The staubfall in the Heutal
My Top Spot on Hot Summer Days
In summer, I love nothing more than to be out and about in the mountains. On particularly hot days such as today however, I have to set off at 5 am to avoid being exposed to the baking heat. Unfortunately, we got up late today so we will undertake a short, shady hike to the Staubfall in Heutal – wild bathing included.
From Unken we drive to Heutal via Gföll. We park the car in the large Heutal-Life carpark (EUR 3,00 per day in summer). We begin our hike by walking left past the Heutaler Hof, following the signposts in the direction of Staubfall and after a few minutes we reach the Fischbach waterfall. Although there is only a little water in the waterfall today, nevertheless we can sense the enormous power with which the water rages in the gorge. We decide to stop by on the way back to cool off our feet.
Click, click, after taking a few quick photos, we walk on along the bank of the Fischbach in the direction of the Staubfall. The hiking path is well-prepared and leads us over walkways in some places as well as up and down steps, which we overcome without great effort. After about 15 minutes we reach the Staubfall. Even though I have known this 200 metre high waterfall since my childhood and visit this place at least 3 times each year, I am always overwhelmed by the impressive natural spectacle which you can experience up close when wandering through. We climb up the natural steps and come close to the waterfall. Some spray is already landing on my sunglasses, face and clothes – refreshingly pleasant. We go on under the waterfall and observe the sparkling water from behind before descending a few steps and wandering along the path in German territory.
The Staubfall marks the border between Austria and Germany. From here we could walk further in the direction of Laubau and even to Ruhpolding.But today it is simply too hot, so we return the way we came and marvel at the impressive river landscape.
Arriving at the Fischbach we take our shoes off; sit down on a round stone and stretch out our feet in the ice-cold mountain water – brrrr. We give our legs a break, already red from the cold water and refresh our arms. A wonderful feeling spreads through the entire body; a feeling which can only be felt to a limited extent on bathing days in the swimming pool.