Krimml waterfalls hike

Last Updated on 01/08/2023

The Krimml waterfalls cascade is the most impressive Austrian (and among other European countries there are not many competitors either) waterfalls by the combination of power and height. There are higher waterfalls, but the height is not as important as the picturesqueness.

In this topic, photos of three trips – two summer and one winter.

What to do in Zell am See in summer
Inn valley attractions on the map – from Innsbruck to Kufstein
High alpine road Grossglockner Strasse
Liechtenstein gorge Austria
Werfen Ice cave
Hohenwerfen Fortress
Tennengau, Pongau, Dachstein attractions map
Salzkammergut best places to visit map
Salzburg old town
Salzburg Hellbrunn palace, museums

Krimml is a small village almost on the border with Tyrol within the Hohe Tauern National Park. Of course, the best way to get there is by car. By public transport it is not a short journey, but we did not regret the time spent.

How to get to Krimml Waterfalls

From Salzburg to Zell am See
Salzburg – Zell am See: by train (1.30 hours) or by bus 260 from Mirabel (30 min longer but cheaper).

From Zell am See to Krimml
1. By bus 670 (1.30 hours)
2. By train (1.20 hours) to Krimml station, then bus 671

Don’t forget that the last return bus/train leaves around 18:00! A Krimml waterfalls hike back and forth along the panoramic path laid near the waterfall at an average speed will takea about 4 hours.

From Innsbruck
Those traveling by car from Innsbruck will be able to see the waterfall from the observation decks arranged on the Gerlospass mountain road (the pass is paid – 10 euros, for details see www.gerlosstrasse.at). Bus 673 runs on this road in summer from Wald im Pinzgau to Krimml and then to Almdorf Königsleiten.

Parking lots
As you approach to Krimml waterfalls, there are several parking lots, the latest, of course, the most expensive. Parking lots number 3 and 4 had a fixed price of 5 euros.
There is a sign that there is free parking in the city, but it is not clear how far to go from it. From parking 4, walk about 10 minutes along a special path or even faster next to the road. There is a toilet on that very trail, which you need to seriously think about visiting, since the Krimml waterfalls hike takes several hours, and there are only two paid toilets: in a restaurant at the beginning of the trail and in a restaurant after the second step of the waterfall.

Krimml waterfalls hike

At the last parking lot, the “World of Water” was built – something entertaining, educational and informational. In this something you can buy a joint ticket with waterfalls. And many crowd there – I suspect not everyone realizes that there is also a single ticket at the waterfalls trail entrance and it is much cheaper (3 euros).

View of the village from the falls.

And this is the view from the pedestrian road to the waterfalls from the parking lots.

First viewing platform

First view platform: the foot of the waterfall. It’s quite wet there, a narrow, unfenced road and a rushing stream nearby (keep the kids).

We start to rise.

Below left you can see the first platform (we can estimate the size by the little men on it).

Second viewing platform

Third platform

We continue to rise. The most intelligent visitors take towels with them so that they can safely go under the mist.

Let’s go to the second step. It would be better from the other side of the river: there is also a road there, but without equipped platforms. Size can be judged by people (small heads).

You can get closer to the second step, but the view will be only from the side.

Let’s look around a bit. The trail is laid along a steep slope, overgrown with fir trees. The trees are mighty, they hold on to the stones as best they can. Apparently, they had a strong wind recently, as many trees were felled.

This tree fell off along with the soil.

Finally, we crawl to the restaurant. Since this is the only point where you can recover, it is completely packed.

The next and last stage of the cascade is a little further. The path is steeper there, there are few observation platforms, one dangerous bridge is not fenced at all – apparently, a temporary structure. At the restaurant it is proposed to go further by minibus (from 4 people – 7 euros per person). Judging by the fact that I saw him going somewhere all the time, there are a lot of sufferers who want to transfer to transport.

Third step.

Trying to estimate the size of the fir trees.

We came to the top.

By the way, the house that is below by the river is not the lowest level, but the restaurant that is located at the top of the second step.

There is a gorge further, no special sights were found on the map, so we did not go there.

Surrounding mountains

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Krimml waterfalls in winter

In winter, the waterfall is not so full of water. The path along it freezes over and it is very difficult and unsafe to go to the top without alpenstocks.

The waterfall and the valley itself from the Gerlos pass in winter.

Attractions of the region – #Salzburgerland
#Tyrol