Not far from Berchtesgaden only in 30 minutes from Bad Reichenhall there is an amazing gorge of waterfalls.
The official website: Wimbachklamm
But I have found more information here: http://koenigssee.com/wimbachklamm.htm
The entrance is 2 euros for a person, if you have a guest card, or 2, 50 without a card. The working time: May – November from 7.00 until 19.00, it may be closed because of the weather conditions.
The parking lot: Wimbachweg 2, 83486 Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden
This is the first attraction of this kind that we have observed. Yes, it is very unusual but very interesting. I will tell you in order.
You should come here in the early morning, as it is very difficult with the places on the parking lot. We were “digging around” and came there at 11 – the beginning of 12 o’clock, repairs of the road on the entrance worsened the situation with parking. I do not know how this problem is solved by Germans, but we went to the nearest guesthouse and agreed with the owner that our car would stand on his parking lot without time limit for 5 euros ))
We had another advice from the owner by the way, but I will tell about it later. So then, we went upper and upper beside the houses, beside the Mini Golf course, and came to the automat with tickets. There was no box office with somebody inside, so we had to understand the German writings. I could not understand how to use a guest card. Oh well, we went on. It was 30 degrees outside; we had to go on the open road. That was the start of the trail; you go to the top and you are in the new world!
You need to go along the gorge on the wooden track. To walk here in such hot weather is wonderful! You refresh immediately. There is an unreal beauty around. On the opposite side, hundreds of streams of water flow down; there is a countless number of waterfalls and small waterfalls, and along the bottom the stream of water runs with the breakneck speed. All this noise, the water drops shimmer in the sun; somewhere you can see a rainbow. The photos do not convey a hundredth part of that beauty in the gorge. It is not a very long walk 500 – 800 meters; ladders interrupt the pass, so it is impossible to walk here with a pram. The route ends with the turntable. However, it is the end of the route along the stream. We went further. The owner of the hotel recommended us to go further along the stream, before the landfall – we did not understand how to name this place right, but we decided to have a walk to the place with a romantic name Schloss Wimbachklamm. We went leisurely, looking at the nature around. The main flow of tourists went to the parking, so we enjoyed our walk.
Sometimes the Germans (Austrian?), well people talking German passed by. Everybody greets you (it is very pleasant!)) Nevertheless, we were amazed by the way, they “walked”. The majority, fortunately there are exceptions, walked with the formation step, with the tempo 120 steps a minute, not looking around and not listening to the nature. But there are many things to see:
The butterflies sit on the head, shoulders and shoes… It is not a snake on the middle photo, it is a Copperhead lizard or a slow warm, and it is harmless. The photo did not transmit the color of it; it is black with a copper ebb. Moreover, how the birds sing around. The path goes further and further through the forest, you do not feel the heat, but you always go up. The surprise is the restaurant in this “Schloss” which is frankly speaking disappointing a little, because you want to see a castle/palace, and here is…
However, the owner of the restaurant is a very photogenic person!
If you go aside the restaurant 2/3 of the distance (3-4 kilometers) then you will get to the place of a giant landfall with fantastic landscapes. Instead of tiredness, we liked this trip very much, we have walked 22 km a day, and we had so many impressions. I would recommend you to alternate such walks along the waterfalls and gorges with visiting the museums and city attractions.
All the photos from the walk you can see in the photo gallery in the album about Wimbachklamm.
Attractions nearby:
The Baths in Berrchtesgaden (Watzmann Therme)
Summer sleighs of Sommerrodelbahn Berchtesgaden
Königssee, Obersee and Rothbach Wasserfall