The 5 Fingers viewing platform is located at the top of the mountain. It offers a breathtaking view of the mountain ranges, looking over the entire Lake Hallstatt.
Since it's winter and we don't get any snow back in our homes in the south east asian region, we were eager to see the snow mountains. We hopped onto our car and drove from Graz to Obertraun. The journey was estimated to be around 2 hours long.
We got super excited seeing the gigantic snowy mountains from the highway that we immediately stopped our "caraoke" and started taking photos. As we got nearer, snow covered the fields and houses turning everything white. It’s a beautiful sight! The road gets narrower and windy at the foot of mountain. We had to be extra careful not to drive off the cliff.
ABOVE: Snow mountains in the distant. Spotted our destination from the highway. We are coming!
ABOVE: Snow covered the fields turning everything white. Beautiful isn't it?
ABOVE: Narrow winding road leading to 5 Fingers
Skiing is one of the popular sports during winter in Austria. We bought our tickets and joined the long queue of skiiers with their gears. We had to squeeze into the cable car and transited twice before reaching our stop.
During "take off", the cable car dipped a little which caused a few oohs but not to worry, everything is normal and the ride was not as bumpy as I anticipated.
ABOVE: Ticket to 5 Fingers Viewing Platform
ABOVE: The cable car that goes up the mountain
ABOVE: Skiers resting in the snow at 5 Fingers
Finally, we set foot on a snow mountain! It felt like trekking on a humongous "ice kachang kongsong"; fluffy, cold and definitely wet. I am happy that I wrote a pair of trekking boots instead of normal sneakers. It definitely helped a ton walking in the snow.
From the entrance, it takes another 20-30 minutes of hike uphill and downhill to reach the viewing platform. During the hike, I spotted adventurous paragliders soaring through the sky and that reminded me of ‘Crash Landing on You’.
ABOVE: Adventurous paragliders soaring through the sky
5 Fingers got its name because the platform was shaped like a hand with 5 fingers that spread out over the mountain. From here, you get the prefect view of the mountain ranges and the entire Hallstatt.
The journey back was rather tough due to the steep uphill we need to cross before reaching the cable car station. It is a good way to burn all the calories we have been gaining since we reached Austria.
ABOVE: View of Lake Hallstatt from the viewing platform
ABOVE: The snow mountains
ABOVE: Steep uphill back to where we started
I was famished after the hike. I ordered the pizza recommended by my colleague and couldn't resist getting a bowl of hot soup to curb the cold. Carrot ginger soup was my choice; nourishing plus ginger is proven to be a natural remedy for colds and sore throats.
ABOVE: Pizza
ABOVE: Carrot Ginger Soup
It was a wonderful experience for me; hiking on a snow mountain to catch the beautiful view. The hike was friendlier compared to those I had in Bromo and Ijen. A tip Be prepared for the cold and invest in a pair of hiking or snow boots and you’re good to go.
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