Hey there, long time no see. - But finally, I have time to take you on an adventure because I am in the German Bavarian Alps for some weeks exploring the surroundings with my dog Chapo.
This little hike is a secret spot because it is not very known and at the same time super beautiful. We only met 3 guys on the way and were totally on our own right in the middle of mother nature.
The Lainbach is a small stream near Kochel am See that rises in the Bavarian foothills of the Alps and falls in a high arc into a deep pool of water. Its water is crystal clear and there are many brown trout there. It is a waterfall of breathtaking beauty, that changes his face several times in the course of a day. At the foot of the Lainbach, the water is relatively deep, so you can also swim there.
The water is not too cold and just right on a hot summer day!
It is a beautiful circular ca. 7km path along the river through the forest to the waterfall. - So as you can imagine we were really excited to see this beauty!
The circular route starts at the Kochler train station and leads through the town center to the town hall. So I parked the car there and started walking.
I followed the street and walked along the "Alte Straße" to the Tiroler Kreuz vantage point. From there, it is really easy - you just follow the green signs that say the Lainbach Waterfall. The path now leads over a longer stretch and steps through the shady mountain forest along the stream.
As it is also a bird trail, you can learn a lot during the hike as there are signs showing which kind of birds you can see. At every sign, you learn something about that kind of bird.
They even teach you about different footprints :D - Here you can see humans, swans, eagle owls, mallards, and house sparrows.
Soon after we already reached the river and followed the path along it walking uphill.
The trail continues quite steep, as it had been raining a lot the past few days, there was also a lot of water in the river and the path (stairs and stones) was quite slippery.
I just love this kind of weather, as you never meet any people, it's not too hot and not too cold. It feels like you are in the middle of the forest all by yourself!! so it was a real adventure ;)
about half an hour later we reached the first waterfall. I thought that is already it, as it was quite impressive already.
Here we took a longer refreshment break at this idyllic spot. The route continued on steep steps and crossing bridges.
After a while, we finally reached the main waterfall - Lainbach Waterfall. What a great place to be. I didn't expect it to have that much water... and I think in plain summer it has not even half that much. But today it was just awesome!! - I instantly felt like being somewhere in Iceland or Norway. Right at that moment the sun came out and it was just perfect!
Of course also here I learned about another bird: The brown owl
So we stayed for a while and then went on walking. The path was leading us a little bit further up until we reached a forest and it finally started to lead downhill.
The circular route itself continues through the forest to colorful alpine meadows. After about 20 minutes of crossing the forest, we finally were walking along another river again.
From there it was not far until we saw the first houses and we reached the village again, walking by some really nice-looking villas back to the train station - where I had parked my car.
I hope you enjoyed the hike with me - stay safe!
Cheers,
Liz
PS: if you like to see some moving pics - enjoy watching the video ;)