EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

In summer you can scale two local peaks, which are also served by cable car. Just east of Badgastein train station, the Stubnerkogelbahn gondola (June to mid-Oct 9am-4pm leaving on the hour; öS180/¬13.14 return), ascends to the 2230-metre Stubnerkogel , a superb vantage point providing vistas of the three main peaks in the area, with the Grossglockner to the west, the Ankogel to the southeast and the Dachstein to the east. It's also the starting point for numerous hiking trails. On the opposite side of the valley, the Graukogelbahn (July-Sept 9am-6pm leaving on the hour in good weather only; ascent öS155/¬11.32, return öS180/¬13.14) is a two-stage chairlift to the Graukogelhütte , on an alpine meadow some 500m below the 2492-metre-high peak of the Graukogel itself. It's an evocative place from which to look out over the wilds of the Hohe Tauern.

For walkers, one of two quick routes out of Badgastein and into the mountains is along the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Promenade , which leaves the northeastern end of town to work its way along the hillside, offering extensive views straight down the Gastein valley en route to the Kötschachtal, a side valley shrouded by dense pine forest. After about fifteen minutes the path emerges from the trees to head through the Grüner Baum hotel complex before continuing onwards into increasingly desolate alpine territory, with the mountains crowding in on either side. If you're looking for a drink and a snack before heading back into town, the Himmelwand hut, twenty minutes beyond the Grüner Baum, or the Prossau hut, a further two hours uphill, are reasonable targets to aim for. An alternative walk involves taking the Erzherzog-Johann-Promenade , which leaves the Bad Hofgastein road about 100m south of the Badgastein tourist office, and leads round the wooded flanks of the Stubnerkogel, opening up a sweeping panorama of the valley, including the sight of the hotels of Badgastein spilling down the hillside over to the right. After about an hour of gentle climbing the path arrives at the Angeralm , a bowl surrounded by mountains, where there's a café-restaurant.