Photos courtesy of Grossglockner Hochalpenstrassen AG
On a map this drive of 185 km with its elevation of 3,280 m resembles a square, more or less. Driving time itself is about 4 hours, not including excursions to Kals am Grossglockner (not far from Matrei in Osttirol) and to the Franz-Josefs-Plateau. This square round trip between Felbertauern and Grossglockner has a further advantage in that you can join the route at any of the 4 corner towns – Mittersill, Zell am See, Lienz or Winklern.
Starting in Lienz and driving anticlockwise you soon reach the Iselsberg and have a lovely view of East Tyrol's major town with its Mediterranean flair. At the north-eastern corner lies Zell am See with its Alpensee lake embedded in a panorama of glaciers. Mittersill is the starting point in the north west and it is also the beginning of the 36 km-long Felbertauern Highway. Gently rising bends (over half of them with 3 lanes) with a maximum gradient of 9% make driving through the Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria's oldest and biggest, something you can really enjoy. Away from the very busy main north-south routes this drive takes on more of an excursion character – and you can admire the view of 30 peaks each of them 3,000 metres high.
Just a few minutes' walk from one of the many car parks you will find yourself in a magic world with 10,000 various species of animals, colourful moors, forests of knotty pines and thundering waterfalls. A side-road leads off the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse to Franz-Josefs-Plateau, passing the Edelweissspitze, the highest accessible point on the drive (2,571 m) overlooking the largest glacier in the Eastern Alps – the Pasterze.
Grand tour crossing Austria's highest mountain
Our tip: If you decide to do the complete round trip after you have gone over the Grossglockner, you can get an appropriate reduction for the Felbertauern tunnel if you show your day ticket (additional charge on round trip tariff).
Rates:
- Motorcycles € 25
- Cars or motorhomes € 33
Available at the Felbertauern Highway and Grossglockner High Alpine Highway toll plazas.
Valid for 30 days
INFORMATION:
Felbertauernstraße AG, 9900 Lienz, Osttirol, Albin Egger-Straße 17, Tel. 0043 (0)4852 / 63330 www.felbertauernstrasse.at.
Open: all year round - 24/7.
Großglockner Hochalpenstraßen AG, 5020 Salzburg, Rainerstraße 2, Tel. 0043 (0)662 / 873673-0 www.grossglockner.at.
Open: from May until mid-June from 6 a.m. till 8 p.m.; until mid-September from 5 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. and until the end of October from 6 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Last access 45 minutes before closing time.
