Toll road in Austria Grossglockner. Scenic roads of Austria. Timings for the Grossglockner High Alpine Road from May to October
This is a very special item in our vacation program. This is how it was intended, and this is how it turned out.
After Hallstatt, where we admired the clouds, the lake, got cold before dawn, and then got fried during the day on the way to the parking lot, our path lay in the town of Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße. This is the commune where our cherished alpine road begins. It was decided to spend the night there in order to go early in the morning to admire the views - so we planned to catch my favorite clouds in the morning and find enough time for stops and oohs and aahs.
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Our path lay in the middle of beautiful landscapes, surrounded by mountains and waterfalls.
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As you can see, we arrived in the evening and in the drizzling rain. These drops on the windshield made me nervous - I really didn’t want to drive along the most beautiful Alpine road in Austria in the rain.
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Our Chalet Charlotte turned out to be exactly as wonderful as we dreamed. The hostess greeted us as if she were her beloved relatives, the communication was so informal, warm and lively that the feeling of awkwardness and fatigue from the road were instantly erased and disappeared. On her advice, we went to a local restaurant for dinner, where they served venison. We tried it for the first time in our lives, the impressions were the most favorable. And from the waiter, and from the dishes, and from the surroundings.
Just in case, we once again consulted about the schedule of access to the road - for safety reasons the road is closed at night, we inquired about the price and received some practical advice. Well, we heard a lot of compliments and delight - and how great we are for getting here by car, and how lucky we are that we are going to admire such beauty, and how smart we are, how well and relaxed we speak English. Flattery is shorter. Rude. But nice ;)
They also reassured us about the weather. They say it’s always like this here. “Tomorrow everything will be fine, there will be sun. You’ll see!”
And we saw!
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The morning, which began with the singing of birds outside the window, with the cleanest, moist fresh air in the room, continued with the entrance to paid section Grossglocknerstrasse. Entry costs between approximately 20 and 34 euros. Along with the payment receipt, we received this sticker on the windshield and a couple of booklets that described in detail, with diagrams and maps, the entire range of pleasures available to us along the route.
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The menu included magnificent mountains - about thirty “three-thousanders”, many viewing platforms, attractions with feeding of a local attraction - marmots, and other joys of a spectacular mountain road.
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Along the way, we constantly came across pockets like these - here you can stop, admire the views and get acquainted with the diagram, which shows all the visible peaks and all the beauties that we still have to meet along the way (map from the site www.grossglockner.at).
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As you can see, we got a lot of clouds. It’s an unimaginable feeling to ride in the clouds, burst into them and emerge, stand above them, deeply breathing in the completely boundless, endless space and intoxicating freedom.
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And no one... Only the huge bells on the necks of seemingly tiny cows jingle loudly in the distance.
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The clouds, flowing in white foam along the blue-green velvet slopes, slowly rose, gathered into marshmallow mountains and floated towards the horizon, revealing absolutely stunning views.
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In the haze far below you could see rivers, little men and houses - like hobbit holes.
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The road was not particularly difficult - with a width of 6, and in some places 7.5 meters, driving along it was not very difficult. You have time to look around without yawning in stiletto heels. But you still need to be vigilant. The turns are sharp, the elevation difference is good. So yes, everything is as I like. According to the maps there are 36 hairpins. In fact there are more of them. 36 are the most tricky ones. They are all marked with signs with their numbers, heights and names - one (the 11th, I think) is called "Witch's Kitchen", for example.
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Once upon a time, this road was built simply to give work to three thousand unemployed people in difficult times. In 1930, the road began to be built, laying it through High Tower n. And a year later the road was opened, and the day after the opening the first automobile and motorcycle races took place along it. Subsequently, the flow of people wishing to enjoy the beauty increased many times over, so the road was modified, expanded and equipped with extensive tourist infrastructure designed for guests of different age groups, preferences and abilities.
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It has no transport significance. If you need to quickly get from point A to point B, then there is the A10 highway. And Grossglocknerstrasse is precisely a view road. The whole thing is a tourist attraction. From the smallest pebble to the Pasterze glacier.
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One of the symbols of the entire park of Hohe Tauern and Grossglocknerstrasse is the Alpine marmots - they are everywhere there. A couple of times balls of piercingly squeaking thick furry butts tried to roll down from the mountains under our wheels, but we never had a chance to look at them. Only once was it possible to observe them, and even then from a great height. Wow, do you see a mink and a plump ball of fur next to each other on the rocky soil? Tourists feed marmots, so the animals are not at all afraid of people.
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The route runs from the entrance to the road through intermediate passes and peaks to the glacier and the large Kaiser Franz Joseph tourist center next to it. The glacier is slowly melting, and the chances of seeing it are becoming less and less every year. It’s all the more disappointing that I don’t have a single travel photo left. The glacier was completely covered with clouds, and it was extremely cold there - after +34°C in Hallstatt, getting to +4°C on the glacier was quite invigorating.
From the glacier the road leads us down through several more tourist spots to the commune of Heiligenblut. It is impossible to drive along the road for a long time without stopping - the views are absolutely stunning. You can admire both the flora and the unique local fauna. In the next photo, on the shore of a reddish-rusty small lake, a herd of mountain goats is seen grazing. Wow, they can be seen on the stone as yellowish spots.
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A riot of greenery, flowers, the brightest sky, snow-white peaks in the distance - beauty!
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It is better to drive in a lower gear - especially downhill. The slope is constant and quite noticeable. The brakes have a hard time.
By the way, somewhere I came across advice along the lines of “If you are not used to mountain serpentines, do not irritate local drivers with slow, stupid driving, take a paid excursion by bus or by car with a guide.” I completely disagree! Firstly, personally, on such a road, neither slow nor fast ones cause me the slightest irritation. There's no time for that. And the surrounding greatness of nature sweeps away all irritability, discontent and intolerance from the soul. Slowly riding, careful old men touch you, enthusiastic young people on motorcycles cause a smile and a little anxiety - “Don’t get killed!” And on any such road, drivers actually turn into a kind of brotherhood of initiates. "We did it! Isn't it beautiful?!" - can be read in every glance, accompanied by sincere smiles and affection. So don't listen to anyone. If you love it, go and enjoy it!
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But in this frame you can clearly see Grossglockner itself - the peak that gave its name to the whole road. On the right side there is a snow-capped peak - that’s it. There are several versions of the origin of the name. "Big Bell" Perhaps due to its shape, or perhaps due to frequent and noisy rockfalls.
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Here our journey along the most magnificent and completely unique alpine road ended.
the_na
16/12/2014 09:00
The opinions of tourists may not coincide with the opinions of the editors.
I dreamed of preparing today’s post for a very long time, since it will talk about the most beautiful place of our entire trip. I really like alpine mountain passes. Firstly, the roads are laid in very beautiful places, and secondly, the Europeans made sure that tourists here were as comfortable as possible. The Austrians are not at all behind Switzerland in this regard. Today I will tell you about one of the most picturesque mountain routes in Austria - the Grossglockner panoramic road. Welcome to Austria!
Immediately after Verona we headed to the Austrian town of Lienz, which is located very close to the Grossglockner road. To be honest, it turned out a little crumpled due to the long distance (300 km) and the late departure from Verona. We had to cover part of the route in the dark: we hardly saw Lienz and the Dolomites. We spent the night in a small country hotel on the outskirts of Lienz.
How nice it is to wake up early in the morning, leave the hotel and breathe in the cold mountain air. This is an indescribable feeling!
Europeans tend to get up very early, especially in rural areas.
The village where we spent the night is called Lavant. There is a parish church of St. Ulrich, located on the mountain:
We didn’t go up there, but here’s a photo of the interior of the church from Wiki, isn’t it cool?
Michael Kranewitter via Wikimedia Commons
Someone left several cases of beer cooling in the fountain opposite the hotel entrance:
Starting from Lienz, the road smoothly rises into the mountains and passes through the most beautiful places with an abundance of observation platforms.
The Grossglockner panoramic road itself starts from the town of Heiligenblut, 40 km from Lienz.
The road got its name in honor of the high mountain Austria - Grossglockner, whose height is 3798 m. Here it first appears in the field of view (snow-capped peak):
The Grossglockner road is not an ordinary road for utilitarian purposes, rather it is a tourist attraction. For faster travel, use the A10 expressway.
The panoramic road is a serpentine of 36 turns, about 48 km long. At the very beginning of the road it has a small branch that leads to the Pasterze Glacier and the Kaiser Franz Joseph Center. There is the maximum approach point to Grossglockner.
Image from websitewww.grossglockner.at
Well, here we are finally on the road itself. A little historical facts: It was put into operation in 1935. However, when in 1924 a group of Austrian experts presented a plan to build a road through the Hochtor Pass, it was met with skepticism. At that time, in Austria, Germany and Italy there were only 154 thousand private cars, 92 thousand motorcycles, and 2000 km of asphalt roads. Austria suffered catastrophic economic losses in the First World War, reduced its size sevenfold, lost its international markets, and suffered from crippling inflation.
Even a simple 3 meter wide gravel road project with passing lanes proved to be too expensive. The impetus for the construction of the road, which would open the barren Alpine valley to motorized tourism, came from a downturn in the New York stock market in 1929. This disaster greatly shook poor Austria. Within three years, production fell by a quarter. Then the government revived the Grossglockner project in order to give jobs to 3,200 (out of 520 thousand!) unemployed. In the new project, the road was widened to 6 meters, counting on 120 thousand visitors per year. The state decided to cover construction costs by introducing tolls for road use.
On August 30, 1930, at 9:30 am, the first rock explosion was carried out. Four years later, the head of the Salzburg government drove along the new road for the first time. A year later, the Grossglockner high mountain road was put into operation. And the very next day the international automobile and motorcycle races Grossglockner Races were held on it.
Construction costs turned out to be less than planned, and attendance in the first years significantly exceeded the most optimistic estimates. Subsequently, a phased modernization of the road was carried out. Its width and the number of parking lots, located in the most picturesque places, increased.
From the first day of operation, travel on the road was paid. Now the fare averages 20-50 euros, depending on the validity of the ticket and the type of transport. A standard 1-day passenger car ticket costs 32 euros.
The road is open to tourists from May to October. In winter, the passage is closed because the snowfall often exceeds 10 meters.
Here is a short video taken on the way to the Kaiser Franz Joseph Center. By the way, it was filmed just a few days before we visited there:
Around the next turn there is a magnificent view of the glacier and the Grossglockner peak. The Pasterze Glacier is the largest in Austria, its length is about 9 km.
The melting of the glacier began as early as 1856 due to high summer temperatures and low winter precipitation.
Despite record summer temperatures in Europe, scientists from the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences attribute the melting of glaciers to long-term climate changes.
Find two tourists in this photo:
A branch of the road eventually leads to the Kaiser Franz Joseph Center. In addition to the standard tourist infrastructure (restaurants, tourist centre), here you can find several exhibitions, for example, the Grossglockner Glacier and Peak Museum. There is even a car history museum, although I couldn't find information about it on the Internet. Apparently this is a temporary exhibition. In general, the Grossglockner road attracts owners of vintage cars from all over Europe, but more on that later.
This place is visited by a huge number of tourists, so there are several spacious parking lots, including one multi-level one.
The overwhelming number of tourists are pensioners. They sit on the veranda of the restaurant, bask in the sun and have lunch. Happy old age!
Grossglockner was first conquered in 1800. The first attempt to climb was made a year earlier, but failed due to bad weather. A day after the first ascent, a wooden cross was placed on the summit. In 1879 it was renovated and dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the marriage of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, who visited Grossglockner in 1865.
The name Glocknerer first appeared on maps in 1561. Grossglockner first described in his book Balthasar Ake: naturalist, geologist, geographer, doctor, scientist, who is considered a pioneer of mountaineering. Interestingly, until 1918 the mountain was privately owned. Currently, Grossglockner belongs to the Austrian Alpine Community.
When you zoom in as far as possible, you can see the previous photo as in this moment a large group of climbers conquers the peak. I noticed this quite by accident when I was preparing a post. Now there are about 5,000 ascents of Grossglockner annually.
To be continued in the next post.
Materials used in preparing this post.
Cow traffic jams. Mountain roads Gerlos and Großglockner. Krimml waterfalls. Highest Mountain peak Austria and the Pasterze Glacier.
Around Austria by car. Innsbruck - Krimml - Flattach. Grossglockner high mountain road. Krimml waterfalls.
This is the case when watching is better than reading. On the sixth day of the trip we begin a full immersion in the Alps. Today is devoid of urban tourism, but full of beautiful mountain landscapes, waterfalls and amazing alpine roads. The main star of today is the famous Grossglockner high mountain road. Yes, and the waterfalls near the town of Krimml turned out to be quite good. Follow our journey and subscribe to our YouTube channel, as well as to the email newsletter of our blog (column on the right or at the bottom of the page).
Route map and accommodation.
The entire route of this day passes along mountain roads. Moving along them is leisurely, but fascinating, all you have to do is turn your head. The total length of the route Innsbruck-Krieml-Grossglockner-Flattach is about 280 kilometers, including branches to the Edelweisspitze and to the Pasterze glacier.
Accommodation: Apartments Appartementhaus Mentil, Igls, suburb of Innsbruck. Booking via Booking.com. One night - 84 € (the most expensive accommodation on the trip). Breakfast is not provided. Free parking. Attention! On the booking the price is indicated less (45€) than it actually is, since there is an additional note in small print about the cleaning fee.
Almabtrib holiday and traffic problems associated with it.
So I came to leave hospitable Innsbruck and our luxurious Waldhaus Igls apartments. We leave them in their original form and order.
We pass through the outskirts of Innsbruck, drive a little along the autobahn, then turn towards Zell am Ziller, then a little more and find ourselves on the road leading towards the town of Gerlos and the toll mountain road of the same name.
At the entrance to Gerlos we begin to come across processions of dressed up cows and shepherds.
Each procession completely occupies one of the lanes of the road, forcing cars to stop and wait for it to pass. The first couple of times it looks interesting and funny, we are even glad that we got to some traditional event and have the opportunity to enjoy the national Austrian flavor. The shepherds are cheerful and wave at you in greeting.
But at some point it begins to tire, because time is running out. But the worst thing happened in the city of Gerlos itself. Here we got stuck in a traffic jam for almost an hour.
Moreover, interestingly, for a long time there were no cows, then two not very large processions passed, but we continued to stand dead.
But it turned out that at this time it passes traditional holiday Almabtrieb. This is the name of the event dedicated to the return of cows from high alpine pastures home, held in late September or early October. If the grazing season has been successful, the cows are dressed up and proudly march down. The shepherds are also all dressed up, many are drinking beer and are already a little tipsy.
Another danger is the uncontrolled movements of cows. Our car, for example, was hit by one of the cows with a bell on its neck. And these bells - wow, they are not small at all. Thank God, there were no serious consequences.
Around 12-30 we finally set off and it turned out that the traffic jam in Gerlos was caused not only and not so much by cows, but by people (tourists) who had already begun to celebrate the holiday with might and main. And beer and schnapps. The people were having fun and walking, wandering along the road as if they were at home. Therefore, the traffic was alternately one-way and at low speed.
Having escaped into operational space, we began to enjoy the alpine landscapes. The weather was magnificent, as was the case for the next few days of our stay in Austria. So lucky, so lucky. Soon a very beautiful lake appeared on our way.
We assumed that it was also called Gerlos.
However, during the preparation of this report it turned out that its name is Speicher Durlassboden. In general, this beauty quickly began to banish the negativity from wasting a lot of time in a traffic jam.
Soon we passed the toll point for the Gerlos mountain road (9€) and headed to our first point today - the cascade of Krimml waterfalls. The road is beautiful, but not very exciting. As you approach the waterfall, you can stop at the observation deck just opposite the last one. From here there are good views of the valley.
And, in fact, to the waterfalls themselves.
A little closer.
Another observation point is already at the entrance to the Krimml.
We finally reach the city, there are several parking lots, we stopped at P3, which seems to be the closest to the park entrance. We were lucky, there was one place. True, for a long time we could not figure out how to pay, until Anya went to the cafe opposite and gave 5 € in cash. I don’t even remember if they gave us any kind of check.
From the parking lot you need to go under road bridge and walk along the path for 10-15 minutes, pay the entrance (3€ per person) and now we find ourselves at the site of the lower waterfall.
It’s already very beautiful here, the water falls on the stones with all its might, raising a column of spray.
The climb is quite steep, but there are constant opportunities to catch your breath as views of the waterfall appear all along the way.
Here we are already approaching the middle of the road. It must be said that this cascade of waterfalls is one of the highest in Europe, the total height is about 385 meters.
Double cascade.
The journey to the very top cascade, judging by the sign, takes an hour and fifteen minutes. The halfway point is 40 minutes.
The views are of course stunning and the waterfall is very impressive.
Now we have reached the middle point. There is a restaurant and a huge stone here, and you can also access the Krimml-Ache River, which creates the waterfalls. The river here is calm. Peaceful landscape.
It turned out that my trekking boots were dirty from a previous trip (I don’t remember where), so I decided to take the opportunity and washed them right in the river.
We were very happy and took selfies.
We decided not to climb to the very top, since the time was already approaching 15 o’clock, and we wanted to get to the Großglockner track in bright daylight. On the descent we turned into one of the branches that we passed during the ascent.
Eh, what a blunder!
An attempt to photograph a rainbow, which is formed by the reflection of the sun in splashes of water.
At 15-36 we leave the Krimml and, slowly meandering along mountain valleys, at 16-48 we reach the Grossglockner road toll point. The cost for a passenger car for the whole day is 35 €. With this ticket you can leave the road and return any number of times, but only within this day. By the way, the last entry in the autumn period is possible at 18-45. The road itself closes at 19-30.
Well, what can I say about the road? We will not go into the history of construction and others technical facts. Let's just enjoy this truly amazing and stunningly beautiful high mountain trail. We managed to fly a drone here for a bit and got such wonderful views.
In this photo below you can see the Haus Alpine Naturschau museum, altitude 2260 meters.
This is the northern section of the road, viewed from the south.
The turret is the Fuscher Torl lookout point. Fuscher Lake is visible to the left.
Here you can see the restaurant complex in front of a separate branch of the Edelweisspitze road.
First, we unknowingly drove past the branch to the Edelweisspitze and ended up on the Fuscher Torl, altitude 2428 meters. Look how beautifully and neatly everything is arranged.
The evening sun creates magical lighting.
Anya saw edelweiss, which, unfortunately, had already dried up. But I'm not 100% sure if it's him. Write if anyone knows.
There are stunning mountain panoramas everywhere you look.
At these altitudes, things are actively moving towards winter, the grass is already quite withered, but it’s still beautiful.
Edelweisspitze
The highest point of the Grossglockner route, accessible to cars and motorcycles, is the Edelweisspitze peak, height 2571 meters. Here you need to climb along a narrow serpentine paved with paving stones. The road is breathtaking in places.
Here we are at the top.
The parking lot is small and even at this time of year and day there are quite a lot of cars here. I can’t imagine what happens during high season.
A souvenir shop with an observation deck on the roof.
As at all viewpoints along the road, you can have a snack here.
Northern slope of the Grossglockner road. Almost in the center you can see a branch, from here we launched our quadcopter for the first time.
Here we see Fuscher Torl and how the road goes around the hill.
Fuscher Lake. As it is written in the travel booklet, here you can walk around the lake. But, to be honest, this puddle did not impress us at all.
One of the sharp serpentine turns on the Edelweissspitze.
Hochtor Pass
And most high point The main road is the Hochtor pass, height 2504 meters. The views here are also good, but not as impressive.
The main adventure at the pass where we stopped was meeting cute sheep.
Anya did not miss the opportunity to feed them.
They ate the bread with great pleasure. In this photo, although it’s bad, the Hochtor sign is visible in the background - the only photographic evidence of our stay here :)
Another beauty. The sheep were really cute. When it was time for us to continue our journey, they did not want to let us go for a long time and chased us all the way to the car. The parting was sad...
Glacier Pasterze
It was getting dark and twilight was rapidly falling. Of course, we regretted not coming here earlier. We really missed that very hour lost in Gerlos. With some risk, we still went to the tourist center Kaiser-Franz-Josefs (2369 meters) - the last point of our stay on Großglockner. We arrived here at 18:45, there were almost no people there.
It is from here that you can see the highest peak in Austria - Mount Großglockner, which gives the name to the road. The height of the mountain is 3798 meters. In the photo below, it is the highest peak on the left. And from here you can observe the longest glacier in the Austrian Alps - Pasterze.
The length of the glacier now reaches 9 kilometers. Over the past 100 years, the glacier has melted very much, only its small tail is visible from the tourist center, but once it filled the entire gorge.
In the daytime, it is suggested to go down directly to the glacier (its remains); now we could only admire the views.
This ended our stay on the Großglockner road. Exactly at 19-00 we left the glacier and already at 19-13 we left the Großglockner highway. At 20-00 we reached the town of Flattach, where another cozy apartment was waiting for us. We booked them for 45€, but it turned out that there was a cleaning fee in the fine print, so we ended up having to fork out 84€! As a result, this accommodation turned out to be the most expensive for us. This is the only negative (albeit a serious one). Otherwise, the apartments were very good; unfortunately, we didn’t take any photos of them, but they are on video. We also really liked the hostess, originally from Sweden, she was very positive and showed sincere interest and attention to us.
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Today is a photo report about one of the most beautiful mountain roads in Europe. To be honest, I have only seen more picturesque serpentines in China in the town of Zhangjiajie - that’s already enough famous to travelers serpentine with 99 turns.
And in Europe, the most beautiful and highest mountain road is located in Austria, the Austrian Alps.
This is what the serpentine looks like:
This toll road, something like national park. You can enter by car, motorcycle, electric car, and pay an entry fee.
Back in 2012, entry by car cost 32 euros; today the price has risen slightly to 35 euros per day. If you want to buy a ticket for a month, the cost is 54 euros (by car).
Yes, my photos were taken in 2012, and for 4 years I didn’t know how to put a thousand beautiful photos into one post. It was so difficult to choose 40 pieces.
Today, this panoramic road has a separate website where you can get acquainted with possible walking routes, choose hotels and restaurants (there are several on the territory).
And 4 years ago I was just planning a route from Vienna to Munich and found an intricate serpentine road on the map - I really wanted to go there. Well, let's actually go. Just like that, seeing a point on a Google map. (follow the link for the location on the map itself). There was not a word about this road on the Russian-language Internet.
Beautiful Austrian landscapes along the way:
We turn left in the Zell-am-See area (coming from the direction of Vienna), approach the entrance where the toll is paid:
And immediately the beauty begins. We admire the sky, the clouds that are unable to hold the rays of the August sun.
The cows, which we immediately nicknamed Milka, are also here, enjoying nature.
Looking around, you see a lot of noisy mountain waterfalls. Although it was the end of August, they had not yet dried up. We believe that there will be more snow ahead. August mountain snow:
Great, really:
Serpentines and a shelter with a hotel in the middle:
High mountain panoramic road Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße It runs through the Hohe Tower National Park and is named after the highest mountain in Austria, Grossglockner, whose height is 3798 m.
Length Großglockner High Alpine Road about 48 km. This is a serpentine road with 36 turns. The road begins at an altitude of 805 meters and ends at 1301 meters. The maximum height is the Hochtor pass - 2504 m above sea level. The maximum slope of the road is 10.2%.
Since 12 January 2016, the Großglockner high mountain road has been a candidate for inclusion in the list world heritage UNESCO.
To be honest, when I came to this road, I was sure that it was modern. It just opened, in the year 2010. But while typing these paragraphs, I decided to look for history. I’m surprised, the road was built back in the 1930s and was considered a national treasure of Austria.
In 1924, a group of Austrian experts presented a plan to build a road to Hochtor (high pass), but everyone was skeptical about the proposal. At that time, in Austria, Germany and Italy there were only 154 thousand private cars, 92 thousand motorcycles, and 2000 km of asphalt roads. Austria suffered from the disastrous economic results of its losses in the First World War, reduced its size sevenfold, lost its international markets, and suffered from crippling inflation. Even a simple 3 meter wide gravel road project with passing lanes proved to be too expensive.
The impetus for the construction of the road, which would open the barren Alpine valley to motorized tourism, came from a downturn in the New York stock market in 1929. Then the government revived the Grossglockner project in order to give jobs to 3,200 (out of 520 thousand) unemployed. In the new project, the road was widened to 6 m, counting on 120 thousand visitors per year. The state decided to cover construction costs by introducing a toll for road use.
On August 3, 1935, the Großglockner high mountain road was opened and put into operation. And a day later it hosted the international automobile and motorcycle races Grossglockner Races.
Instead of the projected 120 thousand visitors in 1930, the road attracted 375 thousand visitors and 98 thousand cars. After World War II, the number of visitors increased and by 1952 reached 412 thousand visitors and 91 thousand cars. In 1962, 360 thousand cars and 1.3 million visitors crossed the pass. In general, this road is the real historical pride of Austria.
The opening of the Felbertauern motorway in 1967 and the Tauern motorway in 1975 not only reduced traffic by almost 15%, but also forever changed the character of the high mountain road: from a utilitarian transalpine route to an excursion panoramic road with beautiful natural views.
Today the road is open for travel from May to October. Exact dates road openings and closures depend on weather conditions. Before visiting, you should look at the road’s website for more accurate information. It is also closed at night. In summer it is open until approximately 21:30. It is very scary to walk in the mountains in the dark surrounded by wild animals.
The annual traffic of the road is approximately 900 thousand people. It is said to be one of the most visited places in Austria today.
There are several stopping points along the way, all with parking spaces and tables for picnics or views. There are also restaurants or cafes with souvenir shops in the main points. There are definitely stands with views of the mountains, signed with names and heights. There is also visual information about local vegetation and local wildlife. There are places from which you can see the most significant points.
At this pass we found snow and had a lot of snowball fights:
Serpentines with farmsteads:
This is what the highest Hochtor pass looks like, 2504 meters high:
It was getting dark, it’s good that it’s not raining: 
Fensterbach waterfall, begins at an altitude of 2058 meters: 
The same waterfall passes under the road and rushes down: 
This is Lake Margaritzenstau, and above that is Lake Sandersee. They are connected to each other by a small stream. But the height difference in this picture alone is at least 250 meters.
This stop is Alpencenter Glocknerhaus. There is a parking lot and a hotel with a restaurant. And several walking routes into the mountains.
You pass this place when you go to the Pasternze glacier. And to do this you need to turn right, before reaching the town of Heiligenblut. That is, if you are driving from the northern entrance to the panoramic road and have reached the town of Heiligenblut, then you need to return to the roundabout that you passed a couple of kilometers ago.
If you don’t turn off, you’ll end up in Italy right at Dolomites, or to Slovenia.
Waterfalls, more waterfalls:
Signs for walking routes. The red dot is a high level of difficulty, the target is easy. The time indicated is how long to stomp to the point: 
Thus we approach the Kaiser Franz Joseph Center. It is located at an altitude of 2369 meters and offers views of the Grossglockner mountain (the highest in Austria) and the longest glacier in the eastern Alps - Pasterze.
The center is a 4-story building in which visitors are shown everything that is most interesting about the most high mountain in Austria - Großglockner. Located near the center a large number of parking spaces, as well as a multi-storey garage. But apparently we arrived too late, the parking lot was empty, just a couple of cars. And not a soul.
Here is the glacier itself. Its length is about 9 km, located at an altitude of 3463 to 2100 m above sea level.
The melting of the Pasterze Glacier began in 1856 due to a combination of high summer temperatures and low winter precipitation. According to the pictures, since 1852 the glacier has already decreased by 200 meters!!! 
You can walk along the glacier by going down. Part of the descent can be done by cable car from a 143-meter height (85% slope), or by walking down the steps. But the ice is already breaking. Photos of fractures:
We looked at the mountain along the glacier, saw a path and decided to take a walk along it: 
This is what the road looks like: you walk along a huge rock, passing through wet, cold tunnels. There seemed to be 6 of them in total from 250 to 800 meters: 
Along the way we came across posters with the names of mountains, descriptions of vegetation and animals. In the photo below right is a gopher. Do you see? It disguises itself as a dry landscape: 
There is a shelter right next to the glacier. I think this is for winter walks: 
Suddenly mountain goats came out to cross our path. Photo without enlargement. They actually walked like this, side by side. You could easily grab one by the horns. This is how, walking through the mountains, you find yourself in a real safari park. This meeting makes me feel a little uneasy and I want to get back into the car before dark. Then we realized why the road was closed at night: 
We later had a similar meeting with ungulates in Israel. There is a very soulful town there, Mitzpe Ramon, where mountain goats live among people and walk in their yards.
And we are returning to the Alps. This is the highest peak in Austria - the shy Großglockner, hidden behind the fog: 
And this is our path. We returned along the same route. 
Where were we going? I don’t know, they just wanted to go around the glacier and see what was behind it. We reached the remains of gentle waterfalls and signs that you can go down there to Italy, and there to Germany. We decided to return. 
A little mountain sunset: 
Rest with a view of the most high peak Austria: 
It is at this moment that you understand the insignificance of human existence. And the insignificance of all our huge and serious problems. Once you get to the mountains, you don’t care about anything at all. This is the place to get a small dose of not giving a fuck. Helps a lot in setting life priorities)))
Additionally about the Alps and beautiful pictures:
1. Our trip to the Dolomites:
Großglockner High Road and Pasterze Glacier
This was one of the days on the Austrian trip when, in the context of changeable weather, all group members especially felt the organizational skills of Mina Kofman, our wonderful guide. Having carefully studied the weather forecasts, she made several successful rearrangements in the trip plan and thanks to this and a considerable amount of luck, we enjoyed wonderful weather in all corners of Austria, although it is quite possible that in other places at the same time it was raining with might and main and/or the extraordinary views were hidden behind a veil of fog or clouds.
On the day of the trip to Glosklockner, the sun was shining with all its might in the morning. In the few hours that we were at the top, the cloudiness increased, but visibility for many kilometers remained one hundred percent. But during the descent, or rather at the final stage, the sky finally became cloudy and it began to rain. But we again “ran away” from the rain, moving at a decent speed towards the pretty Austrian town of Zell Am See. We even managed to walk around it for a couple of hours and then we were covered in such a downpour that no one thought it was enough.
But this is a completely different story, and by the way, since the excursion plan for this day was wonderfully executed and exceeded, this downpour only cheered us up and although we got a little wet, this is nonsense, because we were immediately welcomed into its cozy embrace by the bus, the driver turned on heating so we could dry off, and on the way to the hotel we looked movie about the incomparable and beloved by the Austrians Empress Sisi. The day turned out great, in a word)
Orientation for photo-timeline observers:
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1. So let's go back to the beginning of the day. The Pasterze Glacier was not the only attraction that we had to “taste” that day. The panoramic road Großglockner High Alpine Road, along which we had to get to the glacier, is one of the most famous mountain roads in the world.
This is not only a road from point A to point B, it is very attractive to tourists for its history and magnificent views, which can be observed by stopping at one of the many parking pockets of panoramic platforms. This road is visited, actually visited, and not just driven along, by about a million people a year.
And we can definitely say that this is one of the most visited places in Austria. And one more thing: this road is included in the list of 1000 most beautiful places peace! 
2. Like many other attractions, the Großglockner High Alpine Road is a toll road and has access restrictions. There are certain times of the day and seasons when you can use the road. From October to March and at night the road is closed. 
Read more in my journal:
3. We were lucky, we chose the “right” time of year to travel to Austria: August. The road we were interested in was open. Approximately in the middle of the climb, we began to come across snow islands. 
4. The driver stopped and we, joyful, went “to walk in the snow.” Let me remind you that this was in mid-August. The emotions from this activity, as you can see, are purely positive) 
Read more in my journal:
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5. In the 60-70s of the 20th century, modern highways were built somewhere nearby, which took over the flow of cargo and passengers, and the Großglockner High Alpine Road acquired its exceptional character as a landmark and excursion panoramic road. 
6. There are many panoramic platforms along the road. We settled on the largest one with the most amazing view. The half-green, half-snowy slopes are extremely picturesque all year round! How can you not take a photo against such a background?)) 
Read more in my journal:
7. Alpine meadows stretch nearby and you can see wonderful flora up close. 
8. Probably the most beautiful view on Großglockner High Alpine Road, combining the greatness of nature and the results of human activity without disfiguring the former. Unfortunately, due to the fact that from the bus window it is not particularly convenient to photograph what is happening on the road itself, I was not able to capture the following: this road is simply damn popular with all sorts of groups united by the brand of car or motorcycle, and of course with cyclists.
We came across groups of 5-15 Smart cars, then Lotus, then Mazda MX-5, then Jaguars, then Audi TT and of course motorcyclists on Harley Davidsons, motorcyclists on Hondas. , just motorcyclists and many, many cyclists. It was very unusual.
Even if they hadn’t told me that this was a special road, with the status of an important European landmark, I would have guessed that there was “something wrong” here. Immediately there was a feeling that this special place. A place like a “car Broadway”, where people gather for a reason, but to “show themselves and look at others,” and of course, enjoy the fabulously beautiful atmosphere of these places. 
Read more in my journal:
9. We approach the Fuscher Törl gate - the monument is dedicated to the workers who died during the construction of the road. 
10. Fuscher Törl Gate (2,428 m) 
Source: www.primokilometro.it
Read more in my journal:
11. Height 2369 meters. The Kaiser Franz Joseph Center is located here. The Center itself is not visible in the picture, because this picture was taken from one of its terraces. The center is a 4-story building located at an altitude of 2369 meters. In addition to a large souvenir shop, a restaurant and a large parking lot, there is also a multi-storey museum with an exhibition dedicated specifically to the highest Austrian mountain, Glossglockner, mountaineering, ecology and the Pastersee glacier.
This is the largest glacier in Austria. The length is about 9 km, located at an altitude of 3463 to 2100 m above sea level. There is also a short trail from the observation deck to the Pasterze Glacier. cable car, so nothing stands in the way of glacier adventures, which can be undertaken under the guidance of an experienced guide. 
12. Of course, there is a considerable amount observation platforms, from which you can see this ice giant. 
Read more in my journal:
13. Since we were there in August, the glacier was gradually melting, of course. 
14. If you have enough time, you can go down the path and get closer to the glacier. In some places it is covered with a thin layer of rocks. 
Read more in my journal:
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For a week, until the 2nd... I went to Komarovo Great Passages This must happen.. After intense trips in a variety of directions, I must admit, I did not expect anything particularly attractive from the planned “dacha exile” during my trip to “Ridna Nenko Ukraine”. But that was not the case. A pleasant surprise: I was simply fascinated by the leisurely dacha atmosphere, transparent silence, delicious clean air, and beautiful nature in the summer. I absolutely didn’t want to leave there; it’s good to look at these photographs now and at least mentally immerse myself in this dacha nirvana. |
15. And in some places the ice masses emit a blue-bluish light. Amazing! 
Source: www.geolocation.ws
16. Another local attraction and a very respected inhabitant and main mascot of this region is the Alpine marmot. 
Read more in my journal:
17. Their life has developed in the most favorable way: from above, from stairs and observation platforms, “manna from heaven” periodically falls on them in the form of various goodies. The gift shop even sells special food for marmots. But despite human generosity, marmots show caution and show neither gratitude nor affection to those who throw “manna from heaven” at them.
If a person approaches them, marmots begin to make loud whistles and other sounds in order to warn their relatives about uninvited guests. From March to October, like bears, marmots hibernate. Which, however, is quite justified: the road leading to these places is closed for the winter and there is no one to throw “manna from heaven” at this time of year)) 
Source: www.grossglockner.at
18. Where the melting glacial water has the opportunity to settle, you can see the same blue-blue color. 
Source: www.geolocation.ws
Read more in my journal:
19. It’s good that if there are traces of human presence there, they are very pretty. 
