Six mountain lakes at Obertauern

The starting point is the Obertauern Schaidberg Jugendheim bus stop. To the right, you pass the modern youth hotel; behind it are the distinctive yellow signposts indicating the way to Twenger Almsee, with one and a half hours travel time. The old, nicely laid-out alpine path is only a bit steeper at the beginning. After one hour, the Twenger Alm (1990 m) offers the first opportunity to stop before the path becomes steep again. The next mandatory stop is the wonderful Twenger Almsee (2120 m), which according to a study is one of the warmest lakes in the Schladminger Tauern. However, temperatures above 15 degrees are still the exception. Along the southern shore, the trail leads up to a saddle, from where our path heads down to the left to the two Schönalm lakes. Past ancient stone pines, the Wirpitschsee and the serviced Toni-Mörtl Hut (1750 m) follow as two more highlights. On the comfortable alpine road or on the shorter footpath, it goes down into the Weißpriach valley to the Ulnhütte, then turning right and in 15 minutes to the very cozy overnight accommodation Granglerhütte (1320 m).

The next day, the path leads gently uphill into the valley and reaches after two hours walking the unique Oberhüttensee with the serviced Oberhütte (1869 m). The further way to the Seekarscharte branches off immediately at the beginning of the saddle to the left. After an hour, having reached the highest point of the day, the route leads down to the strictly protected Natura 2000 area Hundsfeldmoor. Here is one of the few breeding sites of the rare red-spotted bluethroat. The shortest path leads directly into the center of Obertauern (Obertauern Passhöhe stop) or, earlier, turning left to the Obertauern Schaidberg Jugendheim stop.

You can reach Obertauern from Radstadt by taking regional bus 280. For hiking, get off at the Obertauern "Schaidberg Jugendheim" bus stop. The same bus also takes you to the wildlife and leisure park; to get there, use the "Lürzerhof" bus exit and walk 350 meters to the park entrance.

Timetable information and downloads: Online at www.salzburg-verkehr.at or on your smartphone via the free Salzburg Verkehr app for Android and iOS.

Obertauern Tourism Association

Pionierstraße 1

5562 Obertauern

Phone: +43 (0)6456 7252

info@obertauern.com

www.obertauern.com

Image credit: Obertauern Tourism Association