the side streams into torrents, and in winter the road may be closed or icy.
Weather can change quickly in the mountains, with afternoon showers in summer. The best months are June to September, when the roads are clear and the valley is green.