Raggaschlucht

The Raggabach drops out of the mountains into the Mölltal at Flattach through a gorge cut into hard gneiss, and because the rock is hard the slot is narrow - in places only a couple of metres across with walls rising up to two hundred metres, which is what makes the walk feel enclosed in a way the limestone klammen do not. A route of about eight hundred metres of stairs, bridges and galleries was built through it and first opened in 1882, climbing beside a succession of chutes and falls. It takes under an hour up; the gorge may only be walked uphill, so the return is by a forest path. The Mölltal around it is the approach valley for the Grossglockner high road from the south, and the Raggaschlucht is the usual stop on the way.

The landscape

• A narrow gneiss slot - walls close together and up to two hundred metres high.
• Eight hundred metres of galleries - the route first opened in 1882, bolted into the rock.
• Chutes and falls - the Raggabach dropping beside the walkway the whole way.
• The Mölltal below - the valley on the southern approach to the Grossglockner.

When to go

May to October; closed in winter. Half a day.

Practical notes

Closed outside the season and after storm damage. The gorge is dark and permanently wet, so the walkway is slippery and it is cold even in summer. It is short - under an hour up.

Nearby

Flattach is at the entrance; the Grossglockner road and Heiligenblut are north.

Key facts