The Krimml Waterfalls’ Health Secret

The Krimml Waterfalls: Waters of Wonder

The 15-minute climb from the car park is already rather exciting. Throughout, you might think you hear a growling dragon behind every bend in the path. But this dragon turns out to not breathe fire, but water – a thunderous waterfall that fills the air with white clouds of spray mist: billions of microscopic droplets glittering in all the colours of the rainbow whenever the sun hits them.

When you finally reach Europe’s highest waterfalls, you might mutter to yourself: “Wow… breathtaking!” As it turns out, it’s quite the opposite: people come to visit to finally breath freely in the waterfalls’ special spray mist. In a way, you’ve entered a gigantic therapy room, furnished with forests, rocks, and seemingly endless masses of water. 

But in what way does the imposing natural spectacle, where waters fall from a height of 380 metres (1,250 ft), have actual therapeutic effects?

Can Spray Mist Boost Our Health?

Over a period of thousands of years, humans evolved in nature. The benefits of moving to urban spaces came at a price: diseases of civilisation have become common. Are these factors related? How does nature impact our health? And how can we make use of these healing properties?

These and similar questions are being researched at the Institute for Eco-Medicine at Salzburg’s Paracelsus Medical University. Welcome to the world of Johanna Freidl. She researches human habitats in forests and near bodies of water, and the physical and mental effects they have on people. Freidl is also part of the medical team at Hohe Tauern Health spa in SalzburgerLand. She treats patients looking to take advantage of the Krimml Waterfalls’ natural spray mist as part of what is sometimes called “water therapy”. “The medically accurate term is ‘inhalation aerosol therapy’, which describes the mechanism of action”, says Freidl.

The Secret of the Waterfalls

“The reason for the Krimml Waterfalls’ healing properties when it comes to allergic respiratory tract inflammations is the atomised, respirable aerosol”, says Freidl. “The particles are 200 times smaller than an asthma inhaler’s droplets and can penetrate the airways that much more deeply.”

Microscopic droplets with a negative charge stay in the air for a longer period of time, whilst those with a positive charge are larger and drop to the ground more quickly. Inhaling particles with a negative charge stimulates our immune system, alleviates or eliminates symptoms of allergies and asthma, and cleanses our airways. “A clinical study has proven the beneficial effects for allergic respiratory conditions”, confirms Freidl.

Front-Row Seats in the Spray Mist

When you feel the fine mist in the air ever more intensely, you know it can’t be much longer until you arrive at the waterfalls. The air smells like pine needles, moist moss, and tree bark. You hear a mighty roar. Billions of water droplets are vaporised and turned into the healing mist.

Breathe in and Get Well

Linger a bit and breathe in. The aerosol is at its strongest right by the waterfall, where you can feel it wafting around you in waves.