I strongly believe that Berchtesgaden is one of the most beautiful national parks in the whole of Germany. However, most people just visit this national park to visit Königssee. Although Königssee is indeed a true natural wonder, I am of the opinion that the best view of Königssee is the one from above! In this blogpost, I spill everything you need to know to hike up to one of those incredible viewpoints, Archenkanzel, and enjoy a bird’s eyes view of Königssee!
Contents
- Why Archenkanzel?
- Getting to Archenkanzel
- Public Transportation
- Car/Motorbike
- Hike to Archenkanzel
- Best time to visit Archenkanzel
- Things to know about Archenkanzel
- Costs
- Ready, Set, Go!
Why Archenkanzel?
Berchtesgaden is undoubtedly one of the most scenic national parks in Germany. Back in the day when Nazi Germany was in full swing, it was Hitler’s favorite spot to holiday. The building where he stayed and planned the second world war still stands tall and strong! Therefore, a visit to Berchtesgaden is not just appealing for nature lovers but also for those interested in German history.
Naturally, a visit to Berchtesgaden is incomplete without reveling in the beauty of Königssee. As someone who thoroughly enjoys hiking, I must say that Königssee is best enjoyed from an altitude! The view of the turquoise lake shimmering and sparkling in the summer sun is like no other. Although Mount Jenner offers a stunning view of Königssee, my favorite is from Archenkanzel. There are no cable cars on this side of the lake. Thus, this trail offers the ultimate Berchtesgaden experience sans the crowds!
Getting to Archenkanzel
This hike is a little long to be done as a day trip from Munich using public transportation. A better alternative would be to start from either Berchtesgaden or even Rosenheim or Salzburg! However, as Munich is the biggest city in the area, this section will feature directions from Munich. If you have access to a car or a bike, then getting here is much faster and consequently more feasible as a day trip option.
By Public Transportation
There are two main trails that lead to Archenkanzel. However, as the connections from Munich to this part of the Alps is quite indirect, getting to the starting point of both of these trails takes just short of four hours! It is therefore quite time consuming and tiring to do this as a day trip from Munich. However, if you decide to do so anyway, the route is as follows,
To reach Berchtesgaden, you will first have to take a Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB) to Salzburg when traveling from Munich. Depending on your time of departure from Munich, you will have two options to reach Berchtesgaden,
- Alight at Freilassing and take the Berchtesgadener Land Bahn to Berchtesgaden Hauptbahnof
- Alight at Salzburg and take Bus Number 840 to Berchtesgaden Hauptbahnof
Once you have reached Berchtesgaden Hauptbahnof, proceed to the bus stop right outside the train station and take one of the following bus options,
- Bus number 841 to ‘Jennerbahn’: Alight at Königssee, Schönau a. Königssee
- Bus number 846 to ‘Hintersee’: Alight at Ilsank, Bischofswiesen
The first option lets you start the hike from the banks of Königssee and the second option involves a bit of a walk to the starting point of the hike. I chose to go for option two and ended my hike at Königssee but you can definitely do this the other way as well or just ascend and descend using the same path!
More information regarding the train and bus schedules can be found here (The departure and arrival stations must be mentioned as ‘München Hbf’ and ‘Königssee, Schönau a. Königssee’ for Option 1 or ‘Ilsank, Bischofswiesen’ for Option 2! Either way, please disable the ‘Show Fastest Connections’ option from the search parameters as Bayern Ticket is not valid for ICs or RJXs to Salzburg).
By Car/Motorbike
If you would rather drive, the whole affair becomes much easier! As mentioned earlier, there are two trails to Archenkanzel. The first one starts from the banks of Königssee and the second trail from Parkplatz Hammerstiel on the other side of the mountain. If you choose to do this hike from the banks of Königssee, put this GPS co-ordinates (Parkplatz Königssee) in your navigation device. However, if you would rather hike from the other side, navigate to this location (Parkplatz Hammerstiel)! In both cases, the co-ordinates correspond to a paid parking lot close to the starting point of the hike and the drive time from Munich is just under two hours.
Hike to Archenkanzel
Both the trails are signposted using tiny yellow boards and can be classified as easy hikes. As there will be no directions to Archenkanzel in the beginning, follow the signs to ‘Grünstein’ and later to ‘Kührointalm’. Once you reach Kührointalm, the trail to Archenkanzel is clearly marked and it takes around 20 minutes to get to Archenkanzel from here.
The ascent takes approximately two to three hours with an altitude difference of 700 metres. Depending on your fitness level and the trail you choose, the entire hike (i.e., the ascent and the descent) with photo stops can take anywhere between five to six hours!
If you are a first-time hiker or are just looking for some useful tips and tricks regarding hiking equipment, feel free to glance through this blogpost for an insightful overview!
Best time to visit Archenkanzel
As Archenkanzel is not located at a high altitude or have a particularly challenging hiking trail, I would definitely classify this as an ‘all season hike’. However, if you are planning a trip to Archenkanzel during the winter months, surefootedness is a MUST as the trail can get slippery. My chosen seasons to visit Archenkanzel would be either early spring or late autumn. Königssee is a tourist magnet. Therefore, sunny summer days and weekends could attract plenty of crowds!
Things to know about Archenkanzel
- Archenkanzel is a part of ‘Nationalpark Berchtesgaden’ (Berchtesgaden National Park). Free camping and drones are strictly prohibited here!
- The trail to Archenkanzel has one mountain hut, close to the end of the hike called Kührointalm which serves warm meals and refreshing drinks.
- If you want to continue hiking, there are several hiking trails from Archenkanzel. One option is to continue to St. Bartholomä and take the boat back to Königssee from there. Another option is to summit Grünstein and enjoy the beautiful view to Watzmann Massiv.
Costs
Transportation
If you are traveling from Munich with a group of friends, I would highly recommend purchasing the Bayern ticket! Bayern Ticket is a day ticket that lets you travel all around Bavaria in regional trains. This Ticket costs 25 EUR for one person and 7 EUR for every additional person (upto 5 people). i.e.,
- If you are traveling alone, you would pay 25 EUR
- If you are traveling with a friend, you would pay 25 + 7 = 32 EUR (for 2 people, 16 EUR per person)
The bus from Berchtesgaden to Ilsank, Bischofswiesen or from Salzburg to Königssee, Schönau a. Königssee is not included in the Bayern ticket. However, the train to Salzburg is included in the Bayern Ticket! It is also worth noting that Bayern ticket is NOT VALID for ICs or RJXs to Salzburg from Munich.
Food
It is a hiking tradition in Germany to end your hike with a beer at one of the mountain huts! While hiking Archenkanzel, this is possible at Kührointalm. They also serve some warm meals around lunch time! Like other mountain huts, a meal with a drink of choice would cost you between 10 to 15 EUR.
Regardless, it is always a good idea to carry some snacks to munch on during the hike. If you need some insight regarding the kind of snacks to buy, the ‘smart snacks’ section of this blogpost should give you a fair idea! I would estimate the snack costs for two people from a decent supermarket to be around 10 EUR.
Ready, Set, Go!
Archenkanzel is a one of the best kept local secrets. Afterall, the turquoise colored Königssee shimmering and sparkling amidst huge mountains on both sides is a sight to behold! Although getting here is rather easy, the view will definitely be imprinted in your minds forever. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend adding this spot to your summer hiking itinerary!
Looking for another hike with stellar views? Check out this blogpost on Schrecksee.
Looking for a quick introduction to hiking and all the equipment needed to conquer the Alps? I got you covered! Head over here and skim through the article!
Have any questions about traveling to Archenkanzel? Leave them in the comments below!
Thank you so much for such an amazing and useful blog! I will be planning this hike soon. Totally helps!
Hey Pritha!
I am so happy it helped. Very excited for you to see the view from up there 🙂