Photo spot in Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe and the Pasterze glacier
A level terrace at 2,369 metres at the end of the Carinthian branch road, looking straight up Austria's longest glacier to the 3,798-metre summit of the Grossglockner.
About Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe and the Pasterze glacier
Get directionsThe Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe is where the Grossglockner road stops. A spur leaves the main pass road on the Carinthian side and ends at a terrace built into the mountainside, with the Pasterze glacier filling the valley below and the Grossglockner itself — the highest mountain in Austria at 3,798 metres — closing the view straight ahead.
The viewing platform is flat, wide and stepped, so it takes a subject easily and needs no walking at all; the whole picture is available within fifty metres of the car park. Paths drop towards the glacier tongue for anyone who wants the ice closer, but the classic frame is from the top.
Go early. The gates open in the morning and the first two hours give clear air, side light across the ice and a terrace you can actually work on; by eleven on an August day the car park is full and cloud usually builds on the summit through the afternoon.
Everything here is seasonal. The road opens around the start of May and closes with the first heavy snow, usually late October or early November, and the toll gates keep daily hours. In winter it is unreachable. Snow patches last into July even on the terrace, and it is often ten degrees colder up here than in the valley — bring a proper layer.
Best time to shoot
The first two hours after the toll gates open, roughly May to October; unreachable in winter
Tips
The whole frame is within fifty metres of the car park, so this works even with no walking. Check the current opening dates, daily hours and toll before you drive up — all three change every year.
Other spots in Grossglockner High Alpine Road
The Edelweißspitze
The highest point on the whole road at 2,571 metres, reached by a short cobbled spur — a stone tower on a bare summit with thirty peaks around it.
The Fuscher Törl
A saddle at 2,428 metres with the ground falling away on both sides and a small memorial chapel on the ridge — the most exposed stop on the Salzburg half of the road.
Heiligenblut church below the peak
A Gothic pilgrimage church on a rise at the Carinthian end of the road, with its tall spire and the Grossglockner lined up directly behind it.
Ready to book?
Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe and the Pasterze glacier — free of charge.