"Gasselhöhle" – The most beautiful Cave in the Northern Limestone Alps

The Cave

The spacious cave is known for its rich concentration of speleothems (stalagmites and stalactites), whose colours and impressive forms are shown with the power of electric light. Without any doubt, the "Gasselhöhle" is the most beautiful

cave in the Northern Limestone Alps of Austria.

 

Access
The show cave is situated in the mountain "Gasselkogel", a mountain east of Traunsee . It is accessible via forest roads and different hiking paths. The main track starts at the village of Rindbach (near Ebensee, Upper Austria) and follows a small river with picturesque cascades. After passing by the wooded valley of "Rindbachtal" and the mountain pasture "Lichteneckalm", the hiker will reach a managed mountain hut next to the cave entrance (EL 1229 m/ 4032 ft.). The hike to the chalet and the show cave takes about 2 1/2 hours and is also recommended for families.

 

Discovery
The Gasselhöhle was discovered in 1918 and became quite early a tourist attraction of the Salzkammergut. In 1931 the cave was nominated as a protected natural monument by the Austrian government. The official opening of the show cave took place in 1933.
Not far inside the cave the explorers found several skeletons and single bones of the cave bear, which is an extinct species today.

 

Guided Cave Tour
The show cave and the mountain hut are open from the beginning of May to mid-September. Guided cave tours are offered on Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays (9:00am - 4:00pm) and take about 50 minutes. The underground

journey leads the visitors along concreted paths and wooden stairs approximately 250m (820ft.) inside the cave.

 

Mountain Hut
Inside the chalet and on the sun terrace with a panoramic view on the surrounding Alps the hut keeper offers regional delicacies, like the unique "Zirbenschnaps", a liqueur made of pine cones, and the "Kaiserschmarrn".
The opening hours of the mountain hut are the same as of the show cave.

 

Climate
The temperature inside the cave ranges from 6 to 7°C (42-44°F) and the relative humidity of the air reaches nearly 100%. In these conditions the air is almost sterile. The cave is nominated as a favourable place for the treatment of asthma and allergies.

 

Speleological Explorations
Nowadays the cave system "Gasselhöhle" is surveyed 5 kilometres in length (3mi.) and 150m (500ft.) in level difference. In 1984 the discovery of the "Hall of the Pearls" caused a sensation in the Austrian speleological society. There, the explorers have found several cave pearls, which are the biggest in Austria, up to 4cm (1½ in.) in diameter. During the current explorations (since 2006) new parts of the cave (like the "Sintervulkanhalle") were discovered, which are not open to the public. In 2010 the survey group of the Speleological Society of Ebensee was highly distinguished by winning the "Poldi-Fuhrich-Price" of the Austrian Speleological Association.

 

Other Hiking Paths
The hike to the top of the Gasselkogel (EL1411m, i.e.4629ft. above sea level) is recommended, because of the spectacular view over the lake Traunsee. The path starts at the chalet and will lead you to the top of the mountain in

15-20 minutes. Other hiking paths lead you from Rindbach via the Spitzlsteinalm to the show cave.

Find the GPS coordinates for the different hiking paths on our website.

 

Operator: Speleological Society of Ebensee

The Speleological Society of Ebensee is an apolitical non-profit-association, based on scientific research. With 400 members it is the second largest speleological society of Austria. The club was founded in 1933 to manage

the showcave. Until today the "Gassel-Tropfsteinhöhle", the mountain hut and the bus shuttle are operated by the

society. Furthermore the club is engaged in the exploration, survey, documentation and scientific research of caves in cooperation with specialist institutions.

 

Become a member of the Speleological Society of Ebensee

The Club is open to everybody, who is interested in caves and mountaineering.

For an annual membership fee of only 18 Euro, several benefits are included like a non-work-related accident-insurance up to 40.000 Euros for outdoor activities as climbing, mountaineering, caving, skiing etc. The insurance also includes the rescue costs like a helicopter transport in case of an emergency. The insurance is valid worldwide.

As a member Speleological Society of Ebensee you also profit of all the benefits of the Austrian Alpine Association like the reduced accommodation costs in all alpine huts in Austria, managed by the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖAV), die Naturfreunde, der Österreichischer Touristenklub (ÖTK), Bergsteigervereinigung and the Austrian Speleological Association.

Every member of the club has free access to the guided cave tours to the Gasselhöhle during the opening hours.

If you are interested just contact us or fill out the requested membership form.

 

 

Important Information

 

Access
Drive from Ebensee (Upper Austria) to Rindbach. Free parking area at the end of the public road.
The hike takes 2 1/2 hours along a marked path.
Hiking boots are recommended!

Hiking map: downloadable

 

Opening hours (show cave and chalet)
Beginning of May to mid-September.
On Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays (9:00am. - 4:00pm.)
Last tour starts at 4:00pm.
Take warm clothes with you!

 

Fee (Guided tours)

Adults: 11 €

Reduced fee (Members of Alpine or Caving Clubs) : 10 €
Groups of 15 people or more: 10 €

Salzkammergut Card / Bad Ischl or Laakirchen Guestcard Holders: 8 €

Adults using the shuttle bus up and down: 8 €

Children (age 6-14): 5 €
Free for children less than 6 years old!

 

Shuttle bus transfer from Ebensee
Length: 12km (7½mi.), difference in altitude: 590m (1936ft.), duration: 25 minutes
Remaining hike: 30 minutes

Departure: parking area of Gasselhöhle in Rindbach, rail station "Ebensee Landungsplatz" (only on request)
Advance reservation necessary! Bus service only on request!

Tel.:  0043 - (0) 680-4446510

Registration deadline for groups more than 8 people: Friday noon


Fee (bus):

  Ascent Descent Ascent and descent
Adults
12 €
8 €
16 € *

Children

(up to 14 years old)

6 €
4 €
8 €

 

* Adults, who have booked an ascent and descent by bus, pay only 8 € for cave admission.

 

Mountain bike

The route from Rindbach via forest roads to the Karbertalalm is open for mountain bikers. It is also connected to the mountain bike-route "Rindbach - Farnau - Offensee".

 

 

Information

 

Helmut Steinkogler 680-1127544

Tel.: 0043 - (0) 680-1127544

info@gasselhoehle.at

 

 

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© Verein für Höhlenkunde Ebensee

Redaktion: Johannes Mattes, 2011-18

Beate Engert, 2019-22

Gerald Pührer, 2023

Verein für Höhlenkunde Ebensee

Der Verein für Höhlenkunde Ebensee ist ein unpolitischer, auf fachwissenschaftlicher Grundlage aufgebauter, gemeinnütziger und nicht gewinnorientierter Verein. Mit rund 350 Mitgliedern ist er der zweitgrößte höhlenkundliche Verein Österreichs.

Der Verein wurde 1933 als Trägerorganisation für die Schauhöhle gegründet und betreut seitdem die Gassel-Tropfsteinhöhle, die dazugehörende Schutzhütte und den Shuttlebus.

Weiters beschäftigt sich der Verein mit der Erkundung, Vermessung und Dokumentation von Höhlen und deren wissenschaftlicher Erforschung in Zusammenarbeit mit Fachinstitutionen.

 


Kontaktdetails und Impressum

Obmann: Dr. Dietmar Kuffner

Reindlmühl 48, 4814 Neukirchen

0680-1127544 (Information und Reservierung)

Auf Tripadvisor bewerten:

Bankverbindung:

Verein für Höhlenkunde Ebensee

IBAN: AT68 2031 4055 0407 7461

BIC: SKBIAT21XXX

Bankname: Sparkasse Salzkammergut