With 3.798m the highest mountain in Austria the Großglockner is one of the most visited places over here. Not only on summer, also in winter, when people are going there for skiing. I have been there a few times on my skis, but never during the summer (Okay my mum told me i’ve been there as a child, but I didn’t remember it at all). When going back to Upper Austria from our trip to South Tyrol (Italy) last weekend, we decided to also cross the Großglockner on our way. Finally another beutiful Austrian place i can tick off my list.
48km on the windy Großglockner High Alpine Road
The official High Alpine Road is 48km long and with 36 curves it leads from the village Fusch in the state Salzburg to Heiligenblut in Kärnten. You have to pay 35 Euro toll per car to drive up this road. If you love biking on mountains, you can also cycle up there. If you like motorcycles you can also bike up the windy road. We’ve been going top off, by cabrio, which is a pretty nice feeling.
The best stops at the Großglockner High Alpine Road
On the streets are a lot of viewing areas, which are worth stopping. The Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Höhe might be the most famous one. From there you can see the glacier (melting) and if you like hiking, there’s a pretty long hike down to the glacier called Pasterze.
On the way up to this place there’s a tunnel and before that tunnel you can find a cute little lake and two waterfalls next to it (okay there are so many more waterfalls, but those two were catching my attention). This has been one of my most favorite places.
Right before the Franz-Josef-Höhe you might also have a chance to watch marmots crawl around on the floor. I could barely believe that I’ve been able to see those animals next to the street, but they’re so used to the cars and the people, that they don’t really care. Plus they might get feeded, and obviously they love it.
There are so many lovely view points, but one of my favorite ones was the parkinglot at the Hochtor. There’s also my most favorite skiing slope in this area.
The Fuscher Lake wasn’t that spectacular, but the Fuscher Törl was even more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined it. You really have to get out of your car at this place! There’s also a street up to the Edelweißspitze, but there were so many people and the parking lot was full when we were arriving there, so we were skipping it. But I’ve heard and seen from pictures that there’s an amazing view on the surrounding area and the High Alpine Road.
And now a few pictures from our day at the Großglockner:
