Zell am See

The summit stands at 1965 metres with a single round chapel on it. On a clear day more than thirty peaks above three thousand metres come into view.

A toll road with 36 bends reaches its high point at 2504 metres. Snow usually holds it shut into early May and shuts it once more when October runs out.

A level path circles the lake for 10.5 kilometres. A reed bed along the way brings water birds close to the walker.

Gondolas run to a viewing deck at 3029 metres where snow holds even at midsummer. A gallery bored through the rock shows a cut face of the ice layers.

Two dams stacked one over the other step the water down where the valley begins. Reaching them means a bus and then an inclined lift, and the water shows a jade colour.

A square stone tower from the eleventh century now serves as the local museum. Every floor has a low ceiling, so a tall visitor walks with the head bent.

The lake climbs to 23 degrees in summer, so plenty of people swim in it. Entry to the water happens only at the fenced areas with lawn and wooden decks.

A timber walkway is hung inside a narrow cut that glacier melt carved through rock. Over its 320 metres the noise of the water buries any conversation.

A steam locomotive works a narrow gauge line along the valley floor. It runs on summer weekends only, and ordinary trains use the same rails on other days.

Where a forest path ends on the west shore a small chapel stands, reached on foot alone. The door is kept open, so passers by sit for a while and move on.

Zell's parish church, Romanesque in origin and standing mid-old-town, with a tall tower seen from anywhere on the shore. Its rows of pillars and a late Gothic gallery keep the old character. From the square's cafes the tower bells ring right overhead.

Where the Pinzgau valley ends in the west, the water drops in three tiers, together the highest falls in Austria. A climbing path beside them has several platforms, so you stop at each tier. Spray at the lower tier soaks a camera quickly.

Across on the lake's east side lies this village, from which Zell's town front lines the water against its mountains. Cross by boat from the centre or walk the lakeside path. In the afternoon the sun lights the town side, so photographs come out clear.

The national park's exhibition hall at Mittersill to the west, with rooms of hands-on displays on glaciers and alpine animals. Before a big screen a year on the summits passes in minutes. Families head here on rainy days when the peaks are out of reach.

A ski village in the valley north of Zell, linked by lifts with neighbouring areas into one large ski region. A circuit of runs loops the valley, so you can circle the mountains without taking skis off. In summer the lifts serve mountain-bike trails.