Korbersee

The Körbersee lies at about seventeen hundred metres in a hollow above Schröcken on the Hochtannberg, a small lake in open alpine pasture with the Braunarlspitze and the Bregenzerwald peaks around it. An ORF public vote in 2017 named it the most beautiful place in Austria, which brought a rush of attention to a lake that until then was known mostly to walkers on the Lechweg and guests of the single hotel on its shore. Reaching it means about forty-five minutes on foot from Schröcken or the Hochtannberg pass, or a chairlift in season; there is no road. In winter the whole area is deep snow and part of the Warth-Schröcken ski region, which gets some of the heaviest snowfall in the Alps.

What you actually see

• A small high lake - seventeen hundred metres in open alpine pasture.
• One hotel on the shore - the only building, reached on foot.
• The Bregenzerwald peaks - the Braunarlspitze and ridges around the hollow.
• A forty-five minute walk in - no road access to the lake.

When to go

June to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

There is no road - you walk in, or take the lift when it runs. Snow lies late and the lake is frozen much of the year. The 2017 vote made it far busier than it was. The water is very cold.

Nearby

Warth and Schröcken are below; Lech is over the pass.