Exploring the Salzkammergut / Austria, August 2015
Let me share a few pictures of the Salzkammergut (which means “Region administered the chamber of salt”). It is located in the heart of Austria and is a major center for tourism, outdoor sport and recreation.
To access the pictures click here https://plus.google.com/photos/103945442053805877863/albums/6188401758505415537 or scroll through below pictures.
A few words of explanation:
Hallstatt is an old settlement where salt is mined since over 7,000 years. As there was only little space for a grave yard the tradition was to unbury the bones of the deceased after 15 years, to decorate them and to store them in a charnel house (bone-house). The latest scull was added in 1995. Another attraction are the ice caves where you can walk some 60 min through a cave filled with ice. Hallstatt is particularly popular with Chinese tourists and there even exists a replica of Hallstatt in China.
The Salzkammergut also is a major destination for mountain hiking - here some pictures showing the Schladminger Tauern.
The Salzkammergut has many superb paragliding sites. My favorite place and “home base” is Hinterstoder from where you can conduct a cross country flight over several mountain peaks of the so-called “Dead Mountain Massive” (“Totes Gebirge”). Using thermal uplifts you can stay in the air for several hours.
The Salzkammergut offers adventure parks but also some serious rock climbing.
The South wall of the Dachstein (2997m) is one of the highest drop offs in Europe (I climbed in in my early days J). The cable car brings you up to the Hallstatt glacier which - like all glaciers – is suffering from global warming.
The last pictures show the same glacier in winter when it is a great area for ski touring.
