{"id":992,"date":"2026-06-07T18:52:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T16:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/item\/eisriesenwelt-werfen\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T11:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T09:04:10","slug":"eisriesenwelt-werfen","status":"publish","type":"citadela-item","link":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/item\/eisriesenwelt-werfen\/","title":{"rendered":"Eisriesenwelt Werfen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-size:1.15em;line-height:1.6;color:#3a352f;\">The Eisriesenwelt in the Tennengebirge near Werfen is, at around 42 km long, the largest ice cave in the world. Visitors explore the impressively ice-covered front section with carbide lamps on a guided tour. The arrival on Austria's steepest cable car and the path through the mountains are an experience in themselves.<\/p>\n<h2>Highlights<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Largest ice cave in the world (around 42 km)<\/li>\n<li>Guided tour through ice-covered halls<\/li>\n<li>Arrival on a very steep cable car<\/li>\n<li>Spectacular setting high above the Salzach valley<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Good to know<\/h2>\n<table class=\"at-vergleich\" style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:14px;\">\n<tr style=\"background:#ffffff;\">\n<td style=\"padding:8px;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;width:34%;font-weight:600;\">Length<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding:8px;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;\">around 42 km (largest ice cave in the world)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background:#fafaf8;\">\n<td style=\"padding:8px;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;width:34%;font-weight:600;\">Mountain range<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding:8px;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;\">Tennengebirge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background:#ffffff;\">\n<td style=\"padding:8px;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;width:34%;font-weight:600;\">Guided tour<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding:8px;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;\">only with a guided tour<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background:#fafaf8;\">\n<td style=\"padding:8px;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;width:34%;font-weight:600;\">Location<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding:8px;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;\">Werfen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Practical info<\/h2>\n<div style=\"background:#f3f1ec;border:1px solid #e3e0d8;border-radius:10px;padding:18px 20px;\">\n<p style=\"margin:6px 0;line-height:1.55;\"><strong style=\"color:#f25353;\">Getting there:<\/strong> By car or train to Werfen, then shuttle and cable car to the cave entrance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:6px 0;line-height:1.55;\"><strong style=\"color:#f25353;\">Best time:<\/strong> Open roughly May to October (please verify).<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:6px 0;line-height:1.55;\"><strong style=\"color:#f25353;\">Cost:<\/strong> Admission and cable car payable (please verify).<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:6px 0;line-height:1.55;\"><strong style=\"color:#f25353;\">Safety:<\/strong> In the cave it is icy cold; warm clothing and sturdy footwear are a must.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:12px 0 4px;\"><strong style=\"color:#f25353;\">Tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-top:0;\">\n<li>Dress warmly, the cave is below freezing<\/li>\n<li>Allow enough time, the approach and tour take several hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Background &amp; History<\/h2>\n<p>High above the Salzach valley, in the rock massif of the Tennengebirge, hides the Eisriesenwelt, whose name is aptly translated as World of the Ice Giants. It is the largest ice cave on earth, a widely branching system whose front sections are filled with mighty ice formations. These arise through an interplay of air currents and temperatures: in winter cold air draws in and cools the rock, in spring meltwater seeps in and freezes into columns, curtains and sculptures, which in the light of the carbide lamps appear as if from another world.<\/p>\n<p>For a long time the cave was decried among the valley dwellers as an entrance to the underworld, a place one avoided and surrounded with legends. Only towards the end of the 19th century was it systematically explored and made accessible to visitors. Above the cave entrance watches Hohenwerfen Castle, a defensible fortress from the 11th century, in which today birds-of-prey displays recall the old art of falconry. The way from Werfen up to the cave entrance is itself already an experience, for it leads over dizzying paths up along steep rock walls, before a cable car overcomes the last metres of altitude. Thus in Werfen the experience of an icy depth combines with the view of a castle that has watched over the Salzach valley for almost a thousand years, and with the special atmosphere of a cave in which wintry cold prevails even in high summer.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#221c1a;color:#fff;border-radius:10px;padding:18px 22px;margin-top:28px;\"><strong style=\"font-size:1.08em;\">Related<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:6px 0 12px;color:#d8d2cc;font-size:14px;\">To make your trip run smoothly , our guides and gear tips for this destination:<\/p>\n<div style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:10px;\"><a href=\"\/en\/wanderschuhe\/\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:#f25353;color:#fff;padding:9px 16px;border-radius:6px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;font-size:14px;\">Hiking boots \u2192<\/a><a href=\"\/en\/ausruestung\/\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:#f25353;color:#fff;padding:9px 16px;border-radius:6px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;font-size:14px;\">Gear &amp; reviews \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Die Eisriesenwelt im Tennengebirge bei Werfen ist mit rund 42 km L\u00e4nge die gr\u00f6\u00dfte Eish\u00f6hle der Welt. Besucher erkunden den eindrucksvoll vereisten vorderen Teil mit Karbidlampen auf einer gef\u00fchrten Tour. Die Anreise mit der steilsten Seilbahn \u00d6sterreichs und der Weg durch das Gebirge sind selbst schon ein Erlebnis. Highlights Gr\u00f6\u00dfte Eish\u00f6hle der Welt (rund 42 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1029,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","citadela-item-category":[39],"citadela-item-location":[44],"class_list":["post-992","citadela-item","type-citadela-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","citadela-item-category-ausflugsziele-sehenswuerdigkeiten","citadela-item-location-salzburger-land"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item\/992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/citadela-item"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item\/992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1491,"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item\/992\/revisions\/1491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"citadela-item-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item-category?post=992"},{"taxonomy":"citadela-item-location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpentreff.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item-location?post=992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}