Suspension bridge
Over the top.
NatiSythen — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alexander Migl — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alexander Migl — CC BY-SA 4.0 · NatiSythen — CC BY-SA 3.0 · FkMohr — CC BY-SA 3.0 de
The Stuibenfall is a waterfall at the hamlet of Niederthai in the municipality of Umhausen, in Tyrol's Ötztal valley, Austria, about 38 km southwest of Innsbruck in a straight line. With a drop of 159 metres in two tiers, it is the highest waterfall in Tyrol. On average 610 litres of water a second pour over the edge, up to 2,000 at peak, with the strongest flow in summer, as the stream is fed largely by meltwater from nearby glaciers. The falls formed after a huge rockslide near Köfels around 7000 BC dammed the valley and created a large lake; the water then cut into the rock it falls from today, and a natural rock bridge survives from the collapsed mass. Heavy white water drops in two stages between rock walls cloaked in dense pine forest, with spray rising around its base. Since 2007 a suspension bridge has spanned the top, and five viewing platforms are spread along it, some so exposed that visitors are soaked by the spray. Visitors walk the trails up and down between the platforms and cross the suspension bridge, and since 2008 experienced climbers can tackle a 450-metre via ferrata that crosses the falls in its final stretch. In summer the falls are lit up one evening a week.
Over the top.
Five of them.
450 metres.
Niederthai, Umhausen, Tyrol, Austria
In summer.
One evening a week in summer.