Cave diving in Austria
Cold, deep karst springs in the Salzkammergut and the Northern Limestone Alps — the Kessel and Hirschbrunn at the Hallstätter See, the sumps of the Koppenbrüllerhöhle, the Rötelseehöhle above the Traunsee, the Gollinger Wasserfall and the Palfauer Wasserloch — nearly all protected and permit-only; the Pießling-Ursprung is closed.
7 sites · down to 87 m
All 7 sites
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hirschbrunn | 80 m | Small cylinders / no-mount | Full cave |
| Kessel (Hallstatt) | 65 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Koppenbrüllerhöhle | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Palfauer Wasserloch | 71 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Pießling-Ursprung⛔ Closed to divers | 87 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Rötelseehöhle | 48 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Schwarzbachfall-Höhle (Gollinger Wasserfall) | 76 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- 112 or 144 (Rettung; say 'Tauchunfall'). For a cave accident: Alpin-Notruf 140 — the Austrian cave rescue has its own diving team. DAN Europe: +39 06 4211 5685.
- Hyperbaric chamber: Graz, Klinische Abteilung für Thorax- und Hyperbare Chirurgie (Med Uni Graz), Auenbruggerplatz 29, 8036 Graz — the only Austrian chamber with guaranteed 24-hour readiness; emergency +43 316 385 12803 (GTÜM list, Jan 2025). Upper Austria's diving-accident page also lists Munich (+49 89 40 66 55, 24/7) and Klinikum Traunstein (+49 172 836 63 50).
Access and rules
- No freely accessible cave dives: almost all springs and caves are a Naturdenkmal or a 'besonders geschützte Höhle'. Kessel: diving prohibited without an exemption permit (BH Gmunden); according to a local cave diver the police check. Hirschbrunn: permission from the Upper Austrian nature-protection authority. Rötelseehöhle: land of the Österreichische Bundesforste (contract needed). Koppenbrüllerhöhle: show cave, only via the operator. Pießling-Ursprung: diving ban since 1987. In practice permits go to the research teams of the Höhlenvereine (for the Kessel in 2012: the Landesverein für Höhlenkunde in Oberösterreich) — ask well in advance.
- Salzburg (Gollinger Wasserfall): in a 'besonders geschützte Höhle' any intervention contrary to the protection purpose is prohibited; cave expeditions of more than 3 days need a permit from the Landesregierung; fines up to €7,300 (Salzburg cave law).
Closed or restricted
- Grüner See (Tragöß, Styria): not a cave, but often asked about — diving has been banned by the private owner since 1 January 2016 (stirred-up sediment threatens the green colour); offenders risk a trespass lawsuit.
Gas and fills
- Gas: at the Attersee (~1 h from Obertraun) Nautilus in Unterach fills (air 24/7 at an outdoor station, nitrox, trimix, argon; rebreather support), as does Attersee Tauchsport Service in Steinbach (trimix, IANTD, rebreather training; by appointment only). In Hallstatt the Tauchclub Dachstein-Salzkammergut has a fill station — which gases: ask. Ask everywhere in advance about O₂ and sofnolime.
Water and season
- Water 4–7 °C (Pießling ~4 °C, Kessel and Gollinger 5–6 °C, Rötelsee ~6 °C, Koppenbrüllerhöhle ~7 °C): drysuit and heating. Snowmelt (spring) and heavy rain bring high discharge — Pießling up to ~40 m³/s, Gollinger up to 42 m³/s; the Hirschbrunn then becomes active every afternoon and the Kessel overflows about twice a year on average. Winter brings low water and the best visibility (Pießling 30–50 m). The known entrances lie at 508–710 m.
Rest day
- Non-diving days: a tour of the Koppenbrüllerhöhle (May–September daily, ~1.5 h); the Gollinger Wasserfall (entry fee; ~15–18 min walk to below the cave mouth above the upper fall); the Palfauer Wasserlochklamm (April–October, stairs and a suspension bridge).
Plan a cave diving trip to Austria
Enter your team, with certifications, gas and configurations, and see right away which caves fit. With driving times from your stay, fill stations and an AI instructor who thinks along.
Compiled from web research (Wikipedia de/en, the 'Höhlentauchen in Oberösterreich' blog, VHO (hoehle.at), norbertleutner.at, cavediving.cz, FST (fst-int.com), lochstein.de, meinbezirk.at, Stodertalfreunde, showcaves.com, schauhoehlen.at, Dachstein Salzkammergut, wasserlochklamm.at, EnnstalWiki, europeanwaterfalls.com, gollinger-wasserfall.com, Gipfeltreffen, ORF Steiermark, Salzburg cave law (jusline), Land Oberösterreich, Notruf NÖ, GTÜM, Austrian cave rescue association, hallstatt.net, salzkammergut.at, nautilus.at, attersee-tauchsportservice.com; Sept 2026). Pins from Wikipedia, showcaves.com and a car park (europeanwaterfalls.com); the Kessel, Hirschbrunn and Rötelseehöhle have no pin. ~ = estimate. Rules change — check locally.