National Parks

Austria is home to six unique national parks, offering a stunning variety of animals, plants and landscapes. When visiting Austria make sure you spend some time exploring one of these natural havens.

Wet and Wild

Located between the European capitals of Vienna and Bratislava, the Donau-Auen National Park preserves the last remaining major wetlands environment in Central Europe. The wetlands along the free-flowing stretches of the River Danube that pass here are among the most ecologically significant of the Central European river and nature enthusiasts will be fascinated by the numerous animals and plants that thrive here. The river provides sustenance to 60 species of fish, kingfisher, golden eagle, beaver, terrapins, rare orchids and countless insects. Explore the extensive wetlands landscape on land or water under the guidance of the park's tour guides.

A Park for all Reasons

With an area of 11,054 hectares, the Gesaeuse National Park is the third largest of the six Austrian National Parks and features a range of different landscapes - high mountains, woodlands, high meadows and open water - meaning there is a wealth of nature to discover. Explore the lower regions on foot, with a guide - there's a wide range of walks suitable for all levels. Easier routes include the Sagen and Rauchboden paths, more experienced walkers can try more challenging ascents such as the waterfall and Petern paths. Climbers will particularly enjoy a visit here as the Gesaeuse is well known to Alpinists for its breathtaking climbs.

Untouched Beauty

The National Park Thayatal is unique in that it is a transborder national park, with its counterpart, the ‘Národni park Podyjí', on the Czech side of the border. Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, the valley along the border had remained practically untouched and the national park was only founded in 2000. Surrounding the Thaya river, here you will discover an extraordinary world of plant species and forest that had been virtually hidden from human interaction for years. The Thayatal valley has an array of landscapes - steep cliffs, gentle meadows, natural forests and wild river banks created by the ebbs and flows of the Thaya river.

Natural Tree Museum

The Kalkalpen National Park comprises of 21,000 hectares of woodland and is the largest protected forest area in Austria. Visitors will discover many different forest types with fir, spruce and beech dominating. The aim here is to maintain the natural cycle - trees grow old and die without any interference from humans or machines; decayed tree trunks give way to new tree life and the cycle begins again. However, there's much more than just trees here - visitors can explore waterfalls, lakes, gorges and ravines as well as search for 30 different species of mammal (beware of the brown bears), 80 species of bird and 1,600 species of butterfly.

From Darius Sanai's "On the Nature Trail". Read the full article.