Partnach Gorge
Probably the most famous gorge in Bavaria is also the most visited, but you should have experienced it at least once. It’s only 700 meters from the ticket office (adults: six euros, children three euros), but they’re tough. The massive rock walls all around: intimidating. Most of the trail runs in tunnels or galleries that are lower than 1.75 meters in places, enhancing the feeling of being just a drop in the ocean. And then this non-stop roaring water on the right!
Up until the 1960s, the raging Partnach was used to transport the firewood felled further up in the Reintal in the spring down into the valley using the power of meltwater. If tree trunks became wedged, unfortunate men had to climb into the gorge to get the expensive goods to swim again – a hara-kiri order that often ended fatally. Even today it drips and trickles from the walls everywhere, which is why sturdy shoes and rainwear are definitely recommended. Since the Iron Bridge, the steel eye-catcher 70 meters above the gorge, was severely damaged by a falling tree during a storm, it has to remain closed for a long time, meaning that the hiking trail up there cannot be used.
Partnach Gorge, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, June to September 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Oct. to May 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., info phone 08821/180700, www.partnachklamm.de
Starzlach Gorge
Little sister of the better-known Breitachklamm: The Starzlachklamm near Sonthofen in Oberallgäu.
(Photo: Peter Schickert/imago images)
Somewhat off the popular Oberallgäu tourist paths are in Burgberg and on the outskirts of the Sonthofen hamlet of Winkel, the two entrances to the Starzlachklamm, so to speak the little sister of the better-known Breitachklamm a few kilometers further south near Oberstdorf. The name means torrent or “Ach jumping over the rocks” – and those who have mastered the sometimes quite steep 220 meters of altitude gain actually have the feeling of having seen jumping and flying water. From the car park, it’s a 20-minute walk through the forest to the Klammhütte snack bar.
Since the gorge has already been closed several times due to mudslides and investments still have to be made in the repair of the paths, hikers pay an entrance fee of 3.50 euros (children 2 euros). Immediately after entering the first wow effect: the Schlei falls. And so it goes on, always in maximum proximity to the rushing brook. It rises between the Wertacher Hörnle and the Grünten, the imposing “guardian of the Allgäu”. The path through the gorge ends at its feet, the Alpe Topfen and a mountain inn, which rightly bears the name Alpenblick, lure you in.
Starzlachklamm, Sonthofen, May 1st to November 1st, info phone 08321/88988, www.starzlachklamm.dedetailed information below www.tourismus-sonthofen.de
cow escape cases
It’s always exciting to see how quickly you can get out of civilization and right in the middle of wild, captivatingly beautiful nature. Shortly before the B 2 disappears in the tunnel on the way to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, you take the Farchant exit, head for the parking lot of the Werdenfels warm outdoor pool – and after a few steps you are past a replica of a raft, as it used to be on the Loisach and Isar Load transport was used, already on the forest adventure trail into the Estergebirge, runs through shady forest areas and over alpine meadows up to the rarely spectacular waterfalls.
At 270 meters, spread over three steps, they are among the highest in Germany. The initially flat, later steep ascent takes a good hour, via the Königsweg: King Maximilian II is said to have stopped by here on his hike from Lindau to Berchtesgaden in the mid-19th century. Higher up you have to be careful: The climb to the Hoher Fricken is only suitable for experienced mountaineers. Incidentally, you won’t see any fleeing or cursing cows: the name apparently goes back to the Latin “confluctum” for confluence, since the stream flows into the Loisach below.
Cow escape cases, Farchant, info phone 08821/961696, www.kuhaway-wasserfaelle.de
Josefsthal Waterfall Tour
The round tour leads in Josefsthal along the Hachelbach to the twelve meter high waterfalls.
(Photo: Daniel Ingold/imago/Westend61)
The nice thing about circular tours is that you don’t have to walk the same path twice – there are said to be people who really have a problem with that. Another plus: You can start the round at several points, which in turn leads straight to the subject of parking. Anyone who has chosen a lap far away from public transport must consider in advance where there could be a place for their vehicle in view of the general urge for fresh air. Spitzing excursionists know the problem, which is why the Josefsthaler Wasserfall tour also says: either take the 9562 bus from Schliersee to Spitzingsee or be there early by car! It is advisable to walk downhill first, because parking spaces are even rarer down in Josefsthal. From the Taubensteinbahn it first goes along the lake, up to the Spitzingsattel, before the path leaves the main road to the left and leads past the Stockeralm to the two waterfalls – a pretty wild and romantic sight! Time for a snack in the shade, feet in the wonderfully cool Hachelbach. Pure walking time for the 6.3 kilometer loop with 350 meters in altitude: two and a quarter hours.
Josefsthal Waterfalls, Schliersee, info phone 08026/60650, www.schliersee.de/wandern
Maising Gorge
The Maising Gorge, a small natural jewel southwest of Starnberg, is easy to reach from Munich by S-Bahn.
(Photo: Georgine Treybal)
The Maising Gorge, on the other hand, is much more comfortable and absolutely suitable for pushchairs, a secluded relic of the Ice Age between Starnberg and Pöcking. Also no longer an insider tip, but more of a classic, but nice and shady and easy to reach by S-Bahn. From Starnberg train station, go up to Söckinger Straße, from which Maisinger-Schlucht-Straße turns off. Now it is almost at ground level always along the leisurely babbling Maisinger Bach, with umpteen adventure possibilities for the little ones. It’s about four kilometers to Maising, and if you still have a little energy left, you can walk another two kilometers along the König-Ludwig-Weg to Maisinger See. It’s not particularly deep, so it’s not that cold either, and it’s just the right refreshment before you strengthen yourself in the Seehof beer garden (closed on Mondays) for the way back.
Maisinger gorge, Pöcking, gorge path, www.maisinger-schlucht.de
Leutasch Ghost Gorge
The Leutasch Geisterklamm is crossed at a height of 44 meters with a steel lattice walkway. The adventure trail is an attraction in the Mittenwald-Leutasch holiday region.
(Photo: dpa)
Anyone who invests a few more kilometers on the journey will be rewarded with a natural spectacle worth seeing just behind the German-Austrian border near Mittenwald: the Leutasch Geisterklamm. In 2005, the Leutasch Gorge became a themed trail for children, a steel trail hewn into the rock with a spectacularly high panorama bridge over the bubbling Leutascher Ache. The fact, which has not yet been fully proven, that ghosts, goblins and dwarfs used to roam the enchanted gorge is used by marketing people to make this wild piece of nature more attractive for children, complete with goblin path, ear trumpet, ghost treasure and hidden gorge spirits . The historic waterfall trail, on the other hand, was created in the 19th century, but with a drop of 23 meters it is no less impressive. On the route, which is around six kilometers long and not suitable for prams, you have to overcome around 250 meters in altitude.
Leutasch Ghost Gorge, Mittenwald-Leutasch, www.leutaschklamm.com
Wimbach Gorge
It is also very picturesque below the Watzmann in the Berchtesgadener Land: in the Wimbachklamm at the entrance to a mighty high valley in the mountaineering village of Ramsau. Over a length of only about 200 meters, the hiking trail winds its way on wide wooden planks over bridges and footbridges along the steep, moss-covered rock faces of the gorge (entrance tickets from the machines: 3 euros for adults, children up to six years free). Those who continue after the gorge can stop off at the Wimbach Castle, the downright cute former hunting lodge of the Wittelsbach family, which can be reached in about two hours by foot from the car park at the Wimbach Bridge in Ramsau. King Max II and Prince Regent Luitpold in particular valued the Wimbach Valley as a hunting ground and organized court hunts here.
Wimbach Gorge, Ramsau, www.wimbachklamm.business.site