Umbal Falls

The Isel rises off the Umbal glacier under the Grossvenediger and drops through a series of falls and gorges at the head of the Virgental in East Tyrol, and the Umbalfälle are the result - a sequence of cataracts over about two kilometres, fed entirely by glacier melt so the flow peaks on hot afternoons and drops overnight. The Wasserschaupfad, opened in 1988, was the first nature trail in Austria built specifically around water, with platforms out over the chutes, a suspension bridge and interpretation on how meltwater shapes rock. It is inside the Hohe Tauern National Park. The Isel below is the last major glacially-fed river in the Eastern Alps that has never been dammed, which is why it has been the subject of a long conservation fight over hydro proposals.

What you actually see

• Glacier-fed cataracts - two kilometres of falls off the Umbal ice.
• Austria's first water trail - the 1988 Wasserschaupfad with platforms over the chutes.
• Flow that peaks in the afternoon - meltwater rather than rain-driven.
• An undammed glacial river - the Isel, the last of its kind in the Eastern Alps.

When to go

June to September; afternoons for the strongest flow. A day.

Honest expectations

The approach from Ströden is about an hour up on foot. Spray makes the platforms wet and cold. Snow closes the trail outside summer. Meltwater is dangerous - stay off the rocks.

Nearby

Prägraten and the Virgental villages are below; Matrei in Osttirol is east.