Driving to Grossglockner High Alpine Road: tolls, fuel & road trip guide

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road (Großglockner Hochalpenstraße) is Austria's most famous panoramic mountain road, a 48-kilometre toll route opened in 1935 that climbs through 36 numbered hairpin bends to the Hochtor tunnel at 2,504 metres. Threading the heart of Hohe Tauern National Park, it links Bruck in the Salzburg valley with Heiligenblut in Carinthia and delivers close-up views of the Grossglockner, at 3,798 metres Austria's highest peak, and the Pasterze, its largest glacier.

For a road trip it is a seasonal attraction: the road is a paid scenic route usually open from early May to late October or early November and closed overnight, so plan an unhurried daytime crossing. Spur roads branch off to the Edelweißspitze, the highest point reachable by car, and to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe glacier terrace, and there are frequent car parks, viewpoints and mountain restaurants. Bring warm layers even in summer, drive the tight bends slowly, and allow half a day to enjoy the stops rather than treating it as a shortcut.

Top attractions

Hochtor Pass (2,504 m)

The highest point of the through-route, where a short tunnel pierces the main Alpine ridge and marks the watershed between the Salzburg and Carinthia sides of the drive.

Edelweißspitze (2,571 m)

The highest point on the road reachable by car, up a short cobbled spur, with a 360-degree panorama over dozens of Hohe Tauern peaks and glaciers from a viewing tower.

Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe & Pasterze Glacier

A terrace viewpoint at the end of a spur road, facing the Grossglockner summit and the Pasterze, Austria's largest glacier, with a visitor centre and trails down toward the ice.

Fuscher Törl & Fuscher Lacke

A saddle viewpoint and a small alpine lake near the road's high section, with parking, a memorial chapel and an exhibition on the building of the historic road.

Heiligenblut Pilgrimage Church

The slender Gothic church of St. Vincent at the southern gateway village, its spire framed by the Grossglockner behind it — one of the most photographed scenes in the Austrian Alps.