Grossglockner High Alpine Road

Photograph by Anas Morsali, taken during his own trip

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road (Großglockner Hochalpenstraße) is one of Europe's most thrilling and scenic mountain passes, a masterpiece of engineering that winds for 48 kilometres through the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park — Austria's largest nature reserve. Built between 1930 and 1935, the road climbs to 2,504 metres at its highest point (Hochtor), crossing the main Alpine ridge with 36 hairpin bends that offer ever-changing panoramas of glaciers, alpine meadows, rocky peaks, and deep valleys. The road's crown jewel is the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe viewpoint, where visitors stand face-to-face with the Grossglockner (3,798 m), Austria's highest mountain, and gaze upon the Pasterze Glacier — the longest glacier in the Eastern Alps, though sadly retreating rapidly due to climate change. Along the route, several exhibition centres explore alpine ecology, geology, and the history of the road's construction. Marmots can be spotted sunning themselves on rocky outcrops, while golden eagles and bearded vultures soar overhead. The road is typically open from May to October, and is best driven slowly, with frequent stops to absorb the magnitude of the landscape.

Planning the wider trip? The Austria planning guide covers how to get there, how to move around, where to stay, realistic costs and a day-by-day itinerary that includes Grossglockner High Alpine Road.