Driving the scenic Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria

One of the highlights of our trip to Austria was driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road takes its name from Austria's highest mountain - the Großglockner and leads you right into the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park. The road is stunning - nestled up against the hills and with zig-zag roads that take you to an altitude of  2,504 metres, it is one of Austria's top 3 visited destinations.

With a total of 48 kms. and 36 turns leading deep into the centre of Austria's largest national park, a drive on this road is not to be missed if you are visiting Austria. We had set aside the penultimate day of our trip to Austria for this drive - yes, we saved the best for the last - and what a fabulous experience it was. The perfect end to our amazing Austrian holiday.

We drove down from Flachau and reached the park entrance where you pay the admittance fee. The day ticket for cars (when we visited in late October) was EUR 25.00. With a day ticket entrance and exit on the same day is free and you can do as many rides as you want through the scenic route.

The beauty of the Grossglockner roads started right after the ticket booth. The road began to wind up the mountain with stunning scenery at every bend. We knew it was a scenic road but even then we were astounded by the spectacular scenery. It has to be seen to be believed. Like I mentioned earlier, there are 36 hairpin bends along the route to the top and a number of stopping areas along the way. The information booklet that was given along with the entrance ticket proved to be very handy and helped us make the most of our day.

Along the way you will come across a number of exhibitions - 'Salzburg's Tallest' at Piffkar, an exhibition on Alpine ecology at the Alpine Nature Museum or the 'Pass Sanctuary' exhibition at the High Gate. There are themed playgrounds for children at certain stops and a number of restaurants as well.

The road is so scenic that you may find yourself stopping at every single point to take in the incredible views. Some of our favourite points were the 'Edwelweiss-Spitze' (highest vantage point that offers a stunning panoramic view of more than 30 mountains) and the Fuscher Torl (has an observation platform and a memorial). All stopover points had information (historical or environmental) on the immediate local area.

One of the main stops on the route is the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Hohe stop. It has a visitor centre, a large car park, an observation tower, restaurants and a number of exhibitions. This stop offers beautiful views of the snow-covered Grossglockner, the 9 km glacial lobe Pasterze and the Johannisberg. The mountain was breathtaking and photographs really do it no justice. If you are visiting Austria, you must go the Grossglockner.

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is one of the best places to visit in Austria. If you are a nature lover, love hiking or driving then the Grossglockner is for you.

Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse
Rainerstraße 2
5020 Salzburg
Telephone: +43 (0)662 / 873673-0

Opening Hours
Early May to May 31 - 6:00 to 20:00
June 1 to August 31 - 5:00 to 21:30
1st September until 26th October - 6 am to 7.30 pm
Last entrance 45 minutes before the night lock.

Day ticket
For private cars: EUR 35.50
For motorcycles: EUR 25.50
Day ticket for electric vehicles
For private cars: EUR 25.50
For motorcycles: EUR 19.00

For more information, visit www.grossglockner.at