Hintertux Glacier (Zillertal)

At the head of the Tux valley lies the Hintertux Glacier, the only ski area in Austria open 365 days a year. Cable cars open up the glacier world up to around 3,250 m at the Gefrorene Wand. In summer, skiing up top and hiking in the valley are possible at the same time; the Zillertal Alps Nature Park adjoins.

Highlights

• Year-round skiing (365 days)
• Glacier world up to around 3,250 m
• Ice Palace inside the glacier
• Zillertal Alps Nature Park for hikes

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

At the very end of the Tux Valley, a side valley of the Ziller Valley, lies the Hintertux Glacier, the only ski area in Austria that allows operation all year round. It owes this distinction to its altitude and its position by the mighty Olperer and the surrounding peaks of the Zillertal Alps, whose ice masses endure through the summer months. Long before ski sport came, Hintertux was of course known for something else: for its warm healing springs, which emerge from the mountain and earned the small village the byname of a spring resort.

The Ziller Valley itself is one of the broadest and best-known valleys of Tyrol, shaped by a vigorous farming culture, by folk music and by the high, glaciated peaks at the head of the valley. From this valley also comes the story of the Zillertal Inclinants, Protestant valley dwellers who in the 19th century did not want to give up their faith and finally had to emigrate, a testimony to the religious tensions of that time. An ice cave inside the glacier today grants a glimpse into the interior of the flowing ice, into a world of crevasses, glacier mills and blue-shimmering walls. Thus Hintertux combines the ancient experience of the healing spring with the modern experience of a glacier world that is at once a fascination and a warning sign of the changing high mountains.