The Felber Tauern is a mountain pass at 2,465 m in the Hohe Tauern range, linking Salzburg with East Tyrol. With roots stretching back to the Bronze Age and its peak importance during Roman times as the busiest Tauern crossing, this pass offers hikers both dramatic scenery and a genuine sense of history underfoot.

Sitting between the Venediger and Granatspitze groups, the pass has a rugged, high-alpine character with sweeping views toward the Tauernkogel and Hochgasser peaks. At the summit stands the Tauernkreuz, a cross consecrated in 1952, where a mountain mass is held every last Sunday of August. Summer brings green alpine meadows and manageable trails, while the surrounding terrain can turn demanding in poor weather or shoulder seasons when snow lingers.

How to get there

• Mittersill, Felbertal valley — hiking trail, several hours, moderate difficulty
• Matrei in East Tyrol, Tauerntal valley — alternative route via the Samerweg trail

Practical information

• The pass is not accessible by vehicle - it can only be crossed on foot or by pack animal
• The St. Pöltner Hütte shelter lies nearby at 2,481 m
• Best visited in summer and early autumn due to snow conditions at other times

In 1878, a sudden snowstorm during a cattle drive claimed the lives of four herders near the Nassfeld area - a tragedy that, to this day, draws griffon vultures from south of the Alpine main ridge to the upper Felbertal valley each summer.