We were already overwhelmed by the romanticism of Salzburg, and we were really not ready what unfolded before us in the next two days – the beauty of Hallstatt is something we expect to exist only in picture books and fairy-tales. Hallstatt is often described as “the most beautiful lake town in the world” and it has its reason. The town itself is located in a picturesque geographical area known as the lake district of Austria – and the town of Hallstatt is the pearl of this lake district. The town is not only rich in beauty but in history as well. It owes its existence to the rich salt deposit of salt in the mountain of Hallstatt – and the earliest record dates back to 5000 BC!! The prehistoric humans from Hallstatt began to take the salt from the salt mine and organized mining took place from the Bronze age. So, people have lived in Hallstatt for thousands of years. When Rome was just a village, Hallstatt was already a thriving community. Today Hallstatt attracts a lot of visitors but we found it still retained its old charm along with its perpetual beauty.
We took a bus from Salzburg till Bad Isch and changed to a train that took us to Obertraun – a sleepy little town sitting just across the Hallstatt lake. There are several hotels in Hallstatt town but we chose Obertraun as the accomodation rates were very reasonable and it was just a ferry ride away to Hallstatt. But as soon as we reached Obertraun, we fell in love with the place. The name itself means “little traun village” – where “traun” translates to tranquility. It was a worthy name indeed.
This small town too was very old – during the Middle Ages, it was mainly wood cutters and lumberjacks who lived here, as a lot of wood was needed to build the brew-houses in Hallstatt. We walked through the quiet town, down an undisturbed lane, to our accommodation – a nice looking Austrian wooden house.
It had taken us almost 3 hours to reach the hotel in Obertraun from Salzburg and a hot shower refreshed us, but not more than the view from the balcony – the hill slopes all around were drenched in autumn colours and as the day progressed a rolling blanket of cloud moved in. We enjoyed the peace and tranquility right at our room’s balcony and a hearty meal. Soon after we called a taxi and were off to see the Dachstein ice caves.
There are only a few places on Earth where tourists can easily access mega-sized ice caves and the Dachstein Caves near Obertraun and Hallstatt has one of the best. The ice in the cave is formed by water which seeps from the Dachstein plateau down into the cave through small cracks and joints in the cliff. When outside temperatures are above freezing the caves still contain really cold air, so the penetrating water freezes and forms magnificent ice shapes and frozen waterfalls. We bought our tickets from the visitor’s center and hopped on to the gondola which took us through a scenic climb over the colourful trees of the fall season. We got off and level 1 and proceeded for the guided tour of the cave. It took us 15 minute hike from the cable car to the entrance, and then we entered the mountain through stalactite passageways and down into a large natural hall called Saint Arthur’s Dome. As we headed deeper into the cave we could feel the icy chill and then frozen sightings began. From an impressive wall of ice, to a frozen tunnel called the Keyhole, and then fantastic formations having names like the Ice Palace, Tristan Dome, Big Ice Chapel, Castle of Holy Grail and finally a frozen waterfall. We loved our 50 minutes tour of the caves. And we came out back into the lights – the alpine view was splendid too.
As the weather was overcast, we decided against visiting the 5-finger viewpoint which was located much higher at level-2. We descended and took a bus to Hallstatt. 10 minutes later as walked through the beautiful village we could understand why it is admired all over the world. The setting is just perfect! It’s a gentle place — idyllic and majestic — where lakes and mountains are shuffled beautifully together…the perfect place to commune with nature. The pastel shaded timber houses, lined up across the narrow lanes and up across the slopes – clean and where each balcony has a lovingly watered, one-of-a-kind flower-box, looked in complete harmony with the beauty of this place.
We spent most of our time down by the waterfront and at a cosy eatery. As evening came, we went back to our quiet town of Obertraun. At night, we could experience what pin drop silence feels and we slept like logs.
Next day we could not wait to head back to Hallstatt. We took the one stop train to Hallstatt rail station and reached the beautiful village by ferry. The approach view really looked great from the water. Once on land, we took a gentle strolled through the tightly stacked timber homes. For us, this lakeside stroll is one of the more delightful parts. The town itself does not allow cars and one can freely walk carefree among the coulorful narrow lanes. As we walked along the edge of Lake Hallstatt, we noticed how village’s houses cling to the cliff-side of the salt mountains overlooking the lake. The houses were built stacked like this not only because of a lack of land but also so more residents could have direct lake access.
We felt the whole place was like a movie set – picture perfect, almost without a biotic flaw – except that it was all real and natural. It will not be incorrect to say that an hour in this place is like a day in a vacation.
We admired the glassy water of the lake, again, looked up to Mill Creek Waterfall – cutting through the heart of Hallstatt, sat a while at the colourful town square, visited the ossuary at Michael’s chapel – where right from 12 AD, exhumed human bones have been moved from the graves, due to lack of land-space. Later, we climbed stairs to the church and to get a good view of the town; then climbed down to eat at Gasthof Grüner Baum, a great place located right by the lake. We sat on their floating porch and gazed at the passing clouds. It truly was a time spent among beauty.
Technically, you can explore Hallstatt in a couple of hours – it is really that small – but once you are there, it is very hard to break away. For us too, it was difficult to finally bid adieu to this picture postcard place. We took the ferry and went back to Obertraun. The green meadows of Gosau awaited us.
Things to do in Hallstatt:
- Take a long stroll through the town, visit the town square, admire the lake front and the colourful timber houses
- Cross the lake in the ferry or rent a boat.
- Visit the Ossuary
- Visit the Hallstatt Salt Mine – oldest in the world, about 7000 years old.
- Visit the Dachstein Ice Caves and the Five-Finger viewpoint
- Explore the archaeological excavation which houses structures which date back to stone age.
- Spend quality time absorbing the beauty of the place
How to Reach Hallstatt from Salzburg by local transport:
Take Bus Number 150 from Salzburg station and reach Bad Ischl in 1.5 hours. From Bad Isch, if you want to go to Obertraun, take the train and get down at Obertraun. You can also get down one stop earlier at Hallstatt Rail Station and reach Hallstatt town by taking the ferry across the lake. If you want to reach Hallstatt town directly from Bad Isch, take Bus Number 542 to Gosaumulhe. At Gosaumulhe, just change to the next bus, numbered 543 which will drop you at Hallstatt.
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