Eisriesenwelt

Tourist attraction · Sankt Johann im Pongau

Eisriesenwelt

Tourist attraction · Sankt Johann im Pongau

Eishöhlenstraße 30, 5450 Werfen, Austria

Highlights

Discover a stunning ice cave filled with ancient stalagmites, where guided tours reveal its frosty beauty, but be ready for a chilly adventure and some steep stairs.

Eishöhlenstraße 30, 5450 Werfen, Austria Get directions

eisriesenwelt.at

@eisriesenwelt

@afar

"Chill in the Ice Caves at Werfen The largest ice caves in the world lie just 30 miles south of Salzburg in the Eisriesenwelt at Werfen. Only a portion of the more than 20 miles of caves are open to the public on a 75-minute guided tour, but what's available to visit is impressive. Magnificent ice formations, frozen waterfalls, and a smooth, rinklike ice palace can be found in this underground world. Visitors will also see Hymir's Castle , an enormous ice sculpture named for the ice giant of the Edda (the oldest Germanic-mythology saga), and witness layers of time, much like rings on a tree, encased in the glacier (which is actually not a glacier but a massive chunk of accumulated ice)."

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Kirk Holz

Google

I visited many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. The guide’s burning of magnesium strips to illuminate the cave was quite good too. I highly recommend it (though they didn’t let us take photos inside during my visit - so my photos are from outside the cave)

CrazyB0

Google

A really nice experience for the whole family, be prepared for 1400 stairs inside the cave and 0 degrees Celsius for the whole experience inside. From the parking it’s a hop to the check-in and ticket station, then a 20min walk to the Cable Car, a 3min ride with the cable car steep into the mountain and then again a 20min walk to the cave entrance. All the hikes to the entrance are worth it because of the beautiful views of surrounding mountains. Would recommend to visit if you’re a nature or cave enthusiast

Juliette Letertre

Google

Beautiful and unique ice cave. Be sure to have a warm coat and pants. You may have a hat and gloves if you're easily cold. The walk up to the cave is 90 minutes long but worth the panoramic. Otherwise you can pay for the trip by cable car, then you have to walk 20 more minutes to the cave entrance.

Philip Smith

Google

This was one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. The hike up isn't for the weak (even with the funicular ride it is still two separate holes up some pretty steep grades). Once in the cave you still continue to hike up even more but it is so worth it! Bring a good jacket because it's cold in the cave!

Daiva Garneliene

Google

Amazing experience! Whole cave is covered with ice. There is about 1500 steps inside the cave. So watch your steps and be careful. And do not forget to take of your gasoline lamp and not to burn your neighbour. Definitely worth to visit! It is better to buy the tickets in advance in the early morning entrance , because later it becomes really crowded🙂

Arne De Gryse

Google

A beautiful though cold cave. The guide was kind and seemed enthusiastic which brought a good mood. To get there you purchase or scan a ticket then you have to walk 20 minutes, take a cable car and walk another twenty minutes. Most of the walking is possible to do in the shade and warm clothing is recommended.

Sanjukta Roy

Google

It is a marble stone cave. It's very dark inside. Take a strong torch light with you. They give a fire lamp but it's not very bright. You take stairs and go up along the cave. There are three main ice sculptures that are inside the cave. If you are going at the end of summer, then there's this elephant that would have melted a bit. The guy told us that the ice inside the cave was 5,000 years old. It is cold inside the cave as expected. There is melted water falling here and there. So you need a warm jacket inside the cave. But the walk on a sunny day could be very hot so you cannot wear it while you are walking up to the cave. There is a restaurant after you get off the cable car.

Purnota Hannan Timi

Google

There is no doubt that the hike and the cave are really beautiful. But the instructions and time schedules for bus do not make sense. Last ride of cable car was 5:10pm and the last shuttle bus wass 5:30pm. I ran and caught the bus. Unfortunately one person was left behind and the bus had to return back. 20 minutes walk is kind of misleading because it takes long to reach the cave after getting down from cable car.

Andrea S.

Yelp

I have come for 25 years. It's beautiful. Every time. I love the lack of electricity, the shapes and shadows. ... They are currently allowing people to take pictures inside the caves and I wish they wouldn't. The light from the phones add a lot of light to the cave. It takes away some of the magic. Despite being told not to the people around me kept stopping to take pics and I kept tripping over them

Kaori M.

Yelp

This place is definitely amazing. First, short hikes to the cave entrance is already beautiful. All the way down to the town of Werfen and Austrian Alps. So pretty. Then suddenly totally different scenery inside the cave. Such an ice art! I can't describe the color or shape. One of the highlights of my European trip. I visited here at the end of May, so not busy at all.

Heather D.

Yelp

After spending the day in Salzburg, we made a last minute decision to stop by here and check out this ice cave as it looked really cool online. Super glad we did! Such a great and unique experience you can't get easily or often. How tour guide mentioned he was newer to giving tours, but he was great - funny and engaging. A few pro tips to those considering going: - all tickets come with gondola ride up, down, and the tour. - If you plan to go later in the day, note that the ticket office closes at 3pm - even though the last tour is as 3:45pm. Why? Because it's a HECK OF A HIKE up to the thing. There is a gondola - but it doesn't matter. Still a strenuous 20 min-ish hike at a bit of a steep incline. If you're extremely out of shape - be warned. - please dress warm - for freezing temperature. I'd suggest bringing gloves as you're holding on to cold railings most of the time. - bring a high powered flashlight. They let you use them and it will help greatly with being able to see! My only complaint is why they don't add lighting in the cave. It's just really dark most of the time even with the tour guide lighting little fire cracker light things. Final verdict: Def worth the trip and price!

Matthew R.

Yelp

I had an awesome time here. I came with my mother, girlfriend, and sister. My 62 year old mother did have some trouble with all the walking but pushed through and really enjoyed it. The ice in the cave is neat and the massiveness of it is impressive, but that's not what made it a 5 star experience for me. You walk around on plywood boards with steep staircases guided by a gas lamp. The cave feels a bit alien and is fairly unmolested. There's not much between you and the ice and you only have a small lantern to guide you, it felt a bit unsafe and scary and exciting. The whole experience felt authentic and personal, a nice change from most tourist attractions. That's why I personally enjoyed it so much. We had lunch at the restaurant by the cable car and it pretty solid though watch out from the aggressive crows. We also had some strudel where you purchase tickets and that was very good as well.

Albert W.

Yelp

It's pretty amazing that there is vast extent of ice in the caves, but I was a bit let down by all the pictures online and in brochures. It's mostly a large sheet of ice inside the cave. I did not really see the stunning ice formations that the pictures online showed. Also, it was very dark and you are only provided a candle-lit lantern. If you are decently fit (not necessarily athletic), and the weather is decent, I would recommend making the hike and saving 12 Euros. The hike was very scenic and took me 45 minutes. Also pictures are not allowed. I recommend bringing somethere warm to wear for inside the cave!

Clarice W.

Yelp

The best place to get information for your visit is from the official website. So I will only be giving my personal account here. A trip to Austria would not be complete without a scenic and unique excursion to the mountains. We happened to visit the ice caves on the perfect day, the day before they closed for the winter. Because of the temperature and snowfall during the winter it is too dangerous and too cold to hold tours during this time, so check the website. There is a shuttle that will pick you up, for a small fee (apx. 5.60 EUR) from various parking lots in Werfen and take you up the steep hill to the admissions office and gift shop. The shuttle will also bring you back, just make sure you ask the driver for the times of departure. The reason I docked a star: Now, I may be lazy, but I don't care. From the ticket office you have to walk 20 minutes (which actually takes 40 minutes if you don't hike or are with people who don't hike) to get to a cable car that takes you up the mountain. But from this point you have ANOTHER steep supposed 20 minute hike to the mouth of the cave. And once inside 700 steps in and 700 steps out. See, they say it's a comfortable 20 minute walk on both accounts. I say YEAH RIGHT! I don't see any reason why they don't have a shuttle to take you at least one of those 20 minute walks. They drive cars and tractors up and down that road. And don't forget you have to walk them back as well. OK, So now in the ice cave we had a great tour guide that even had a few good jokes! The tours are announced in German and English. You cannot take pictures or video in the ice cave so it's worth it to get some postcards in the gift shop of naturally formed sculptures such as the polar bear and the elephant. You get cool miner's lanterns to carry and light your way as you walk through the cave and up the steps. It is a physical tour and it is chilly so dress warm, yes, even in summer! How do you think the ice stays frozen?

Hilary G.

Yelp

Eisriesenwelt is certainly a workout. You have to hike to the entrance of the cave which is steep and once in the ice cave there are many steep stairs to climb. This tour is not for the faint of heart. The tour guides do a good job of leading everyone, but unfortunately there were some really annoying tourists who talked during the tour and would not shut up. We also abandoned the tour bus that drove us due to the lack of a/c and we took the train back to Salzburg. I highly recommend taking the train as it's efficient and cheap. I wish we had had time to tour the Hohenwerfen castle that is very close to the ice caves. The downside of the tour is that it's extremely dark in the caves so it's hard to see.