Hohe Tauern National Park

The Nationalpark Hohe Tauern is the biggest national park in Austria and one of the biggest in Europe.

Understand


The national park spans the Austrian provinces of Salzburg, Tyrol, and Carinthia. The Hohe Tauern central Alpine mountain range runs through it - approximately from the Brenner Highway in the west to the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse (Grossglockner High Alpine Road) in the east. The most famous mountains in the park are Austria's highest peaks, Großglockner, and the majestic, glacier surrounded Großvenediger. The park supports a large variety of wildlife and has many scenic lakes and waterfalls.

History
Member of Salzburg Provincial Parliament August Prinzinger, and the Carinthian lumber trader Albert Wirth collaborated, and in 1913, convinced the association of national parks to form a protected region that would become the core of the park. However, the park as it is known today was formed in 1971, when the governors of Tyrol, Salzburg, and Carinthia signed the agreement that led to the establishment of the park with the proper supporting legal framework.

Landscape
Some of Austria's highest peaks, Großglockner (3,798 m above sea level) and Großvenediger (3,657 m), are in the core zone. The entire park is very mountainous with 266 mountain peaks and 250 glaciers. In the core zone, preserving ecosystems is the number one priority. The outer zone of the Hohe Tauern National Park is characterized by centuries of human activity and species-rich alpine and mountain meadows with characteristic alpine infrastructure (traditional construction methods of alpine buildings, wooden fences, stone walls, etc.).

Well-known sights of the national park are the Krimml Waterfalls, the Umbal Falls, the Innergschlöss Glacier Trail (Matrei in Osttirol) and the Franz-Josefs-Höhe on the Großglockner.

Flora and fauna
A third of all plant species indigenous to Austria grow here. Due to the different climatic conditions, the national park provides diverse habitats for a large number of living organisms. Edelweiss, the Wolf Lichen, White Cottongrass, and the Swiss Pine are common in the park.

The park has a breeding program for the Bearded Vulture - a bird which had once vanished from the Alps, but was reintroduced in the 1970's. The Golden Eagle, the Ibex, Chamois, and the Marmot are other creatures that thrive within the park.

Get in
From Germany you can reach the western part of the national park via the border crossing at Kiefersfelden on the A 12 (Inntal Autobahn), from the Wörgl junction via the B 312 to St. Johann, then via the B 161 over the Pass Thurn to Mittersill and on the B 108 into the national park area. Alternatively, you can travel from Salzburg via the A 10 (Tauern Autobahn) to the Bischofshofen junction and the B 311. Some destinations, such as Bad Gastein, are reachable via train (by Tauernbahn / Tauern Railway).

Fees and permits
There are no entrance fees to the park. There are a number of camp sites present throughout the region, which charge fees for camping.

Stay safe
Never forget that you are high on the mountains, and are subject to rapidly changing weather that can go quickly from being good to very bad. Make sure that you have adequate clothing, including rainy weather gear, and good shoes. Mountain rescuers have found that overconfidence is the most common cause of accidents. Sunscreen and plenty of water are important to have on hand.

Go next

 * Bad Gastein
 * Fusch
 * Gröbming
 * Heiligenblut
 * Krimml
 * Matrei
 * Kals
 * Mittersill