In my Lake Königssee Travel Guide you will receive information and tips about the highlights and all the best places to visit during your stay to enjoy this beautiful place at its best.
One of the best things to do when you are visiting Bavaria is taking a day trip to Lake Königssee in Berchtesgaden National Park. Lake Königssee is considered one of the cleanest lakes in Germany. Amid Steep Mountain Slopes, the lake resembles a fjord and enchants with its emerald green color.
How to get to Lake Königssee
Lake Königssee is a mountain lake in the municipality of Schönau am Königssee in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in the Southeast of Germany in the state of Bavaria. This makes it the ultimate destination for a day trip from Munich.
By Car: There is a large car park located 10 minutes walking from the pier. A day ticket costs 5€.
By Bus: From Berchtesgaden you can easily reach Lake Königsee by bus #839, #841 or #843.
By Airplane: The closest international airports are Salzburg airport in Austria (SZG, 25km) and Munich airport (MUC, 185km) in Germany. Both of these have international flight connections. From there you can get a car rental and drive to Lake Königsee by car.
Tips To Know Beore visiting Lake Köngissee
I highly recommend visiting Lake Königssee early in the morning and take the first boat. In the morning the jetty is still pretty empty and pleasantly quiet with not many tourists around. Take the boat to Salet first and hike to the upper lake. This way you will not have hikers in front of you and only the people from your boat as company, which will dispersed quite quickly.
Tickets and Prices - the boat trip from Königsee to Salet and back costs 20,50€ for adults, children up to 5 years are free, and children from 6 to 17 years get a 50% reduction.
Online Tickets Königssee: Prices | Timetable
There is a ticket boot located in front of the boat docks to buy your tickets. It opens 30 minutes before the first boat leaves. Make sure to always carry enough cash with you as payment by card is not always preferred or possible!
Best time to visit - There is a year round boat service but there is no service to Lake Obersee during the winter months.
October – May: The first boat to St. Bartholomä departs at 9:00 am, and the last boat returns at 6:05 pm.
June - September: The first boat goes at 8:00 am, and the boat returns at 7:05 pm.
Lake Königssee during Corona - during the entire boat tour, the mouth and nose must be covered and the seats and thus the possible number of passengers are significantly reduced.
Lake Königssee Travel Guide - Best Things to do at Lake Königssee
Go on a boat tour on Lake Königssee
Within ten minutes, the boat sails from the sea shore to the so-called echo wall. If you're lucky, the captain will blow a melody with the flugelhorn at the Echowand and the echo will be reflected back once or twice, depending on the weather. Within another half hour, you reach the peninsula of St. Bartholomä. From Bartholomä, it's another 20 minutes by boat to the Salet stop and the end of the boat route. From here you can hike on to the beautiful Obersee.
Visit the Pilgrimage Church of St. Barholomä
The pilgrimage church of St. Barholomä is probably the most photographed object at Lake Königssee at the foot of the Watzmann mountain. It is most beautiful to look at from the water, that's why - in my opinion- it is not necessarily worth getting off the boat.
If you wish to reach the Eiskapelle you have to get off at Saint Bartholomä. The trail to the Eiskapelle takes about 1,5 hour and is 3 km one way. I do not recommend to go into the Eiskapelle as it is pretty dangerous, but if you decide to hike there, make sure to wear proper hiking shoes and call the Tourist Information of Schönau am Königssee beforehand to ask whether the trail is accessible.
Hike to Fischunkelalm at Lake Obersee
Lake Obersee is one of the highlights at Lake Königssee that you should not miss. You can reach the enchanting Lake Obersee after a 15-minute walk from the Salet landing stage.
It would be a pity if you only hiked to the northern shore, because the hike to the Fischunkenalm is very beautiful. To do this, continue along the path on the western shore of the Obersee to the far end of the Lake Obersee. Some sections of the trail lead over stairs and often slippery stones, which is why I highly recommend to wear hiking boots.
The hike from Lake Obersee to the Fischunkenalm takes about 45 minutes one way. As there is no fishing or boating on the Obersee and the location is very sheltered by the surrounding mountains, the lake offers fantastic reflections on the surface of the water.
From the Fischunkenalm, you can hike on to the Röthbach Falls within 30 minutes. With a drop of 470 metres, it is the highest waterfall in Germany. I decided to not walk there, because I already had a good view of the waterfall from the Fischunkelalm.
HIKE TO THE Malerwinkel VIEWPOINT
The round trip to the Malerwinkel offers a fantastic view of Lake Königssee. From the jetty, a path leads on the left past the dark brown boat huts into the Berchtesgaden National Park. The path goes slightly uphill, past Café Malerwinkel to the Malerwinkel viewpoint, which you reach after about 15 minutes.
There are several benches up here that invite you to linger. From here you can even see as far as the pilgrimage church of St. Bartholomä.
Hike to the Rabenwand viewpoint
From Malerwinkel viewpoint you have to hike up a little more. The circular trail continues through the forest until you reach another vantage point when you turn at a junction to Rabenwand. Some parts of this hike are more rocky and can be slippery so I would recommend to wear proper shoes!
Afterwards, you finally hike to the valley station of the Jennerbahn cable car and back to the car park. The circular trail from the jetty to Malerwinkel, Rabenwand and back to the car park is just under four kilometres long and takes about an hour.
take the jennerbahn to the jenner summit
After the hike to the Malerwinkel and Rabenwand viewpoints, it is a good idea to take the Jennerbahn up to the 1,800 meter high mountain station of the Jenner. The new mountain railway takes you up in comfortable ten-seater cabins in about ten minutes. On the way up you have a wonderful view of the valley.
At the top station there is a spacious viewing platform from which you have a beautiful view of the mountain world. However, you should not miss the opportunity to hike up to the Jenner summit. From up here, Lake Königssee is truly at your feet and the entire beauty of the lake is revealed to you.
Where to stay During Your Visit To Lake Königssee in Berchtesgaden
I had the pleasure of staying at the Pension Greti in Schönau at Lake Königssee and would go back in a heartbeat! It is located 2.1 km from Lake Königssee and 6 km from Berchtesgaden National Park. I have received a very warm welcome and you can look forward to accommodations with a garden or balcony with a beautiful view and free Wi-Fi in all areas, as well as free private parking.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write them in the comment section below. ⇣
xx
Nina
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Hi Nina! I enjoyed reading your blog on Lake Konigsee & Obersee in Germany. I’m curious about how difficult the path is from the boat landing at Salet to the Fischunkenalm? How much elevation gain is it? Do you think it would be ok for a beginner hiker? We would hike to the point where the Rothbach Falls can be viewed. Thank you for any advice!
Author
Hi Jean, thank you for your comment! The hike from Salet to Fischunkelalm is definitely suitable for beginners and has an elevation gain of 78m. The waterfall can be seen from a distance from the Alm. From there the hike to the waterfall takes around 30 minutes and has an elevation gain of 200m. I hope that helps!
these photos are amazing!!!