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Lake

Obersee

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The Obersee boathouse seen across clear turquoise shallows from the pale gravel shore, with autumn woods and grey rock rising behind the lake.
A three quarter view of the weathered wooden Obersee boathouse standing in glassy shallow water, with cloud filling the valley and snow on the far peaks.
Across the still green water of the Obersee, the white Fischunkelalm farmhouse and its timber boat shed sit on a bright alp meadow under a huge grey cliff wall.
Seen from the Obersee shore over a lichen-covered boulder, the Rothbach waterfall falls beside the green Fischunkelalm meadow at the head of the lake.
Looking down from the cliff path on the Obersee, the narrow track curves along the rock face beside water shading from clear shallows to deep turquoise.
A single duck rests on a sunken tree trunk in the turquoise shallows of the Obersee, the pale cliff face rising straight out of the water behind it.
An open high view along the Obersee to the Fischunkelalm on its meadow, the grey cliff wall mirrored in the dark green water below.
A plate of dark bread spread with cheese and garnished with chives and pepper rings sits beside a glass mug of fresh milk on a wet varnished bench.

Snapshot

The Obersee is the wild extension of the Königssee, separated from it by a strip of glacial moraine at Salet. To get there, you take the electric boat to the last stop and then walk for fifteen minutes. The tourists who do not continue past St. Bartholomäe never see it.

The Story

The Königssee has been famous for a long time. It appears in paintings, on postcards, on every list of Bavarian natural wonders. The Obersee, sitting at the southern end and separated from the main lake by a ridge of glacial debris, has stayed comparatively unknown simply because it requires a decision to continue.

That decision is not difficult. The electric boat from Schönau takes about 55 minutes to reach Salet, the last stop on the lake. From there, a fifteen-minute walk across the moraine leads to a body of water that is, by most measures, more extraordinary than the Königssee itself. The walls are more vertical. The lake is smaller and therefore more enclosed. The colour, a product of glacial meltwater particles held in suspension, tends toward a deeper turquoise. There is no development on the shoreline except the Fischunkelalm, a seasonal alpine dairy and simple restaurant that has operated here for centuries, open in summer.

At the far end of the lake, the Röthbachfall drops approximately 470 metres, making it Germany’s highest waterfall. From the shore path it appears as a thread of white against grey limestone. The hike along the lake to the Fischunkelalm is about 45 minutes one way and is among the better short walks in the Berchtesgaden National Park.

The Königssee boat fleet has been electric-only since 1909, an unusually early date for environmental regulation. The silence on the water, interrupted only by the guide’s trumpet-note against the rock walls, creates an echo effect that has been performed for visitors since the 19th century.

Allow a full day from Salzburg or Berchtesgaden. The last return boat from Salet is typically around 17:40 in summer; missing it is a serious inconvenience.

Visiting

Berchtesgaden National Park, Bavaria. Take the electric boat from Schönau to Salet (final stop), then walk 15 minutes to the Obersee. Boats run approximately every 30 minutes, 08:00-19:00 in season; round-trip ticket approximately EUR 17.50. Last return boat from Salet around 17:40. Full day required. Fischunkelalm open in summer for simple food and drinks.