Breitachklamm

The Breitachklamm near Tiefenbach, a hamlet of Oberstdorf, is one of the deepest river gorges in the Eastern Alps, narrowing at points to just a few metres wide while the walls plunge over 100 metres. The Breitach river carved this passage through the Kleinwalsertal bedrock over millennia, leaving behind polished rock faces and sculpted potholes — features distinctive enough to earn the gorge official Geotop protection status in Bavaria. A secured footpath runs from the lower entrance at Tiefenbach up to the Walserschanz pass at the Austrian border. In winter, when ice formations cling to the walls and the roar of the river reverberates through the narrow passage, the gorge — still known locally by its old Allgäu name der Zwing, meaning 'the constrictor' — takes on a particularly raw and immersive character.