Gesaeuse National Park

Also known as Nationalpark Gesäuse

The Enns River doesn't wind around the Gesaeuse mountains. It cuts straight through them, carving a gorge with walls that rise close to 2,000 meters above the water. Austria's third national park, established in 2002, protects this limestone canyon and the forests above it.

The Gesaeuse is where the Enns River cuts through the Northern Limestone Alps and the gorge walls rise close to 2,000 meters. Austria’s third national park, established in 2002, protects this canyon and the forests above it. The park is wilder and less touristy than the Hohe Tauern: fewer facilities, more actual wilderness. Admont, sitting directly at the park entrance, adds a remarkable combination: the Stift Admont library (one of the most spectacular Baroque library rooms in Europe) and some of Austria’s most dramatic mountain terrain within a 10-minute drive of each other. Getting here means the Gesaeusebahn train to Admont via Selzthal. Rafting the Enns requires advance booking; the park is free to enter.