Day 4 – Taking the Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Today is one of the highlights of this excellent tour as we are
driven to the Hohe Tauern National Park for an incredible ride over
the highest surfaced mountain pass in Austria. The Grossglockner
High Alpine Road is named after nearby Grossglockner, Austria's
highest mountain at nearly 12,500 feet.
The route climbs up twisting turns through gorgeous alpine
scenery, with waterfalls rushing down the steep slopes across the
valley lined with incredible peaks. Our first stop is the
beautifully named Edelweissspitze, an 8400ft peak accessible by
road that offers jaw-dropping panoramic views of an amazing rugged
landscape of snow-capped mountains. Returning to the road, we enjoy
the stunning scenery of this immense wilderness dotted with
jet-black lakes before reaching the summit of the Hochtor Pass and
entering the region of Carinthia.
As the route gently winds its way down the mountains, we take a
short diversion to Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe. Named after the
Habsburg emperor who stopped here in 1856, this amazing viewpoint
commands mind-blowing views of the Grossglockner and the snaking
Pasterze Glacier, the largest in the eastern Alps. There is free
time here to enjoy our picnic lunch while soaking up the
extraordinary scenery and keeping an eye out for the ibex and
marmots that reside in this remarkable countryside.
Our next destination is the delightful village of Heiligenblut,
a charming huddle of idyllic chalets nestled in a verdant valley
beneath imposing peaks blanketed with forests. We have the chance
to explore at our own leisure, perhaps wandering over to the Gothic
St Vinzenz pilgrimage church, or learning more about Heiligenblut's
history as the site of the only gold-digging settlement in the
Alps.
We return to St Johann in the early evening, ready for our
dinner and drinks this evening.
Includes