Garnitzenklamm in Winter

The Garnitzenklamm is a 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) long gorge near Hermagor in the Gail Valley (Gailtal) in Carinthia. There are a lot of waterfalls and awesome rock formations and you should not forget to visit this gorge when you are in Austria because it's really worth it.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


Google Maps: Garnitzenklamm
Homepage: Garnitzenklamm (English)

Above and below are views down from one of the wooden bridges over the brook. I just love the colours and the textures of the rocks. And looking down on the other side of that bridge you can see these cool looking boulders in the middle of the brook.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


If you want to hike till the end of the gorge you will need about 3 hours to get there, but there are also several circular routes that will take up to 5 hours.

When I was there on January 6, 2023, I hiked only the first part of the trail which took me about 2 hours one way because I took some photos on the way. The normal hiking time for this part would be about 45 minutes. The trail was quite icy in places and I was still recovering from the flu so I didn't want to overdo it and get home safe.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber
Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


As said above, the trail was quite slippery at most places. There was not much snow in the gorge, but the trail was mostly covered by that white stuff. Also, the snow was frozen and thus slippery, as well as the parts of the trail that were not snowy, have been icy and slippery too.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


To the left of the above telephoto shot of the brook is a huge waterfall, but because of the icy snow and rocks I couldn't get there. I was able to take the image below of the bottom part of this raging waterfall though.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


It's Winter and so I was hoping for icy waterfalls, but there was more ice on my trail than in the brook. That's why my photos don't look much different from the images I have taken a few months earlier in Summer 2022. But if you look closer you might see that some of the rocks are covered in ice, but unfortunately there were no icicles.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


A little further up the trail the brook is running slower and there are these little pools of water with small waterfalls. I love the green colour of the water.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


Almost at the end of my hike there's another bridge across the gorge and below there are a few lovely waterfalls. These belong to my favourite waterfalls and I had to take some photos, of course 😀

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber
Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber

 

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber
Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


The further trail leads along the right gorge wall and from there I could take another close-up photo of the upper waterfall. The rock and leaves behind the waterfall are certainly iced.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


And some more close-up photos of a little waterfall along the trail.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber
Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


Once more I have to say that I love the colours and textures of the rocks and boulders which are quite unique, I believe.

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber


And at the end of this post one last image of a small waterfall that I photographed on my way back to my van.

It has been snowing a lot in the past days and if I have enough time I want to visit this gorge again next weekend. I am sure that by then there will be icy waterfalls and I do hope to get some "cool" images ❄️

Garnitzenklamm in Winter - Johann Piber
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