Dachstein Ice Cave (Rieseneishöhle)

The Dachstein Ice Cave is on the northern side of the massif, near Obertraun above Hallstatt. A cable car climbs from the valley to the Schönbergalm at 1,350 metres, from where a short walk leads to the cave entrance. Guided tours run through frozen chambers with names like the Tristan Dome and the Parsifal Hall.

You access this side of the mountain from Ramsau via the road around the massif through Schladming and Bad Aussee — a long drive, but the cave is worth combining with a visit to Hallstatt on the same day.

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A story
The Rieseneishöhle and the neighbouring Mammuthöhle were both opened to tourists in the 1910s. Air currents through the cave keep the temperature below freezing year-round, so the ice formations — sheets, columns, frozen waterfalls — survive into the warmest summers.

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