Trip to the Sulzbachtäler
From special protection area to Wilderness Area
This gem in Salzburger Land awaits you near the castle: Explore the Sulzbachtäler Wilderness Area in the heart of the national park!
Hohe Tauern National Park is rich in natural beauty. Countless glaciers and 3,000-meter-plus peaks, cool forests, and particularly diverse nature and wildlife await curious eyes in the heart of the Austrian Alps, spread across three provinces. Sulzbachtäler Wilderness Area is almost a national park in its own right, with an area of 6,728 hectares and an impressive mountainous landscape. The Sulzbachtäler (Sulzbach Valleys) have had special status as a wilderness reserve area since 2019, enticing guests to take uplifting tours of the almost pristine scenery.
From special protection area to Wilderness Area
The Sulzbachtäler have always had special status within the national park. The Hinteres Untersulzbachtal (Lower Untersulzbach Valley) has been classified a special protection area ever since the creation of the park, with the main emphasis on maintaining the landscape’s significance. This also includes the wildlife and plants of this area. After many years, the entire Sulzbachtäler were eventually given “Wilderness Area” status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), making them only the second region in all of Austria—after Dürrenstein in Eisenwurzen, Lower Austria—to achieve this status. Wilderness Areas are predominantly used for research or wilderness protection, providing large, protected, undisturbed habitats for wildlife
Tour of the Sulzbachtäler
The Sulzbachtäler Wilderness Area can be explored on a guided national park hike. The tour is only offered in small groups of three to eight persons and requires quite a bit of endurance and surefootedness. Start off at the Untersulzbachtal parking lot in Neukirchen am Grossvenediger, slightly more than a 20-minute drive from Schloss Mittersill. The tour takes seven hours (five of which are pure walking time) with 1,000 meters of ascent and descent. Among the tour highlights are:
- Riding the national park bus to the Abichelalm
- Hiking through sparse larch forest
- Hidden, old routes beyond marked paths
- The Untersulzbach stream as a thunderous companion
- Sightings of deer and chamois in the right conditions
- Numerous rare plants (such as doronicum, martagon, various orchids) along the paths
- Direct effects of global warming visible at former glacial ice areas
- In favorable conditions: Tour on glacial ice with crampons
Your well-being is our priority.
We are delighted to offer you this special experience. Enjoy the summer freshness at Hotel Schloss Mittersill!