Bavaria is home to numerous beautiful gorges that you can discover on a day trip from Munich. Usually, this involves a hike where you explore the gorges from footbridges and safe trails. You can do the same in the Starzlach Gorge in the Oberallgäu—but for true adrenaline junkies, there’s a completely different option. With canyoning, you’ll do less hiking and focus primarily on climbing, sliding, jumping, and swimming, so you don’t just see the forces of nature at work—you’ll feel them firsthand.
A breathtaking natural spectacle
As the name suggests, the Starzlach flows through the Starzlach Gorge, an 11-kilometer-long stream in the Allgäu Alps that rises at an elevation of 1,070 meters. Starzlach roughly translates to “Ach leaping over the rocks,” which describes it quite well. Inside the gorge, the stream plunges over the rock formations in several cascades or forms deep, foaming whirlpools. The walls of the Starzlachklamm, in turn, rise spectacularly alongside you. In some places, they form rock overhangs that you can even climb.
The Starzlach Gorge has been open to the public since 1932, and you can go hiking here. Right at the entrance to the gorge, you’ll be greeted by the Schleierfälle: a cascading waterfall that drapes over the rocks like a veil. It flows 12 meters down the wall into a large pool, creating a breathtaking sight. The Starzlachklamm gorge itself is open daily from April through about mid-November, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission costs €5 for adults and €3 for children.
Canyoning in the Starzlach Gorge
If simple hiking is too boring for you and you want to experience a real adventure, then the Starzlach Gorge has just the right activity for you. Instead of following the regular trail, you’ll explore the gorge through canyoning in an action-packed way. You’ll start at the top of the rocky gorge and gradually work your way down. There are sections where you ’ll rappel, climb, or jump into the depths. Once you reach the bottom, the adventure continues via water slides through the stream. The finale is a 12-meter-long slide over the Schleierfälle waterfalls into their pool.
No special prior experience is required for canyoning in the Starzlach Gorge, other than the ability to swim. Equipment is provided, and you ’ll be accompanied by experienced guides. If you don’t feel comfortable jumping at a certain spot or don’t want to rappel, there’s always a way to bypass it. So you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. A tour through the gorge takes between three and five hours, and you don’t have to pay a separate entrance fee, as it’s covered by the cost of the canyoning tour. In the Starzlach Gorge, prices start at €99.
📍 Location: Starzlachklamm, 87527 Sonthofen-Winkel
🕐 Hours: Daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (through mid-November)
💶 Prices: Adults €5, children €3, canyoning starting at €99
