Leogang lies in the tranquil heart of Austria’s Pinzgau region, where the main ridge of the Alps is at its most beautiful.

There are few large towns in the Pinzgau; smaller villages are more typical. Many farmers still plant and harvest by hand, and village life centers on the church and the market square.

Two major rivers nearly intersect in Leogang. The Saalach River flows south to north and divides the Pinzgau with grassy mountains on both sides of the valley. The Salzach River flows west to east and forms the northern border of the Hohe Tauern National Park, the largest protected natural area in Central Europe. Much of the park remains open to hiking and cycling, and visitors are likely to see alpine wildlife like marmots, ibex, golden eagles and bearded vultures. An almost constant silhouette: the snowy peaks of the Dreitausender–glacial mountains higher than 3,000 meters. 

Regional map with trail and lift system: www.bike-pinzgau.at/bikemap/bikemap/saalbach/index.html

Alpine trail above Leogang

The Pinzgau region stretches from the Kitzbuehel Alps in the northwest, to the Hohe Tauern National Park in the south, home to the Grossglockner High-Alpine Road, the most famous scenic route in all of Europe.

Natural Wonders
Whether by bike along dedicated bike paths or by bus, the Saalach River Valley is a fun region to explore, starting with a collection of three natural wonders about 15 miles from Leogang. The Lamprechtshöhle—Lamprecht’s Cave—is one of the largest cave systems in Europe. About 700 meters (2150 feet) are accessible to visitors, who can climb 392 steps along a series of underground waterfalls and streams. The setting is not entirely controlled, and high water still threatens from time to time; red lights signal immediate evacuation. As interesting as the natural setting are the inscriptions on the walls and ceilings dating as far back as 1823, as well as crosses marking where people have died trying to find the end of the cave (or, according to legend, treasure). It wasn’t until 1993 that a Polish team found another exit more than a mile high atop the Steinberge.

Two chasms—both protected natural monuments—lie within a five-minute drive or bus shuttle. During the last Ice Age, glaciers cut a narrow cleft through the limestone walls of the Saalach Valley. In the Vorderkaserklamm Chasm, the rift runs 80 meters (250 feet) deep along a 400-meter (1300-foot) gorge. The Seisenbergklamm Chasm runs 600 meters (nearly 2000 feet). At some places, the opposing walls are close enough to touch as misting waterfalls pour into frothy streams.

The “Pilgrim’s Cathedral”Farther north, St. Martin, a traditional rural village surrounded by mountains, is well-known for the so-called “Pilgrim’s Cathedral” at Maria Kirchental. The mountaintop masterpiece was designed by Fischer von Erlach, Austria’s leading baroque architect (he built Schönbrunn in Vienna). Even before its completion in 1708, pilgrims trekked by foot from throughout Salzburg and Tirol. Today’s traveler still has to climb (by foot, bike, car or taxi) a winding hillside road past shrines to the Stations of the Cross. While the external and internal architecture are stunning, the votive paintings are equally impressive. Each was contributed by a pilgrim as thanks for holy rescue from illness or accident and explains the story in words and pictures. Paintings portray falling trees, floods, avalanches, overturned boats, attacking soldiers, fires, apparent death beds with the image of Mary as protector.

Just to the north, Lofer is more of a patrician and market town rather than farming village, which shows in the ornate and formal architecture. Lofer is also well-known as a center for outdoor sports and home base for rafting companies and adventure outfitters. Here the Saalach narrows again and flashes attitude with rapids that draw whitewater fans from across Europe.

From here, it’s barely 30 minutes to Salzburg. Or detour west through the Strub Pass and follow the tumbling waters of the Loferbach in what amounts to a 75-kilometer (46-mile) circuit around the base of the Steinberge. Most of the route is secondary or farm road. The pass marks the border between Salzburg and Tirol, and the ruins of an old castle and toll station mark the site of battles through the centuries.

Rural life in Unken
Downstream of Lofer, in Unken—less a town than a collection of rural villages spread across alpine foothills—the Kalkofengut Farmers Museum gives a powerful sense of rural life. The thick-walled house was last renovated in 1681 and has rooms that have changed little through the centuries. The kitchen still has two open fireplaces that open to a wide overhead chimney. The arched ceiling, caked black with soot, once held hooks for meats that would smoke slowly overhead. The museum is filled with exhibits from the 15th to mid-20th centuries like butter churns and molds, tobacco cutters, kitchen utensils (no forks—just knives and spoons), religious carvings, weaving machines, spinning wheels and curiosities like castration clamps and massive hairballs coughed up by favorite cows. Photographs show former residents through the early 20th century as well as old customs like stilt-dancing. Signs are in German but not necessary.

Before it reaches a tab of German territory, the Saalach relaxes (thanks to flood-control dams) before re-entering Austria in a forest lakescape near Bad Reichenhall and Salzburg. Just past the Festival City, it joins the Salzach for their mutual flow into the Inn River, the Danube and, ultimately, the Black Sea.