Eisriesenwelt is the world's largest ice cave, a vast 42-km system hidden inside the Tennengebirge massif. It's a place where ice and rock combine to create an underground landscape unlike anything else in the Alps.

Only the first kilometre of the cave is covered in ice and open for guided visits, but that stretch alone is unforgettable. Inside, huge chambers glow under magnesium light, ice formations glitter along the walls, and the silence is broken only by footsteps. Even in the height of summer, temperatures inside stay below freezing, while outside the surrounding Tennengebirge offers dramatic alpine views. The entrance portal sits at 1640 m, reached after a scenic approach through high mountain terrain.

• Parking near the valley station, cable car up to the Dr.-Friedrich-Oedl-Haus, then a walk to the cave entrance - requires reasonable fitness
• Hiking approach on foot from the lower cable car station for those who prefer to skip the lift

• Cave usually open from 1 May to 26 October
• Guided tours last about 75 minutes
• Visitors are given LED replicas of old carbide lamps
• The full route including approach involves 1400 steps (700 up, 700 down)
• Filming and photography are not allowed inside the cave
• The entrance is inaccessible in winter due to avalanche danger and high alpine location

Deep inside, in a hall he discovered himself, rests the urn of researcher Alexander von Mörk, who fell in World War I and whose dying wish was to be buried within the cave.