Alpen panorama from Zugspitze, the top of Germany
Visitors to southern Bavaria and the twin towns of Garmisch-Partenkirchen should aim high with Zugspitze in their sights. At a height of 2962 metres (9720 feet) above sea level, Zugspitze is the highest point in Germany, and can be reached from the Bavarian side in Germany or the Tyrolian side in Austria. As shown above, crosses appear on both Austrian and German (taller) sides. Most will take advantage of one of the following three ways to ascend to the summit:
- Bayerische Zugspitzbahn (Zugspitze cogwheel railway): from Partenkirchen to glacier plateau, then glacier cable car to mountain summit
- Eibsee-Seilbahn (Eibsee cable car): near Grainau at the base of the mountain, direct to the summit on the Bavaria/Germany side
- Tiroler Zugspitzbahn (Tirol cable car): from Ehrwald in neighbouring Austria, direct to the summit on the Tyrol/Austria side
On a clear cloudless day above and below, panoramic views from the summit include sight lines to other Alp peaks in Germany and Austria.
Southwest view from Zugspitze between Bavaria, Germany (DE) and Tyrol, Austria (AT)
West view from Zugspitze: Tyrol, Austria (AT)
Northwest view from Zugspitze: Tyrol, Austria (AT) and Bavaria, Germany (DE)
North view from Zugspitze: Bavaria, Germany
Northeast view from Zugspitze: Bavaria, Germany
East view from Zugspitze: Bavaria, Germany (DE)
Southeast view from Zugspitze: Bavaria, Germany
South view from Zugspitze: Tyrol, Austria (AT) and Bavaria, Germany (DE)
Southwest view from Zugspitze between Bavaria, Germany (DE) and Tyrol, Austria (AT)
Hourly regional-trains from München (Munich) reach Garmisch-Partenkirchen in under 90 minutes, and trains from Innsbruck across the border in Austria take between 80 and 90 minutes. Have a look at the German Rail or Deutsche Bahn website for times and fares.
More from the area
• Germany’s highest mailbox with its own view of the Alps
• The twin towns of Garmisch-Partenkirchen
I made all of the photos above on 9 October 2011. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-6tt.
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14 Responses to “Alpen panorama from Zugspitze, the top of Germany”
I have never seen such great pictures of the Zugspitze before!
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Hi, Timo. I certainly couldn’t be fussy with clouds hanging and sticking around in the valleys below. The day before and after were cloudy, so I chose wisely when I went up to the summit on that day. I’m fortunate I got to see a phenomenal panorama! Thanks for your kind comment!
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Beautiful pictures – though it looks freezing! And I love the labels, because otherwise I would have no idea what I was looking at.
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Thanks, Jess. Yes, it was cold up top. The temperature in the valley below was +5C (40F), but on the summit, the air temperature was -12C (+10F). With 17 km/h (11 mph) winds, the effective windchill was -20C (-4F). Brrrrr. As for the labeling, finding and ensuring labels are correct isn’t always easy, but I also like knowing at what I’m looking. Thanks for reading and for your kind comment! 🙂
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Wow! Stunning photos Henry! Thanks for labeling everything so its easy to understand what we’re looking at 🙂
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Hi and thanks, Adelina. It took some time to get all the information and pieces together, but it was a lot of fun to do, also appealing to the details-oriented scientist in me. 😉 Thanks again for reading and for your kind comment!
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Fabulous photos and diagrams – I do feel the need for a jacket right about now BRRRR
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Hi and thanks, Sarah-Jane. For my ascent to Zugspitze, I thought I was prepared for the cold air. Not only did I “luck” out with clear skies, but I got a true alpine setting, complete with near -20C windchill. ‘BRRRR’ was right. The mountain just had their first real “dump” of the early season which explains why there was no one skiing on the glacier. Thanks again for reading and for your kind comment!
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