Is the Partnach Gorge worth it?
What works
- about ten euros buys a path through the middle of a working gorge, not a viewing platform
- Open every month of the year, including the winter timetable
- No booking, no timed entry, no queue system to plan around
- The approach walk up the valley is worth the ticket on its own
- Children 6–17 pay about five euros, which makes a family afternoon about thirty euros
Worth knowing
- 2.2 km on foot each way from the nearest car park, with no road in
- It is a gorge: wet underfoot, and rain upstream changes it
- Short-notice safety closures happen and are not announced in advance
- Most guided day trips do not include the entry fee
- 702 m is not a long path — on its own it is not a full day out
What you are actually paying for
The path is a built thing. Tunnels and galleries were driven into the rock so that people could walk where the water goes, and it has been open to visitors since 1912. You are inside the gorge rather than looking down into it, and that is the difference between this and most viewpoints in the valley. The history page covers how it was made walkable, including the 108 m gallery blasted through after the 1991 rockfall.
What visitors say
The reviews that describe the gorge rather than a mountain come from the entry fee canyon and waterfall day trip. One traveller wrote that the Partnach Gorge was “breathtaking – clear water, stunning scenery…”, and another called it “the most beautiful day of my daughter’s vacation… These gorges with a waterfall”. Gareth, also five stars, wrote about the guide, Nina, being “very accommodating”.
The most useful criticism on the site is not about the gorge at all. Wes gave a Zugspitze and Eibsee day five stars and still wrote: “gorgeous scenery! I don’t feel the trip needs to be 8+ hours. it could be done in 6 in my opinion.” That is the real trade on a Munich day trip — not whether the sights are good, but how much of your day is spent in a van.
about ten euros against a day trip
The gorge itself is self-guided and costs about ten euros. A day trip from Munich costs from about a hundred and twenty euros per person and buys you the 1.5-hour journey each way, a guide and somebody else driving. It does not usually buy you the entry: of the eight tours here that visit the gorge, two include the gate fee. If you are comfortable with a train and a bus, the independent day is dramatically cheaper. If you are fitting the gorge into one Alpine day with the Zugspitze and a lake, the tour is doing real work. I have laid the numbers out on day trips from Munich.
The operator warns that “Kurzfristige Schließungen sind aus Sicherheitsgründen manchmal unumgänglich” — short-notice closures for safety are sometimes unavoidable. Rockfall and high water are the reasons a gorge shuts, and neither gives notice. Check partnachklamm.de the morning you travel, and have a second plan for the day.
Who should skip it
If 4.4 km of walking on top of whatever else you had planned is not realistic, this is not the attraction to force. There is no shortcut in and no vehicle access, and I would rather say that than have you find out at the ski stadium. How difficult is it goes into what is and is not documented about the path itself.
Three days compared
| Closest to the gorgeMunich: Alps Canyon Waterfall Adventure Day Trip with Guide | Pick-Up in Munich: 2-Day Hike to Zugspitze via the Knorrhütte | From Munich: Zugspitze Mountain Van Tour with Garmisch Town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | €139 | €379 | €125 |
| Goes to the gorge | Yes | Yes | No |
| €10 gate fee | Not included | Included | Not applicable |
| Length | 7 hrs | 2 days | 9 hrs |
| Rating | 5.0 from 5 reviews | No ratings yet | 4.7 from 759 reviews |
| Best for | The gorge itself | Walking to the top | The mountain, not the gorge |
| Book this → | View → | View → |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Partnach Gorge worth visiting?
For about ten euros, yes. You walk 702 m through the gorge itself, under walls over 80 m high, on a path that has been open to visitors since 1912. Allow about two hours from the ski stadium car park and back.
Is a guided tour to the Partnach Gorge worth the money?
It depends what you want driven for you. The gorge is self-guided and about ten euros; a Munich day trip starts at about a hundred and twenty euros and mostly does not include that fee. See which tours include entry.
How long do people spend at the Partnach Gorge?
Most visits run an hour and a half to two hours including the 2.2 km walk each way. The gorge is only 702 m long — more on how long the walk takes.
Is the Partnach Gorge better than the Zugspitze?
They are different days. The gorge is about ten euros and a couple of hours; the Zugspitze is a mountain and a full day. Plenty of people do both — see the Zugspitze page.