Fallbach Waterfall

Malta, Carinthia (Karnten), Austria

About Fallbach Waterfall


Hiking Distance: 800m round trip
Suggested Time: 15 minutes

Date first visited: 2018-07-13
Date last visited: 2018-07-13

Waterfall Latitude: 46.98373
Waterfall Longitude: 13.46973

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Fallbach Waterfall was a pretty easy waterfall to visit.

In fact, it seemed like everything about my visit to this waterfall was with the family in mind.

Fallbach_042_07122018 - Fallbach
Fallbach

Even the walk to the base of this towering 200m nearly freefalling cataract was very easy to do as it only required about 30 minutes total to take it all in.

There was even a playground at the Erlebnispark (Adventure Park) adjacent to a good chunk of the walking path to get to the base of the waterfall.

Indeed, while some of the adults would be preoccupied with doing the more ambitious excursions to the Fallbach, the kids could play in the playground.

The playground was decked out with a rope-pulling raft, large slides, zip-line-like one-way hang pulleys, and a bunch of other things you’d find in most playgrounds.

Malta_Hochalmstrasse_153_07132018 - Melnikfall, which was further up the road in the Malta Hochalmstrasse was claimed to be the highest waterfall in Austria at 300m
Melnikfall, which was further up the road in the Malta Hochalmstrasse was claimed to be the highest waterfall in Austria at 300m

Finally, there have been claims that Fallbach was the Carinthia Province’s highest waterfall.

However, a sign here conceded that title to the Melnikfall further up the Maltatal Valley at 300m in cumulative height.

Either way, the signage here still considers this to be Carinthia’s mightiest waterfall given its high volume flow.

Experiencing Fallbach

Speaking of adult excursions, I began my visit by paying 5 euros for adult admission (under age 3 are free; typically open from 9-5 as of my July 2018 visit).

Fallbach_017_07122018 - Context of Fallbach and the playground, which the kids really enjoyed
Context of Fallbach and the playground, which the kids really enjoyed

Then, I walked out the other side of the gift shop and took the path on the right to go around the kids playground on the left.

The gradually ascending footpath was flanked by the playground on one side and a cow pasture on the other.

Eventually after reaching the end of the playground, I then crossed a fence.

Beyond the fence, the path went onto what appeared to be a continuation of the cow pasture while the path climbed to the lookout at the top of a small hill right at the base of the Fallbach Waterfall.

Fallbach_102_07122018 - Looking back at the well-stocked children's playground alongside the trail to the Fallbach Waterfall
Looking back at the well-stocked children’s playground alongside the trail to the Fallbach Waterfall

The catch with this part of the trail was that there were cow patties everywhere as a result of this being part of the cow pasture.

Once I made my way up to the top of the short hill to get a closer more intimate look up at the Fallbach, I was also able to turn around and get nice views across the Maltatal Valley.

In the morning, those views have perfect lighting, but I’d be looking against the sun at the waterfall.

In the afternoon, the opposite would be true.

Fallbach_087_07122018 - Looking across the Maltatal Valley from the base of the Fallbach Waterfall
Looking across the Maltatal Valley from the base of the Fallbach Waterfall

It only took me about 45 minutes away from the car (15 minutes more than the recommended time), but I lingered for quite some time.

Had our daughter taken the time to check out the playground, I could’ve easily lingered here a bit longer to let her play.

Other ways to experience Fallbach

As for lingering for longer to do more ambitious excursions, I noticed on a map that there was a steep path taking you up to a lookout half-way up the full height of the Fallbach Waterfall.

There were closure signs during my visit in July 2018 so I’d imagine that path was no longer possible due to the rockfall danger.

Fallbach_046_07122018 - Closer look from the base of Fallbach with red signs urging people not to get close to the waterfall due to the danger of rockfalls
Closer look from the base of Fallbach with red signs urging people not to get close to the waterfall due to the danger of rockfalls

There was also a longer trail from a different car park that would have taken you to the same spot on a more gradual trail as well as going all the way to the top of the waterfall.

Neither of those additional things I took part in, but it did seem like an option if the base of the Fallbach Waterfall left me wanting to do more.

Authorities

Fallbach resides in the village of Fallbach near the town of Malta in the state of Carinthia (Kärnten), Austria. It may be administered by the Fallbach community. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting their website.

Fallbach_001_07122018 - Looking against the morning sun towards the Fallbach in shadow from the car park
Fallbach_011_07122018 - On the short walking path leading to the kiosk for the Fallbach Erlebnispark and short trail to the waterfall's base
Fallbach_014_07122018 - Approaching the entrance for the Fallbach Erlebnispark and trail to the waterfall's base
Fallbach_023_07122018 - Context of the Fallbach towering over the children's playground as I was getting closer to the base of the waterfall
Fallbach_026_07122018 - The short trail to the base of Fallbach had some slight incline as evidenced by this look back towards the Erlebnispark and across the Maltatal Valley
Fallbach_035_07122018 - Approaching the fenced area at the base of Fallbach, which was apparently a free pasture grazing area for the local cows as evidenced by the plethora of cow patties
Fallbach_037_07122018 - Closer look at some of the cow patties I had to watch out for as I was walking up to the bottom of the Fallbach
Fallbach_040_07122018 - Looking up at the Fallbach Waterfall shortly after crossing the fence and heading closer to the lookout near its base
Fallbach_048_07122018 - Looking back across the Maltatal Valley from the lookout before the base of the Fallbach Waterfall
Fallbach_054_07122018 - Looking further the Maltatal Valley from the lookout before the base of the Fallbach Waterfall
Fallbach_059_07122018 - Someone had set up a memorial at the lookout before the base of the Fallbach Waterfall as I'd imagine someone might have passed away here
Fallbach_065_07122018 - Approaching the lookout at the top of the short hill at the base of Fallbach
Fallbach_067_07122018 - Context of the short walking trail along a fence that led up to the lookout hill before Fallbach
Fallbach_070_07122018 - Looking back down the trail as I was headed back to the entrance after having my fill of the overlook of the Fallbach Waterfall at its base
Fallbach_077_07122018 - A closer look at more cow patties strewn all over the ground before the Fallbach Waterfall
Fallbach_078_07122018 - Last look back at the Fallbach Waterfall as I was making my way back to the entrance and car park
Fallbach_096_07122018 - Looking towards the village of Fallbach as I was returning from the Fallbach Waterfall
Fallbach_106_07122018 - Cows resting in a pasture adjacent to the trail I took to reach the Fallbach Waterfall


We managed to reach the Fallbach Waterfall after driving from Millstatt.

Therefore, I’ll describe the driving directions from there.

From Millstatt, we drove west on the B98 for about 8km to the A10 autobahn ramp heading north (right).

Fallbach_004_07122018 - At the car park for Fallbach and the Erlebnispark
At the car park for Fallbach and the Erlebnispark

Once on the autobahn, we continued for about 9km.

Then, we took the exit 130 for Gmünd, which swung us around for about 1km to a roundabout.

We then took the second exit to keep straight and did the same thing at the next roundabout.

Afterwards, we were on the Maltatal Landesstraße and we continued on this road for about 11km to the well-established car park for Fallbach on the right.

Fallbach_005_07122018 - Looking back at the car park entrance for the Fallbach and Erlebnispark
Looking back at the car park entrance for the Fallbach and Erlebnispark

You can’t miss it because the Fallbach Waterfall was clearly visible from the Maltatal Landesstraße.

Overall, this drive took us about a little over 30 minutes.

For geographical context, Millstatt was 85km (about an hour drive) west of Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, 75km (about an hour drive) east of Lienz , 99km (well over an hour drive) south of Sankt Johann im Pongau, and 151km (about 2 hours drive) southeast of Zell am See.

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360 degree sweep of the Fallbach Waterfall and its surroundings across the Maltatal Valley

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Tagged with: maltatal, fallbach, erlebnispark, children, playground, cow pasture, austria, waterfall



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Fallbach (Austria) August 28, 2011 1:45 pm by Ruth Williams - The Fallbach waterfall is situated in the beautiful Maltatal valley in Carinthia Southern Austria. Maltatal is known as the valley of the waterfalls and is particularly popular for ice-climbing on the frozen falls in the winter. The Fallbach plunges 200m in freefall over the mountain side. It is easily visible from the road where there… ...Read More

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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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