Wasserlochklamm

The Wasserlochklamm above Palfau is fed by a karst spring rather than a normal catchment, and that changes how it behaves: the Wasserloch, the hole the water emerges from at the top, drains a system inside the Hochschwab limestone, so after heavy rain or snowmelt it surges to a full torrent within hours and in a dry spell it can slow to almost nothing. Five waterfalls run down the gorge, the largest around fifty metres, and the path through was built with wooden stairs, galleries and bridges climbing about a hundred and fifty metres over a couple of kilometres, with a bench cut into the rock at the top by the spring itself. It takes about two hours round. The Salza is at the bottom, so the walk is usually combined with the river.

What you actually see

• A karst spring source - the Wasserloch, surging and slowing with the weather.
• Five waterfalls - the largest around fifty metres in the gorge.
• Wooden stairs and galleries - the built route climbing beside the water.
• A two-hour circuit - up the gorge to the spring and back.

When to go

May to October; after rain for full flow. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Closed in winter and after storm damage. In dry spells the falls can be disappointing. Boards are wet and slippery. The climb is continuous and steeper than it looks from the entrance.

Nearby

The Salza river runs below; the Gesäuse National Park is west.