Another lovely day in the Bavarian Alps found us driving through the mountains in search of Germany’s tallest mountain, the Zugspitze. I remembered riding a cable car to the top of the snow-covered mountain when I was a teenager, unfortunately when we arrived at the station it was ridiculously expensive to ride up the mountainside. So we took a few photos and headed towards Garmisch-Partenkirchen. This is the home of a US Army Base and also where our next adventure was to take place! It actually ended up being more enjoyable than if we had gone to the top of the Zugspitze.
Zugspitze Bahnhof 
Zugspitze is the tallest mountain in Germany
We parked our car and then walked a little over a kilometer through an enchanting valley following a lovely little mountain stream. Eventually we came to a tiny little outpost and the entrance to the Partnachklamm Gorge. We had no idea what to expect from the website, but were delighted to discover that the gorge was amazing!
Stream in the valley 
Stream winding up to the gorge entrance 
Thought this tree looked like an elephant’s trunk!
Looking back at the ticket booth 
First view of the gorge
We paid a small fee and entered into a cave that opened up onto a small stone and wooden walkway that hugged the side of the gorge. The mountain stream we had been following, rushed and swirled below us as the water flowed over rocks and through the narrow gorge floor. It was exhilarating to listen to the rushing water only a few feet below. Sometimes the path even extended out a little over the river. The walls of the gorge reached 80m or 263ft. high and at times one could only see a sliver of blue sky above. The entire gorge was 800m or 2035ft long and once you reached the other side it opened up into a lovely little valley. After a respite in the sun we turned around and walked back through the gorge again. At times the path was very narrow and you had to practically hug the person trying to pass by you. Partnachklamm Gorge was declared to be a German Natural Monument in 1912.
Gorge path 
We passed through several small tunnels on the hike.
The other end of the gorge 
Partnachklamm Gorge: 18 April 2019
It was nice to warm up in the sunshine as we walked back to the car. Often water would drop on you from the rocks above and it was considerably cooler in the gorge. Needless to say we had worked up quite an appetite and so we ate at the Olympiahaus Restaurant by the carpark. This restaurant sits at the bottom of the 1936 Olympic ski jumps. Interestingly this is where Adolf Hitler opened the 1936 Munich Olympic Games!
On our way back to the apartment we stopped off in Oberammergau again and finished a little last minute shopping in the Bavarian Alps.
Camellia's Travel Blog 