Hallstatt (Waldbachstrub)

Elevation: 350m / Lenght: 6km / Time: 2h
Visit rate: 5/5 / Rating: 3/5

When you say Hallstat, everyone thinks of the Chinese copy of this city, haha, probably not, but look at it, it really exists. That's why there are so many Asian tourists in Hallstat. Seriously, everyone imagines a lakeside church in the middle of a picturesque Austrian town in a classic Alpine landscape. Every one of us who's been here has the same picture on our phone, right?

But there are plenty of interesting places around Hallstatt, I chose the Waldbachstrub waterfalls for example, which are definitely worth seeing. In bad weather absolutely ideal quite easy walk, if the waterfalls are not closed (explanation in the following text).

But the very biggest discovery was not the waterfalls, but the parking, which was located halfway to them and was, it seemed, completely free! So I didn't have to pay 10 euros for a few hours of parking in Hallstatt for nothing? Cool, good to know, late...

Almost before the waterfall the trail was suddenly closed and I couldn't continue on, probably because of fallen trees and rocks. But I was not going to accept such a disappointment, in the maps I discovered a second way to the falls, so it was more like a ferrata of difficulty A. But to get there meant climbing a few hundred vertical meters and walking a few extra kilometers.

After about an hour I arrived at the top of the cascade and the water was really incredibly strong, I had an unusually high respect for it, took a few photos and continued on. In the summer it will definitely not be like that.

The upper trail to the falls was not closed, but it was clearly written that the trail was not safe and only suitable for experienced hikers and I can confirm this, the "trail" was steep and very slippery in the rain, I don't recommend anyone inexperienced to go that way.

The waterfalls were fine, I've seen nicer ones and there probably won't be much water in the summer, but in the rain in early May it was great.

The best experience though was seeing a Spotted salamander, I've never seen one in the wild so it was a blast.

The QR code below will link you to my route to the Waldbachstrub waterfalls in the Maps.cz