Lake Hallstatt is a stunning lake in Austria, near Salzburg. The beautiful lake is named for Hallstatt – the charming small market town nestled at the base of the salt mines, surrounded by towering Alps, on the lake shore.
Hallstatt is spectacular – one of the world’s prettiest places – the mirror lake surrounded by Austrian alps…its fjord-like with the tall often-white capped peaks and the deep lake as the centerpiece. Lake Hallstatt is 125 meters deep, giving it a mesmerizing blue color. The tiny village of Hallstat sits picture-perfect with a towering steeple, and delightful wood chalets, stone streets, perched on the shores of the 7-kilometer-long lake.
Hallstatt and the Salzburg region are famous for “salt” (salz, statt). In this beautiful mountain region, locals have been mining since prehistoric times. Hallstatt was home to the world’s oldest salt mine and a trade route to transport the vital mineral nicknamed “white gold” (since 1596). You can still visit the Salt Mines today, with a train ride, cave tours and an amusement park vibe. We visited in January, skiing the Salzburg mountains, during Lake Hallstatt’s “quiet season,” and we were bummed to see such bustle of bus loads clogging the otherwise picturesque village streets.
Interestingly, a tunnel sends traffic below the town, a marvel of Austrian engineering so that traffic and a busy highway doesn’t disrupt the village…. However, Hallstatt still gets very busy – particularly in summer.
You see, Lake Hallstatt is a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is a blessing and curse as Asian tourists flock here in bus loads for their selfies by the pristine lake. Apparently in summer, the little town is clogged with tourists, parking is sold out, and the narrow streets and waterfront are woefully over-crowded. We visited in January, skiing the Salzburg mountains, during Lake Hallstatt’s “quiet season,” and we were bummed to see such bustle of bus loads clogging the otherwise picturesque village streets.
We stayed in town at Pepi’s Chalet in Hallstatt, in a lovely chalet by the lake for two days, and found that Hallstatt despite its natural charm now lacks an authentic local feel. Its been over-touristed like so many places, Geithorn in the Netherlands, Venice Italy, Barcelona Spain, Bar Harbor and Kennebunkport Maine, come to mind.
Nearby skiing from Lake Halstatt is at Loser at Altausseee, Krippenstien and the The Dachstein Glacier and Tauplitz and many worthy ski resorts.
You are just an hour to the wonderful musical city of Salzburg, birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the setting for The Sound of Music.