Hiking along the Grossglockner
Tips for short hikes and nature trailPiffkar:
Coming from Salzburg, the Piffkar is the first station on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road at an altitude of 1,620 m above sea level. In addition to a special show entitled "Tauern – Passes over the Alps“ on the first floor of the shop building and a children's playground on theme of gold panning, an interesting nature trail can be found just behind the building. The hike only takes 30 minutes and offers insight into the vegetation and birds of the forest at the tree line.
Edelweiss Peak:
A trail leads from the Dr. Franz Rehrl Haus restaurant up to the Edelweiss Peak. You will reach the highest point on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road at 2,571 m above sea level in approx. 30 minutes, offering a unique panoramic view from Lake Zell over the entire Grossglockner mountain region.
Fuscher Lacke:
Short trail around the Fuscher Lacke (lake), including the "Bau der Strasse" (construction of the road) exhibition and a theme playground (10-minute walk).
Hochtor:
The top of the pass can be crossed in approx. 30 minutes on the nature trail once used by Celts, muleskinners and Romans. Historic finds prove that people have crossed the Alps at this point for three thousand, five hundred years.
Gletscherstrasse, hairpin bend 3:
After branching off from the traffic circle towards the Grossglockner, hairpin bend 3 on the Gletscherstrasse is the point of departure for a short walk to the "Fallbach“ waterfall (round trip: approx. 30 minutes)
Schöneck:
Enjoy the magnificent "Wonderworld Glockner Meadows" on a short botanical nature trail (10 minutes) right behind Gasthaus Schöneck. A wide variety of insects and flowers are described during a brief nature show. A playground themed "from the egg to the butterfly“ offers fun and games for children.
Kaiser Franz Josefs Höhe
Gamsgrubenweg:
The breathtaking panoramic trail high above the impressive Pasterze Glacier with ice falls, moraines and glacier tongues can easily be explored on foot in 30 minutes. Experienced mountain climbers can continue across the glacier (southern Bockkaar Glacier) through high-alpine terrain to the Oberwalder Hut or up on the Fuscherkarkopf.
Free guided tours with a national park ranger leave daily at 11:00 a.m. from the beginning of July to mid-September. For more information call 0043/(0)4824/2700 or visit www.hohetauern.at.
Pasterze Glacier trail:
Walk directly to the Pasterze Glacier on a safe, well-marked trail (approx. 30 minutes down, approx. 1 hour back up). Or use the cable car (extra charge). The Pasterzenweg leads from the Pasterze and its "Stoamandl'n" (stone figures) past the Margaritzen Dam to the Glocknerhaus (approx. 1.5-hour walk).
Guided tours of the Pasterze Glacier trail with a national park ranger leave from the Alpine Center Glocknerhaus every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. from the beginning of July to mid-September (extra charge). For more information and reservations call 0043/(0)4824/2700 or visit www.hohetauern.at.
Swarovski Observation Point and panoramic trail:
The trail leaves from the Visitor Center above the Kaiser Franz Josefs Höhe to the Wilhelm Swarovsky Observatory (10-minute walk). The observatory has state-of-the-art optical equipment offering spectacular views of the mountains and glaciers surrounding Austria's highest mountain. You will also be able to see marmots, ibex and mountaineers climbing the Grossglockner close-up. Continue from the observatory to Franz Josef's House and to the bus parking lot (approx. 30 minutes).
Guided tours to observe the wild animals with a national park ranger leave from the Wilhelm Swarovski Observatory every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. from the beginning of July to mid-September (extra charge). For more information and reservations call 0043/(0)4824/2700 or visit www.hohetauern.at.
Alpe-Adria-Trail
The Alpe-Adria-Trail connects the three regions of Carinthia, Slovenia and Friuli Venezia Giulia in a total of 38 stages. This long distance hiking trail leads from the foot of the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner, through the most beautiful mountain and lake regions in Carinthia, and without any major detours leads close to the point where the three countries of Austria, Italy and Slovenia intersect at the Dreiländereck, and then on towards Trieste and the Adriatic.
More informations www.alpe-adria-trail.com