Piburger See

The Piburger See sits at about nine hundred metres on a shelf above Oetz at the mouth of the Ötztal, dammed naturally by a prehistoric rockslide off the valley side, and it is small - roughly thirteen hectares - shallow and sheltered enough that it warms to twenty-four degrees or so in summer, which is exceptional for a Tyrolean lake and the reason it is used for swimming. It was declared a nature reserve in 1929, among the earliest in Tyrol, so building around it is minimal: a path runs the circuit in about forty minutes through mixed forest, with a small bathing area and a restaurant at one end and nothing at all around the rest. Motorboats and fishing are restricted. The Ötztal below and the Stuibenfall, Tyrol's highest waterfall, are close.

The landscape

• A landslide-dammed lake - held back by a prehistoric rockslide off the valley wall.
• Unusually warm water - up to around twenty-four degrees in summer.
• A protected shore - reserve status since 1929 keeping building off it.
• A forty-minute circuit - the path through forest around the water.

When to go

June to September for swimming. Half a day.

Before you go

It is small and gets busy on hot days; the car park is limited and there is a walk up from Oetz if it fills. Facilities are one restaurant and a bathing area. Fishing and boats are restricted.

Nearby

The Stuibenfall and Umhausen are up the Ötztal; Imst is north.

Key facts