Hiking holiday @Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria
The majority of my blog posts deals with long distance journeys and places far away from my home country, Austria. However, domestic tourism has been booming in the last couple of years and I followed that trend myself in summer 2016. I spent 1 week mainly hiking in and around Ramsau am Dachstein. It is a famous tourism spot in summer and winter as well, surrounded by picturesque mountains and starting point for hiking the 3.000 meters high Dachstein.In this post I put together 3 different hiking routes being accessible from Ramsau am Dachstein and suitable for all levels of hiking experiences.
1. SILBERKARKLAMM
The “Silberkarklamm” is an easy hiking path within a romantic scenery. The path mainly consists of stairs leading the way up surrounded by waterfalls, the mountain creek and climbing routes (fixed rope routes, which are especially popular among climbing beginners). Resulting the “Silberkarklamm” is a famous tourist attraction particularly for families. Access point is at the parking lot “Silberkarklamm” and the “Silberkarhütte” at 1.250 m provides tasty, regional and organic drinks and food.
2. URSPRUNGALM – GIGLACHER SEEN – STEIRISCHE KALKSPITZE – OBERSEE
More demanding than the “Silberkarklamm” is a round hike around the “Steirische Kalkspitze”. Starting point is the “Ursprungalm”, which was -by the way- movie set for shooting the famous story of “Heidi”. From there most hikers head for the “Giglachseen”, which takes about 45 minutes. The beautiful mountain lakes and the Giglachhütte invite for a short break.
Next stop from there is the “Akarscharte”, which further leads to either the “Lungauer Kalkspitze” or –what we went for- the “Steirische Kalkspitze” at an height of 2.459 metres.
Instead of following the same path back to the parking lot at the “Ursprungalm” I recommend to further extend the route to the “Obersee”. Right next to this pretty mountain lake you will find the “Oberhütte”, where you can strengthen yourself with a delicious meal and sunbeams on the terrace.
This is just what you need as a steep 200m rise is awaiting you before you reach the path leading all the way back down to the “Ursprungalm”.
3. AHORNSEE
The “Ahornsee” is a stunning mountain lake, which still seems to be a secret spot and walkthrough for hikers heading towards the 200m higher up “Grafenbergsee”. Starting point is the parking lot in “Weißenbach bei Haus”. The first 40 minutes are walked along a broad path, followed by a steep and demanding way-up within a lonely and quite wood. Almost 3 hours are totally worth the view and feelings that you get at this beautiful place.
Make sure to bring your own snacks and sufficient time to relax at this calming spot or –if you are brave enough- to take a swim in the lake.
All in all, this holiday was a welcome change to all my former travel destinations and routines. By being active that much, time is spent in such a worthwhile way – making the holidays even more value- and rememberable. I cannot wait til next time.