Hohe Tauern National Park Park

Address: Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria (spans Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia)

Website: https://www.hohe-tauern.at/en/

Admission: Free to enter park areas; some visitor centres/exhibits may charge fees

Hohe Tauern National Park is Austria’s largest national park, located in the central Eastern Alps and protecting high mountain terrain, glaciers and alpine ecosystems. The park was officially established in 1981 and covers a broad altitudinal range with numerous high peaks and glaciated valleys.

Key landscape features include major Alpine summits such as Großglockner (3,798 m) and extensive glacier systems, along with valleys, alpine meadows and gorges. The park also contains notable waterfall systems, mountain roads and established hiking routes for summer and autumn use.

Created to conserve the unique alpine biodiversity and to manage sustainable tourism, the park supports mountaineering, long-distance hiking and nature interpretation. Conservation zones within the park limit certain activities to protect habitats and species.

The Hohe Tauern stretches across parts of the Austrian federal states of Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia in the central Eastern Alps, encompassing many of Austria’s highest mountain areas.

• Establishment: Established in 1981, the park protects high Alpine landscapes, glaciers and a wide altitudinal range of habitats across several Austrian federal states.
• Scope: The park spans parts of Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia and contains Austria’s highest mountains and extensive glaciated areas, including well-known mountaineering routes.

What to See#

• Großglockner: Großglockner, Austria’s highest peak at 3,798 metres, lies within the park and forms a prominent mountaineering objective for experienced climbers.
• Krimml Waterfalls: Krimml Waterfalls, with a total vertical drop of about 380 metres, are a major scenic attraction on the park’s northern edge and are accessible via marked walking routes.

Hohe Tauern National Park spans parts of Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia and is reached by road from a number of gateway towns such as Zell am See, Mittersill and Lienz. Major approaches use the A10 (Tauern Autobahn) with regional B-roads (for example B107/B108) to park entrances; the Grossglockner High Alpine Road (Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse) gives scenic access to central sections. Travel times depend on your starting point - for example Salzburg city to common park entrances is typically on the order of 1-1.5 hours by car.

• The Grossglockner High Alpine Road and the park's main visitor centres (for example the Hohe Tauern National Park Centre) are the best starting points-plan your route around one centre to get up-to-date trail and wildlife information.
• The park's alpine passes and high roads are usually open only in summer (roughly late May/June to September) due to snow-check seasonal road openings and start early in the day to avoid coach and leisure-traffic peaks.
• Many visitors focus on the big peaks and overlook the park's valley visitor centres and short guided nature walks; pop into a local centre for maps, ranger talks and recommended short trails that reveal local flora and fauna.