Almsee

The Almsee lies at the closed head of the Almtal at around six hundred metres, a shallow lake fed by karst springs with the wall of the Totes Gebirge rising behind it, and it is protected as a nature reserve - no swimming, no boats, no development around the shore, just a path through reed and alder that runs the circuit in about an hour and a half. The valley is where Konrad Lorenz moved his greylag goose research in 1973, and the flock he worked with, imprinted and habituated over generations, is still studied here by the Konrad Lorenz Research Station; the geese move between the lake and the Cumberland wildlife park down the valley and are entirely used to people. Water level swings with the springs and the lake can partly dry in a hot summer.

What you actually see

• A protected shallow lake - no swimming or boats, reed and alder shore.
• The Totes Gebirge wall - rising directly behind the head of the valley.
• Lorenz's greylag geese - the studied flock still on the lake and valley.
• A circuit path - about an hour and a half round the shore.

When to go

May to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Swimming and boating are banned - this is a reserve. The lake can shrink markedly in a dry summer. Parking at the head of the valley is limited and fills at weekends.

Nearby

Grünau and the Cumberland wildlife park are down the valley.