Hike from Hallstatt to the "Simony hut" Simonyhütte

For the discerning mountain enthusiast

Look forward to a varied mountain tour that takes nature lovers and hiking enthusiasts from Hallstatt's Echerntal valley, past the famous Glacier Garden to the Wiesberghaus and the Simonyhütte. An ascent of about 6 hours. The way back then takes us via the Gjaidalm. If you make the tour a day tour and do not want to spend the night at the Simonyhütte, you should allow for a total walking time of 8 to 10 hours!

From Hallstatt to the Simonyhütte

We start our high alpine day tour at the Hallstatt bus terminal.
Follow the path in the direction of the valley station of the Salzberg cable car, but follow the road of the Echerntalweg. We hike straight ahead on the asphalt road. After about half an hour, one of the first signposts to the Simonyhütte appears. On the so-called "Leiten" and through the Mitterwand tunnel we "spiral" upwards.

Historic ascent

The unique bridle path up to the Simonyhütte leads us through the forest in small serpentines to the “Tiergartenhütte” and on to the Wiesberghaus. It is a well-maintained and completely safe trail that leads well-marked into the glacier region. The ascent takes about three hours.

Small fun fact on the side

Once upon a time, even the Austrian Empress Elisabeth, better known as "Sisi", was carried by so-called chair-bearers to the Dachstein plateau. A shaky affair for everyone involved.

The journey is the reward

From the Wiesberghaus we still have a comfortable 1.5 hours to walk. There is a wonderful view of the entire Dachstein plateau with Krippenstein, Hirlatz, Ochsenkogel, Taubenkogel, Gjaidstein and of course soon also the Dachstein. The mountain pine bushes are becoming fewer and fewer. By the time we get to the steep climb to the Simonyhütte, there is only rock and snowfields that can be seen throughout the summer. After several serpentines cleverly built into the steep rock, you reach the Simony Hut without any danger.

Home of Simony

About 100 metres below the shelter we passed the so-called "Simony Hotel". This emergency accommodation served as a shelter for the great Dachstein researcher Prof. Simony. A few more metres in altitude and we have reached the Simony Hut and the Dachstein Chapel, built in 1914, the highest place of worship in the northern Alpine region. A fantastic view opens up to us of the glacier tongue below and the small glacial lakes of the mighty Dachstein's largest ice field ahead of us, the Hallstatt Glacier.

Unique location at the foot of the glacier

In summer, the ice is shimmering green and grey and shows many cracks, the dreaded crevasses. A trip to the glacier would be worthwhile. In the area of the Simony Hut there is ideal terrain for learning the basic alpine skills of rock and ice climbing. Very many mountain hikers take their first steps towards safe climbing here. Experienced mountain guides are available at the Simony Hut at all times for training or to supervise you. If you don't want to climb the Dachstein this time, it's best to go back the way you came, up to the clearly marked turnoff after about 45 minutes - to the Gjaidalm, which we can reach in three hours.

Way back via the Gjaidalm

The descent is a bit steep at first; we pass many rocks that were worn out by the glacier at the time, including some with embedded ammonites. Various species of gentian and other rare alpine flowers accompany us on the way and compensate us for the exertion. After a steady up and down we reach the Gjaidalm and from there we can take the Dachstein cable car down into the valley to Obertraun. Current operating times can be found below under "Information at a glance".

A bisserl Geschichte: Dachsteinmassiv als Romanvorlage

Bereits der österreichische Dichter Adalbert Stifter (1805 - 1868) wusste die beeindruckende Berglandschaft am Fuße des mächtigen Dachsteinmassivs zu schätzen. Sein Weihnachtsroman, "Bergkristall", die Geschichte zweier Kinder, die sich im winterlichen Bergland verirren, in einer Gletscherspalte übernachten und vom Krachen des Eises wach und damit am Leben gehalten werden, spielt in der schroffen Berglandschaft im Bereich der Simonyhütte. Und auch in seinem Opus "Der Nachsommer" setzt Stifter dieser einzigartigen Naturlandschaft für immer ein Denkmal.

A bit of history: Dachstein massif as the basis for a novel

The Austrian poet Adalbert Stifter (1805 - 1868) already appreciated the impressive mountain landscape at the foot of the mighty Dachstein massif. His Christmas novel, "Bergkristall", the story of two children who get lost in the wintry mountains, spend the night in a crevasse and are kept awake and thus alive by the cracking of the ice, is set in the rugged mountain landscape in the area of the Simony Hut. And Stifter also sets a monument to this unique natural landscape forever in his opus "Der Nachsommer".