Austria, Werfen, Eisriesenwelt, snow covered building in front of cave

Getty Images/Westend61

Eisriesenwelt

Top choice in Salzburg & Salzburgerland


Billed as the world’s largest accessible ice caves, Eisriesenwelt is a glittering ice empire spanning 30,000 sq metres and 42km of narrow passages burrowing deep into the heart of the mountains. A tour through these Narnia-esque chambers of blue ice is a unique experience. As you climb up wooden steps and down pitch-black passages, with carbide lamps aglow, otherworldly ice sculptures shaped like polar bears and elephants, frozen columns and lakes emerge from the shadows.

A highlight is the cavernous Eispalast (ice palace), where the frost crystals twinkle when a magnesium flare is held up to them. A womb-like tunnel leads to a flight of 700 steps, which descends back to the entrance. Even if it’s hot outside, entering the caves in any season is like stepping into a deep freeze – bring warm clothing and sturdy footwear.

In summer, minibuses (return adult/child €7/5) run at 8.18am, 10.18am, 12.18pm and 2.18pm from Werfen train station to Eisriesenwelt car park, which is a 20-minute walk from the bottom station of the cable car. The last return bus departs at 4.32pm. Allow roughly three hours for the return trip (including the tour). You can walk the whole route, but it’s a challenging four-hour ascent, rising 1100m above the village.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Salzburg & Salzburgerland attractions

1. Burg Hohenwerfen

1.41 MILES

Slung high on a wooded clifftop and cowering beneath the majestic peaks of the Tennengebirge range, Burg Hohenwerfen is visible from afar. For 900 years…

2. Berchtesgaden National Park

10.17 MILES

Forty years old in 2018, the wilds of this 210-sq-km park still offer some of the best hiking in Germany. A good introduction is a 2km trail up from St…

3. Eagle's Nest

10.22 MILES

At 1834m above sea level, the Eagle's Nest was built as a mountaintop retreat for Hitler, and gifted to him on his 50th birthday. It took around 3000…

4. Königssee

11.15 MILES

Gliding serenely across the wonderfully picturesque, emerald-green Königssee makes for some unforgettable memories and photo opportunities. Cradled by…

5. Dokumentation Obersalzberg

11.33 MILES

In 1933 the tranquil Alpine settlement of Obersalzberg (3km from Berchtesgaden) in essence became the second seat of Nazi power after Berlin, a dark…

6. Salzwelten

12.28 MILES

During Salzburg’s princely heyday, the sale of salt filled its coffers. Today, at Austria’s biggest show mine, you can slip into a boiler suit and descend…

7. Salzbergwerk

12.32 MILES

Once a major producer of ‘white gold’, Berchtesgaden has thrown open its salt mines for fun-filled 1½-hour tours. Kids especially love donning miners’…

8. Stille Nacht Museum

13.13 MILES

Hallein’s festive claim to fame is as the one-time home of Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863), who composed the carol Stille Nacht (Silent Night). Joseph Mohr…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "austria/salzburg/werfen/attractions/eisriesenwelt/a/poi-sig/504540/358612",
      "destination": "Salzburg-&-Salzburgerland",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Austria",
      "region": "Salzburg-&-Salzburgerland",
      "position": "superzone"
    }