Mudpie Fridays >> Austria >> Nature’s Ice Palace at the Hintertux Glacier Zillertal

Nature’s Ice Palace at the Hintertux Glacier Zillertal

When we decided to stay in Tux as part of our two-week Summer holiday in Austria we knew we wanted to go up the Hintertux. Since my husband did this when he was a small boy, around the same age as Harry is now. However, one thing that he did not do is visit Nature’s ice Palace Hintertux. The Hintertux ice cave fast became top of our things do list. If you are considering doing the same thing then this blog post will help you make the most of your visit to the Natureispalast Hintertux or the Ice Palace Hintertux.

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How to get to the Ice Palace Hintertux

The Ice Palace is located at the very top station on the Hintertux – Gefrorene Wand at 3250m above sea level. You need to buy tickets for the gondola rides in addition to the entrance to the ice cave. For two adults and one child, Harry was free as he was under the age of 8 it cost €125. To enter the ice palace it cost €39 for an adult and €15 for a child.

There is free parking at the Valley Station. To reach the top station of the Gletscherbus you can take one of two routes. Despite visiting in July you could not see more than a few feet in front of you by the time we reached the top. And it was particularly wet! So we opted to take the three Gletscherbus up.

The alternative is to take the Gletchertbus up to the Tuxer Fernerhaus. And then change to the smaller cable cars on the 10er Gefrorene Ward and onto the chairlift. This was our original plan as the boys really wanted to try out the chairlift. But alas the weather had other ideas. Even in the Summer there was 45cm of deep snow so you will need warm clothing.

Once you arrive at Gefrorene Ward and exit the cable car you should be able to see a little metal box with a blue door to your left. This is where you meet your guide and can purchase tickets. If you can not see it because of visibility then walk about 20 ft to your left and you should see it. If the weather is nice then make sure you check out the panoramic terrace and viewing platform. Which is just above the Mountain Station Gletscherbus.

Tickets and timings for the Natureispalast Hintertux

When we visited in the Summer the discovery tour of the natural ice palace ran on the hour from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm. I could not find details of this on the main Hintertux website. In fact, all I could do was make a nondescript booking without specifying a time or date. Which I was reluctant to do. Since I had already made a booking for lunch on the cable car.

If you do want to book in advance which is recommended during busy times then you can do this via the Natureispalast Hintertux website. Where you can specify the time and date. Numbers are limited so advance booking is recommended if you want a particular time.

We did not book, but we did arrive ready for the first tour of the day at 10.30 am. I noticed when we were leaving that the next tour was at least twice the size of the one we had been on. We paid cash.

If you can make the first tour of the day then I would suggest doing this since it tends to be the smallest giving you much more time to wander through the ice caves. The larger the tour the more time pressure you have since it takes longer to get through the route.

Getting to the Hintertux Ice Cave

To get to the entrance of the nature ice palace you walk down past the snow tubes and then continue down the mountain. It feels like a long time but in reality, it’s probably only a five-minute walk. However, it is really steep and more slippery than the ice cave itself. Even with heel walking and sideways walking I struggled. Thankfully the husband is better at this than me and basically dragged me down and up!

But to be honest, all the effort that goes into making the ice cave easy to navigate. It wouldn’t take much to add a rope down! Our experience was probably impacted by the fact you could not see more than about 10 metres in front of you. So I was also aware of the boys were quite close to the edge at the bottom without supervision. Since we made it down slowly. And from what we could see if you went over the edge you went into oblivion. Again this is probably impacted by the lack of vision due to the cloud.

This was my least favourite part of the whole experience and I think more could be done to make it easier for those not used to waking down steep slopes in the snow. If you have collapsing walking sticks then I would take them.

Getting back up was just as troublesome.

My advice wear snow boots/ski boots with the best grips you have. We saw some people in trainers for the next group. You can rent footwear if needed from the sports shop at the bottom of the cable car. Sticks if you have them and tether your children. The minimum age is six.

Going inside the Hintertux Ice Cave

The Hintertux ice caves themselves were really easy to navigate. There are a few steps up and down but nothing excessive. There is only one place where the guide warns you to go slowly due to the increase in altitude. Which we did notice but did not have any bearing on our experience at all.

The majority of the time you have black rubber mats to walk on. With ropes secured into the ice wall were needed as you move between the ice rooms.

You do need to negotiate a couple of 6ft ladders down and up. But actually, although that sounds a bit tricky they were really easy to do. Everyone just goes really slowly. I had looked at visiting the largest ice cave in the world which is Eisriesenwelt located close to Salzburg. It wasn’t far from where we were staying but everything I read said it was physically difficult. Which put me off with the kids. You really do not need to worry about that with this tour which is suitable for the whole family over the age of six.

What did we see when we visited the Hintertux Ice Cave

You wander along tunnels carved out of ice and at various points there are areas that open up into stunning ice formations. Take your time and look up as well as down when you see these there are some beautiful magical ice stalactites. The structures are so complex that it can be hard to take it all in. And the photos really do not do it justice it is like you are walking through crystal chambers.

There are two short routes around the cave. The first, you go down and then back up again. The second route takes you to the underground lake area where divers go ice swimming. Here you go on a boat trip down the river and back again. In total, we were in the cave for about an hour. Although this is broadly dependant on how quick your tour group is.

There were too many people to fit on the boat ride in our group so this part was redone for the last few. Those who had already tried this out were shown the way out of the nature’s ice palace Hintertux.

Top Tips for a Visit to the Natural Ice Palace at the Hintertux

Wear appropriate footwear. Do not wear trainers. Walking, snow boots or sturdy shoes are most definitely needed
You do not need ski gear however check the weather conditions before setting off. As we discovered even in July the weather at the top can be wet. Inside the cave, the constant temperature is around zero degrees which for us was more pleasant than being outside. Warm clothes are recommended and if you have them water resistant hiking trousers are sufficient.
Take gloves as you are required to hold onto cold ropes within the natural ice cave. Waterproof gloves are invaluable for this.
The tour is lit there is no need to bring anything in addition with you.
If you want a less crowded tour then do the first one of the day. It felt as though Austria really didn’t get going until around lunchtime most days and then it was really busy.
Harry was 7 and was absolutely fine and really enjoyed the experience.

Final thoughts

It really was a spectacular experience despite getting down to the and getting up again. The boys will always remember when we went into the ice cave.