The Rauriser Urwald in the Rauris valley is one of the last fragments of old-growth Alpine forest in Austria, with Swiss stone pines over 500 years old. It lies within the Hohe Tauern National Park, which has protected the valley from the logging and pasture clearing that stripped most Alpine slopes. Free access, no trail infrastructure required, about 1-2 hours to walk through. A genuinely unusual and quiet experience in a part of the national park that sees far fewer visitors than the Grossglockner.
natural reserve in Rauris
Rauriser Urwald
One of the last primeval forests in the Alps, preserved in the Rauris valley on the eastern side of the Hohe Tauern National Park. The Swiss stone pines (Zirben) here are over 500 years old: gnarled, enormous, and unlike anything in the managed forests that cover most of the Alpine region.
- Type
- natural reserve
- Destination
- Rauris
- Cost
- Free to visit
- Address
- 5661 Rauris
- Coordinates
- 47.0753, 12.9917