Gosausee

The Vorderer Gosausee sits at about a thousand metres at the head of the Gosau valley and looks straight south-east at the Dachstein, so on a still morning the whole massif and what remains of the Gosau glacier come back off the water - a composition that has been painted, photographed and printed since the nineteenth century and is one of the fixed images of the Austrian Alps. A level path runs round the lake in about an hour. Behind it, a longer walk of a couple of hours reaches the Hinterer Gosausee, a smaller lake directly under the wall, past the Gosaulacke in between. The Gosaukamm gondola climbs the other side of the valley for the view down. The lake is a reservoir, so its level varies and the shoreline can show a drawdown ring.

What you actually see

• The Dachstein reflected - the massif and glacier in still morning water.
• A level lake circuit - about an hour round the lower lake.
• The Hinterer Gosausee - a further two hours up, directly under the wall.
• The Gosaukamm gondola - climbing the opposite side for the view down.

When to go

May to October; early morning for the reflection. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is a reservoir and the level drops, exposing a bare shoreline ring. Wind ruins the reflection. Parking fills by mid-morning in summer. The glacier above has retreated substantially.

Nearby

Hallstatt and the Dachstein caves are east; Gosau village is below.