Located high up in the Krippenstein Mountain Range, the Dachstein Ice Caves are one of the few places on Earth where tourists can easily access giant-sized ice caves. The frozen structures found here are among the most surprising natural wonders of the Alps. Visiting the Ice Caves is easy to do in a half day from nearby Hallstatt, and can easily be combined with visiting the 5 Fingers viewing platform and some of the beautiful Dashstein alpine hiking trails. Below we present our Austria’s Dachstein Giant Ice Cave Travel Guide to help you get the most out of your trip to Austria’s beautiful Dachstein mountains.
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Orientation – Dachstein Ice Cave Location
The Dachstein Giant Ice Cave is located within the Dachstein Krippenstein mountain complex, a mere 7 km southeast of Hallstatt, near the town of Obertraun. Specifically, you’ll need to reach the Dachstein Krippenstein cable car base station, from which you can take a cable car up to reach the Giant Ice Cave.
By Car: From Hallstatt, the Dachstein Krippenstein cable car base station is only a 10-minute drive away. From Salzburg, it’s about a 1h25 drive (85km).
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Parking: Parking is free if you stay under an hour, but that’s impossible to achieve when visiting the Giant Ice Cave. Full-day parking (6 am – 10 pm) costs € 5 (2024) – there is no hourly parking rate. The car park is rather large so finding a space shouldn’t be a concern.
By Bus: You can reach Hallstatt from Salzburg by bus, but you’ll need to transfer twice and the route will take about 2h15 to complete. Bus 150 to Bad Ischl from Salzburg, then Bus 542 to Hallstatt Gosaumühle, and finally Bus 543 to Hallstatt Lahn. Check the OBB website for timetables and tickets.
From Hallstatt, you need only take bus 543 to reach the Dachstein Krippenstein cable car base station.
By Train: This is the most scenic way to reach Hallstatt from Salzburg, but it isn’t the most time-efficient. The best route follows the side of the lake (Hallstattsee) on the opposite side from Hallstatt to Hallstatt Bahnhst station and takes about 2h30 with a transfer midway (the previous hyperlink will also show various bus & train combo routes). From there, you’ll need to take a short ferry across the lake to Hallstatt. The Stefanie Ferry times its departures with the train arrival times (€ 3,50 (2024); cash only). From there, you’ll have to take bus 543 to reach the Dachstein Krippenstein cable car base station.
By Group Tour: This can be a great option if you don’t want to deal with the transit logistics while benefiting from a time-efficient direct route between Salzburg and Hallstatt.
About the Giant Ice Cave
The first sections of the Dachstein Ice Cave were discovered in 1910 and tourist access began only 2 years later. It’s quite fascinating to think that prior to 1951, when the cable car system opened, tourists had to hike all the way to the Ice Cave entrance, which included some intense rock climbing.
The ice in the cave is formed by water seeping in from the Dachstein plateau down into the cave through various small cracks. When outside temperatures are above freezing the caves still contain really cold air, so the penetrating water freezes and forms rather unique ice shapes. Although some water flow in the summer is warm enough to produce slight melting, it actually balances out the winter growth, enabling a cycle of slight melting with growth that guarantees the survival of this magnificent natural phenomenon.
The Dachstein Giant Ice Cave contains about 13,000 m³ of ice covering a surface of 5,000 m². In some places, the ice is as much as 20 m thick and most of the ice formations are believed to be about 500 years old. The cave system itself is believed to be about 10 million years old.
While there are a few other ice caves in Austria, including the World’s largest one in Werfen, we prefer Dachstein, in part because of its proximity to other sites of interest, such as the 5 fingers viewing platform and Hallstatt. Also, unlike in the Werfen Ice Caves, you can take pictures in the Daschtein Giant Ice Cave.
Visiting the Giant Ice Cave
Once you’ve made it to the base station (Talstation Dachstein), you’ll need to take the cable car up to the first (Mittlestation Dachstein) of three mountain stations. You should plan at least 2 hours for your Ice Cave visit (including the tour, the short walk to and from the cave, and the cable car ascent and descent), but ideally, even more time to not feel rushed.
You can purchase your tickets for the cable car and Giant Ice Cave tour from the Visitor Center, next to the base station (Talstation Dachstein).
Costs: The Giant Cave ticket combined with the cable car ascent and descent ticket to the Mittlestation Dachstein station costs €48.60* (2024). Tickets can be purchased online here in advance for a specific day. This ticket also includes a tour of the Mammut Cave (more on this cave below).
If you would also like to reach the higher elevation cable car stations to visit the 5 Fingers viewing platform or to do some hiking, that combined ticket (the Dachstein All in One-Ticket) comes out to €62.30* (or €58.30* if you start after 12 pm).
If you would prefer to skip the cave tours and use the cable car only to visit the 5 Fingers viewing platform or to do some hiking, the cable car tickets cost €43.80*.
*reduced rates available for children and seniors. Dogs are allowed in the cable car for a fixed daily fee of €10,90 but are required to wear a muzzle and be on a leash. Dogs are also allowed in the ice cave.
Timetables: The first cable car ascent is at 8:40 am (from early May until early November). The last ascent to visit the Giant Ice Caves is at 3 pm (4 pm between late June and early September).
The last ascent time to reach the other stations is later and varies throughout the summer season. Cable cars run continuously every 15 minutes.
Reaching the Caves: Once you have arrived at the Mittlestation Dachstein, head to the Cave Visit ticket counter located within the cable car station to register for the guided tour. Although you’ll have paid for your visit to the Ice Caves at the base station, this is where you will be assigned a tour start time. Guided tours take place on an ongoing basis.
Once you have registered you will have to follow a short but somewhat steep path (for about 15 minutes) to reach the cave’s entrance to await the start of your tour. There are many benches along the way should you need a rest, and you will also come across the small Ice Cave Museum, which is worthy of a quick visit on your way back from visiting the Giant Ice Cave. While you wait for your tour to start, you can enjoy fantastic views of the valley and Hallstatter See (and Hallstatt) below.
The Ice Cave Tour
Once it’s time for your tour to start, you’ll make your way into a truly fascinating ice cave system. The guided tours are held in German and English. You can download the tour’s audio guide app Hearonymus for free on your smartphone. The audio guide is available in seven different languages.
The tour lasts about 50 minutes. Be sure to bring some extra layers with you, as the temperature inside the Ice Cave rarely exceeds the freezing point, with an average temperature of -2 °C (26,6 °F). It is also recommended to wear closed-toe shoes given the occasional uneven and slippery surface.
Visitors can see about 900 meters of the 2.7 km cave during their visit. The tour begins as you head into the mountain through a series of stalactite passageways and down into a large hall called Saint Arthur’s Dome. The hall is impressive to see and is where a bear skull was found during initial cave explorations. But no ice yet.
As you advance further into the cave system, you will eventually climb up a series of stairs that will lead you to an impressive ice wall and a frozen tunnel referred to as the Keyhole.
Afterwards, you will come across fantastic ice formations with names like Ice Palace, Big Ice Chapel, the narrow but 30-foot-tall Big Ice Mountain, and the Castle of the Holy Grail. As you near the end of the tour, you cross over a giant bridge where you can see the ice 25-30 metres down below your feet.
Although the tour was a little kitschy at times with light shows and music, it was still very interesting to learn about the different ice layers, how they formed, and how they stayed cool in mid-summer.
Giant Ice Cave Visiting Tips
– As we alluded to earlier, you should plan at least 2 hours to visit the Dachstein Giant Ice Caves (including travel to and from the base station).
– If you intend on also visiting the 5 Fingers viewing platform (see below), you should add another 90 minutes to your planned time at Dachstein Krippenstein.
– If you intend to do some hiking, such as along the Heilbronner Circular Trail (see below – start point near the 5 fingers platform), you should add another 3 hours to your time at Dachstein.
– You can easily spend nearly a full day at Dachtein Krippenstein by visiting the 5 Fingers platform, the Giant Ice Cave, and hiking the Heilbronner Circular Trail. There are also two other small caves that you can visit near the Giant Ice Cave, such as the Mammut (Mammoth) Cave described further below.
– Know that it is quite chilly in the Giant Ice Cave (near-freezing temperatures). Bringing extra layers is a must.
– You can enjoy a great meal or spend the night on the mountain at the Krippenstein Lodge & Restaurant, located a short distance from the Bergstation cable car station (the same you exit to visit the 5 Fingers platform). Alternatively, you can stay at the Gjaid-Alm Lodge, located near the third mountain cable car station.
What else can you do at Dachstein?
Visit the Mammoth (Mammut) Cave
If you are a cave fan and don’t think you’ll get enough with the Giant Ice Cave, well you are in luck. A short walk from the Giant Ice Cave is the entrance to the Mammut Cave (often referred to as the Mammoth Cave), one of the largest karst caves in the world that impresses with its size, variety of shapes and spectacular artistic installations. Only a tiny part of this huge labyrinth of giant caves is open to the general public. To date, more than 70 km of these passageways have been explored – but around only 1 km of them can be viewed during the guided tours. Visitors learn the work of the cave researchers and how powerful volumes of water once gushed through the mountain.
We opted not to visit the Mammoth as our research had indicated it wasn’t as impressive as the Giant Ice Cave, so we opted to spend the rest of our time exploring the mountain summit and the trails around the 5 Fingers viewing platform (see next section). But if you are a fan of underground worlds, know that you can easily visit this second cave at Dachstein Krippenstein.
Visit the 5 Fingers Platform
Taking the cable car from the Giant Ice Cave (Mittelstation station) up to the next station (Bergstation; the second of three mountain cable car stations) brings you close to Krippenstein’s summit (2100m) where you will find a series of hiking trails, including a few short ones taking you to the World Heritage Spiral and the 5 Fingers viewing platform.
The 5 Fingers viewing platform offers an incredible adrenaline rush as you lean over a 500m drop below you. Built in 2006, this platform, as its name suggests, is shaped like a hand with 5 fingers and protrudes from a sheer rock face at an altitude of 2108 meters above sea level. It offers breathtaking views of the Salzkammergut region from above Lake Hallstatt and the Krippenstein Mountain Range.
For more information on this attraction, check our Travel Guide for Visiting the 5 Fingers Viewing Platform.
Hiking
There’s a great downhill trail that takes you from the second mountain station (Bergstation) near the 5 Fingers platform to the third mountain station (Station Gjaid), which lies at a lower elevation and in a vast open plateau, known as the Heilbronner Circular Trail.
Distance: 8.9 km
Route Type: Loop
Elevation gain: -140 m (downhill)
Start point: Bergstation
AllTrails rating: (4.7, 25 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the trail in about 2h30-3h
Access Fees: Free
One of the peculiar attractions along this trail is a large 8 m metal shark sculpture, an unusual alpine sight known as the Dachstein Shark. It was built as a reminder that the Dachstein massif was beneath an ocean millions of years ago. Many fossils fossilized crustaceans and deposits in the rocks from the primordial ocean can still be found here today.
Once you arrive at Station Gjaid you can either return via the cable car or continue to explore one of several trails within the plateau before returning.
Not an AllTrails member yet? We highly recommend signing up for either their free or paid membership plans. The free plan allows you to find new trails and plan routes but can only be used while hiking if you have access to mobile data. The paid membership plan (AllTrails+) allows you to download trail maps for offline use and provides live progress updates and off-route notifications.
If you are still uncertain – you should know that the All Trails mobile application was voted the 2023 iPhone App of the Year by Apple.
What to Do Near Dacshtein Krippenstein
Visit Hallstatt
The picture-perfect postcard village of Hallstatt is only a 7km drive away. Although it can get overcrowded at times, it remains nonetheless a must-visit destination in our opinion. Fortunately, early mornings and evenings can be quieter making it more likely that you will enjoy a fun stroll through this historic small town. And even if it does get too crowded, there are activities where you can somewhat escape the crowds, such as visiting the world’s oldest salt mine and spending some time on Hallstatt’s impressive Skydeck. You can also easily combine Hallstatt (early morning) with a visit to Dachstein (late morning and afternoon) within the same day.
For more information and tips on visiting Hallstatt, check out our travel guide on the Best Things to See and Do in Hallstatt.
Visit the charming town of St Wolfgang and the Steepest Cog Railway Train
(coming soon)
Visit the Gosau Lakes Area
A short 30-minute drive from Hallstatt lies a series of stunning alpine lakes known as the Gosau Lakes (Gosauseen). The area was definitely one of the most beautiful we visited in the Salzkammergut region, let alone Austria. It’s a scenic area that can be explored via easy hiking lakeside trails. It’s also a popular destination for Via Ferrata amateurs, swimmers, divers and those who want to explore the largest of the three lakes by pedal boat paddle board.
For more information on this attraction, check our Gosau Lakes Hiking Guide.
Planning a Trip to Austria?
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Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
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Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Travel Guide to Austria’s Dachstein Giant Ice Cave and that it will prove useful for planning your hiking trip.
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You might also be interested in these related pages:
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Travel Guide to Austria’s Dachstein Ice Caves page and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to Austria’s Salzkammergut region.
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