Wimbachklamm Bavaria: Everything You Need To Know Before Visiting!

No trip to Bavaria is complete without a visit to Wimbachklamm! Below you will find everything you need to know before visiting this beautiful gorge.

Wimbachklamm is a hidden gem nestled in the picturesque landscapes of Bavaria, Germany. If you’re seeking an unforgettable outdoor adventure, Wimbachklamm is the perfect destination to explore. From awe-inspiring waterfalls to lush forests and dramatic rock formations, Wimbachklamm offers a pristine natural landscape waiting to be discovered.

Wimbachklamm is a stunning gorge carved by the Wimbach River over thousands of years. This has created a breathtaking spectacle of rushing water and towering cliffs. Located in the Berchtesgaden National Park, Wimbachklamm is a haven for nature lovers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Whether you’re embarking on a hike along the gorge trail or simply immersing yourself in the tranquility of the surrounding forest, Wimbachklamm promises an unforgettable experience.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll cover everything you need to know to plan your visit to Wimbachklamm. From practical information such as directions, opening hours, and admission fees to insider tips on the best viewpoints and photo spots, I’ve got you covered. 

Whether you’re a seasoned hiker looking for a thrilling adventure or a casual visitor seeking natural beauty and serenity, Wimbachklamm offers something for everyone. So lace up your hiking boots, pack your camera, and get ready to embark on an unforgettable journey through one of Bavaria’s most enchanting natural wonders.

FAQs about Wimbachklamm

Where is Wimbachklamm?

Wimbachklamm is located in Bavaria, Germany, in the Berchtesgaden National Park. It is situated near the town of Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, approximately 30 kilometers southeast of the city of Salzburg, Austria.

What is the difference between Wimbachklamm and Almbachklamm?

Wimbachklamm and Almbachklamm are both stunning gorges located in Bavaria, Germany, but they are distinct natural attractions. Wimbachklamm is situated near Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden in the Berchtesgaden National Park. In contrast, Almbachklamm is located near the village of Marktschellenberg in the Berchtesgadener Land region. While both gorges offer breathtaking scenery with rushing waterfalls, towering cliffs, and lush vegetation, they have different geological formations and hiking trails, providing visitors with unique experiences in each location.

This post is all about Wimbachklamm Bavaria. 

Visiting Wimbachklamm – Important Information

Location: Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany.

Elevation: 90 meters.

Allowed: Dogs (on a leash), cycling (on designated routes).

Not Allowed: Camping, picking plants, hunting, walking off trail, water sports, air sports, drones, smoking, disposing of waste, feeding animals, loud noise.

How to get to Wimbachklamm

By Car: 

If you are heading to Wimbachklamm by car, set your navigation system to “Parkplatz Wimbachbrücke“. The parking lot is fairly large so you should be able to find a parking spot without a problem. However, this parking lot is used by hikers for a variety of routes in the area, not only for Wimbachklamm. Therefore, I would recommend to try and arrive before 9 AM to secure your spot. 

Parking prices will depend on whether you have a guest card or not. Guest cards are given to tourists who stay in one of the villages in Berchtesdagen and are provided by hotels, guesthouses, and even Airbnb. These cards will grant you free access to the bus system in Berchtesdagen National Park, as well as give you some discounts at the various attractions. Parking at Wimbachbrücke should cost around 6€ for four hours with a guest card, or 8€ without a guest card. If you want to get a day ticket so you can wander freely, then it will be 11€ with a guest card and 13€ without. These prices are of course subject to change. 

Below I will be recommending another hike to combine your visit to Wimbachklamm with, so you might want to consider getting the day ticket!

By Public Transportation:

As I mentioned above, with a guest card you can ride the buses in Berchtesgaden National Park for free. This means that getting to Wimachklamm by public transportation is both convenient and budget-friendly! If you are staying in Berchtesgaden National Park for several days and would like to get around by bus, then I highly recommend making Berchtesgaden town your base. This is because all of the major buses in the area drive through here. 

From Berchtesgaden Hauptbahnhof, you can catch bus number 846 going to Hintersee, Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. Ride it for 5 stops (around 10 minutes) and get off at the stop called Wimbachbrücke, Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. The only downside to the bus is that it doesn’t run that frequently and the earliest bus in the day is at 9:15 AM. After that, it runs every hour until 18:15. 

When to visit Wimbachklamm

Unfortunately, Wimbachklamm is only open seasonally since the winter conditions make it too dangerous to visit. The official opening time for Wimbachklamm is from the 1st of May until the 1st of November, although some visitors have reported that it is already open in mid-April. I recommend checking with the local authorities if you happen to visit very early in the season. This is because sometimes the damage from the winter may take longer to repair. 

During the summer season, it is open every day from 7 AM to 7 PM. I highly recommend that you arrive early, and close to the opening time as the gorge is not very big. The length of Wimbachklamm is only 200 meters long making it one of the smaller gorges in the area. However, it is absolutely breathtaking so I guarantee that you will want to stop every 5 seconds to capture the views. Therefore, to avoid a busy trail, arrive early in the day or close to the closing time in the evening. 

Entrance Fees:

It actually costs money to enter the Wimbachklamm trail, however, the ticket prices are quite cheap. The money from the tickets goes to maintain the trails and preserve the area which makes the price well worth it. During our visit, we actually saw one of the workers going on their morning checks to see that the trail was intact. 

To enter the gorge, it costs 2.5€ per person. If you have a guest card then it should cost just 2€. This ticket price is the same for all adults, no matter whether you are a student or a pensioner. However, it is free to visit for children under 6 years. One very important thing to note is that the machine will only take coins, so make sure to bring enough change with you!

Wimbachklamm Hiking Details

Before going into a more detailed guide of how to hike through Wimbachklamm I have added some general statistics below! This guide focuses solely on visiting Wimbachklamm. After the hiking guide below, you will find a list of recommended activities and other hikes in the area to combine with your visit. There is a hike that continues to Wimbachtal and Berggaststätte Wimbachschloss, which I will briefly provide you with a description of how to get to below. However, this is not included in the hiking statistics in this section. 

Distance: ~ 2 km in total.

Difficulty: Very Easy. 

Time needed: 1 hour in total with taking pictures.

Elevation gain: ~ 90 meters. 

Type of trail: Out-and-back (same trail) with the possibility of taking a parallel path going back to the car park.

Hiking Directions to Wimbachklamm

(step-by-step guide)

Parkplatz Wimbachbrücke to Wimbachklamm start

From the parking lot, you will be able to locate a huge sign for Wimbachklamm pointing right. Simply follow this sign and after a moment you will also be on a path called Wimbachweg. In total, it will take you between 10 – 15 minutes to reach the start of the Wimbachklamm trail depending on your speed. A little over halfway there, you will notice a ticket machine on your right-hand side. It should also have a sign that you can buy tickets for Wimbachklamm there. Make sure to stop and do this as there aren’t any other places to get a ticket further up the trail. As I mentioned above, the ticket machine only takes coins so please remember to bring enough with you!

Once you get your tickets, just follow the trail for another 5 minutes and you will reach the entrance to Wimbachklamm. There will be a machine to put your tickets through and then you can take as long as you want to enjoy the gorge. 

Wimbachklamm Gorge

Once you enter the gorge there is only one trail to follow. The trail is quite narrow and is attached to the cliffs, with amazing views over the crystal blue water running through. Along the path, you will also stumble across a spot with numerous waterfalls. This has to be my favorite photo spot on the trail!

While the trail itself is very short, as it’s only 200 meters long, the sheer beauty of the trail will make you want to stop every meter to admire the scenes! It’s best if you visit early as the path won’t be filled with people who want to walk past, and you can take your time here to enjoy the views.

Once you reach the other side, there are two ways to get out. Firstly, if you simply want to head back you can technically walk back and take the trail to the entrance again. This way, you will be able to enjoy Wimbachklamm again. However, I only suggest doing this if there aren’t a lot of people there. Otherwise, once you exit the gorge at the end of the trail, you will find a parallel trail in the forest going back to the parking lot. 

Extra Hike to Wimbachtal

If you want to hike a little bit more in the area, then you can also continue towards Berggaststätte Wimbachschloss and Wimbach Tal. The word Tal in German is translated to “valley” so you will head to a beautiful valley on an easy hike. From the end of the gorge, continue on the path running along the water for around one hour. After around 3.5 km and 300 meters of elevation, you will reach the Berggaststätte Wimbachschloss. This is a mountain hut located right by Wimbach Tal where you can sit and relax. 

The hike to this area is fairly easy and it’s a great way to extend an otherwise rather short visit to Wimbachklamm. However, this area of Berchtesgaden National Park is filled with beautiful places so below are some other activities nearby that you should consider combining with a visit to Wimbachklamm! 

Other Activities and Attractions Nearby

Aussichtspunkt Archenkanzel

Combining a visit to Wimbachklamm and a hike up to Aussichtspunkt Archenkanzel is what we did and I can highly recommend this combination! Since the trail for this viewpoint starts from the same Wimbachbrücke parking lot, you can just leave your car here for the day and explore. 

The hike is fairly difficult spanning around 15-16 km in total with an elevation gain of around 800 meters. With that said, the trail up here is not dangerous, so if you aren’t in the best shape you could still make it up. If you do, please make sure to include enough time for frequent stops as this is a very steep hike.

If you plan to hike up here after Wimbachklamm, visit the gorge as soon as it opens at 7 AM so that you can start your hike around 8:30 AM as it will take you most of the day to complete. Hiking difficulty aside, this is one of the prettiest views in Berchtesgaden National Park with an unbeatable view over the famous Königssee. 

Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden

Another option is to combine a trip to Wimbachklamm with a stop at Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. In this super small but very cute village, you can find one of the prettiest churches in Germany, St. Sebastian. While the church itself is pretty yet a little ordinary, what makes it such a spectacular spot is the location. As you approach the church you will witness views of a crystal clear stream, and beautiful mountains in the background.

From the Wimbachklamm parking lot, you can easily walk along the stream by the main road for around 35 minutes to reach this spot. I highly recommend coming here if you’re looking for beautiful places that have easy walking routes without much elevation.

Hintersee

From Ramsau bei Berchtesdagen, you can continue further along the stream until you reach one of the prettiest lakes in Bavaria, Hintersee. While this is not the most well-known lake in Germany, it’s definitely one of the most beautiful ones. Once again you can hike here by following the stream of water running by the St. Sebastian church. The hike to Hintersee takes around 1 hour and involves a little bit of an elevation gain of 130 meters. The walk to the lake is so incredibly beautiful and it is one of the most scenic places that I have been to in Germany.

Once there, make sure to walk around the whole lake (around 5 km in total). If the weather is nice you can also consider going for a swim or renting a boat to explore the lake.

Where to stay when visiting Wimbachklamm

When planning a trip to Wimbachklamm and in general to Berchtesgaden National Park, then the best base would be Berchtesgaden. This town is the biggest and most well-known in this part of Bavaria. While it is still quite small, giving the perfect feeling of a small mountain village, Berchtesgaden is extremely well connected to popular attractions in the area. All busses typically depart from Berchtesgaden and you will also find a wider range of accommodation options here. Furthermore, if you are looking to stay at an Airbnb and cook your own food to save money, then you can find all of the major stores here. 

If you decide to rent a car then you will have more flexibility when it comes to accommodation options. Overall, any town near Berchtesdagen will make for a great option since it will be close to Wimbachklamm and other nearby attractions. However, even with a car I still think Berchtesgaden is the best and most convenient base for exploring the National Park. 

That concludes my guide on how to visit Wimbachklamm Bavaria and everything you need to know before coming here. This is one of my favorite gorges in Germany and I hope that you will love it as much as I did. Although short, the waterfalls and cliffs here make for some very unique and picturesque views.

This post was all about Wimbachklamm Bavaria: everything you need to know before visiting!