Alatsee

Alatsee sits at 868 metres in a gorge-like depression about six kilometres west of Füssen, barely 80 metres from the Austrian border. What sets it apart from the many other Alpine lakes in the region is its meromictic nature: at 32 metres deep, its water layers never fully mix — the anoxic bottom water remains permanently stratified from the surface, occasionally producing a faint sulphurous odour and an eerie discolouration in autumn. Fed entirely by groundwater, the lake drains eastward via the Faulenbach stream into the Lech river system. Dense forest and steep rocky slopes keep the shoreline largely undeveloped, making it a quiet destination for hikers and anglers who want to escape the tourist crowds around Neuschwanstein just a few kilometres away.