The Krimml waterfalls (Krimmler Wasserfälle in German) are located near the town Krimml in the High Tauern National Park in Austria. The waterfall is the highest waterfall in Austria (380 metres high) and there is a beautiful hiking path (and steep!) that shows you all 3 different platforms of the falls. Read on for a detailed description of our half day spend there!

Once arriving near the falls, you will find a lot of parking spots for your car and the waterfall greeting you from far. (Choose parking P4, that is the nearest).

“That looks promising” is what I thought after seeing that view!

In the area, there are a lot of activities you can do. From hiking to even a water world experience. We only visited the waterfall in this trip. It was a short 7 to 8 minutes walk to the main entrance of the park, passing by some restaurants (in June 2020 they all closed their kitchen/shop at 17:00 PM!) and tourists shops. The route to take is described in the picture on the left side. The entrance to the park is € 4,- per adult (€ 1,- for kids between age 6 to 15). If you want there is also a combi ticket available to see the waterworld of Krimml (for the actual prices, check here. Prices listed are from June 2020).

Some facts about the waterfalls: the annual average flow of water is 5,600 l/s! With a total of around 176 million M3 of water going through the water falls to really give you that wow effect. In June the water flow is less as ice and snow take over, but in the summer around June and July, 30 to 40 times more water flow occurs than in the winter months. The height of the water flow (coming from melt water which has a path of almost 20 kilometres to undertake) is at 19:00 PM and 24:00 PM (unfortunately, park is closed at that time and it is very dark).

Lower Ache Fall

The Lower Ache Fall is just a short 10 minutes walk from the entrance, and is not a steep walk at all. It is very accessible, even for those who are not so mobile any more. Personally, this was also my favorite view over the falls. You can get up really close to the water and make some amazing pictures. You can feel the strength of the water pouring down! It is 1.070 meters above sea level.

Middle Ache Fall

The Middle Ache Fall is about 30 to 40 minutes walk up some steep zigzagging walking path. The path it self is good and concrete, so even with rain (which is was, pouring down like crazy) you have a good grip. You will be glad that you will be halfway to the Upper Ache Fall (which is indicated for a total of 1 hour 15 minutes of walk up in total).

It was quite a challenge to get up, there the steep roads really challenge your calves. But, the Middle Ache Fall is worth it for the views!

There are several viewingpoints you can stop and admire the view. Bergersteig at 1.245 meters above sea level was one of my favorites. Be sure to check all of them out, even if it is just for a breather!

The steep paths you have to overcome

Upper Ache Fall

The Upper Ache Fall is another 40 minutes up, and very steep. This one, was a killer. Staubige Reib at 1.330 meters height is a nice resting spot to see the steaming water falling down.

But also the stop at 1.390 meters Bergerblick has some nice shots.

The top is at 1.460 meters above sea level called Schettbrücke, which basically means the bridge you can find on top of the waterfalls and the stream of waterflow that is getting ready to surge downwards. Honestly, I was not so impressed with the top and thought to myself “man the down and middle part of the falls are way prettier than this”. But, experience that for yourself ;-).

All in all it is worth to visit the Krimml waterfalls! My own experience says that walking halfway the falls is for the prettiest sights. If you are enthusiastic than walk the whole thing :-). Going down was better, which took around 50 to 60 minutes. It is a perfect (half) day trip depending on how much time you want to spend there.