Finsterbachfälle

The Finsterbachfälle are a series of three waterfalls at the Ossiacher see near the town Sattendorf in the region Kärnten, Austria.

The waterfalls are located not far from Villach. When taking highway 10 to the north take the exit to the Ossiacher see and Annenheim/Sattendorf. In Sattendorf go left at the sign Sattendorf. Al little further, near the Volksschule, you can park your car along the road (gps 46.664806, 13.920688). There is a sign wasserfallweg From there follow the river Finsterbach upstream.

The river Finsterbach cascades down from the Gerlitzen, a mountain with a height 0f 1909 meters. Melted water feeds the Finsterbachfälle and creates three major drops called Schleierfall, Kesselfall and Finsterbachfall.

The three waterfalls of the Finsterbachfälle are located in the lower part of the river. From Sattendorf a road called “wasserfallweg” leads to the Finsterbachfälle and a trail leads to all 3 waterfalls and is 1,5 kilometers long (appr 60 minutes roundtrip). From the parking it takes appr. 5 minutes before you see the first waterfall, the Finsterbachfall with a drop of 23 meter. I think this is the most beautiful waterfall of all three. There are several good viewpoints and the Finsterbachfall is a thankful subject for great pictures.

The second waterfall, the Kesselfall can be reached within 5 minutes from the first waterfall. Also nice but less impressive as the Finsterbachfall. Nevertheless, still a nice waterfall.

Now most people stop because they don’t want to ascend (some medium steep parts) to the Schleierfall. The last waterfall, the Schleierfall is situated at an altitude of 775 above sealevel and is the highest waterfall with a single drop of 34 meters. I loved the trail, the views on the lake and the beauty of nature. It was quite warm when I visited the Schleierfall July 2022 and I drank a lot (!!!). There where hardly any people on the trail, unbelievable. It only took me another 13 minutes from the Kesselfall before I reached the first good view on the Schleierfall.

I have seen several figures about the height but all the waterfalls together “Schleierfall, Kesselfall and Finsterbachfall” descend over 200 meters.

The Finsterbachfälle are low volume waterfalls and best can be visited at midday when the sun shines on the Finsterbachfälle. Best season is probably late spring or early summer.

There are several great waterfalls and gorges near Obervellach (30-40 minute drive). You can combine the best two of them: Groppensteinschlucht with 3 big waterfalls and the gorgeous Raggaschlucht with several smaller waterfalls.