Eagle’s Nest Germany is also known as Kehlsteinhaus, it is located above the town of Berchtesgaden, nestled in the Bavarian Alps. It is often said it was a birthday gift to Adolf Hitler, but was only visited by him 14 times. This once building exclusive to only the Nazi Party now sits as a restaurant, museum, incredible hiking and viewing area. Here you will find how to get there, where to stay, prices, bus services, tips and much more for visiting Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.
Visiting Eagle’s Nest
First, when visiting Eagle’s Nest your will have to purchase your ticket and hop on the bus to take you to the top. There may be a line so it is best to get there when they open.
The bus takes you up a windy narrow road, the drive is only about 10 minutes long. The views are great on both sides of the bus, so get a window seat!
Once at the top they will drop you off and you will then walk down a long tunnel to wait for a turn on the elevator. The 124-meter-high elevator shaft will be your final ascent to the the Eagle’s Nest.
What to do at the top
Once at the top their are plenty of things to do. Many people get a coffee, beer or a meal at their mountain top restaurant. You can check out their menu here and dessert menu here. A meal here is a popular thing to do but we passed on a bite to eat and went off to hike around while the weather was good.
The panoramic views are what we came here for. Even if you just hang out by the restaurant and building you will get to see many different angles over the Bavarian Alps. You can see both Germany and Austria from the top, look over the town of Berchtesgaden as well, Lake Konigness can be seen from a distance, and on clear days even see Salzburg. There is a great map and more information on this website here.
If wanting to venture out you can access many hiking trails from the top. You can choose to not use your return ticket and hike back:
- Kehlstein Rundweg (1,25 hours) From Kehlsteinhaus to Kehlstein Gipfelkreuz. From there the trail leads gently downhill into a wild and romantic rock landscape with a wonderful view.
You can even access a via ferrata from the top, if you can came prepared with the correct equipment. We didn’t do this one but completed the Grunstein Klettersteig (you can read about it here).
- Via the Mannlgrat on the Hoher Göll (difficult to use via ferrata category B, only with via ferrata equipment!)
We opted for just wandering on the paths until we were ready to turn around. This gave us a more peaceful experience away from the building, crowds, and different views over the Alps region.
How to Return to the Parking Lot
When you feel like you have seen everything you can make your descent down. You can try to time this by using their timetable so you wont need to wait too long (more on this below). But you do need to have your ticket stamped to get on the return bus. The booth to do this at is after the descent down the elevator and once you are out of the tunnel.
Where to Stay
The closest place to stay to get to the Eagle’s Nest is in the town of Berchtesgaden. It is only a 7 minute drive from the town’s center. Berchtesgaden is a great area to stay in. You can easily drive to Hallstatt from here, visit Lake Konigssee, and go on some incredible alp hikes. We hiked the Grunstein Klettersteig, which was hard but offered some amazing views.
How To Get to There
If you travel by car, take the A8 and exit at Bad Reichenhall or at Salzburg Süd to Berchtesgaden and from there the Obersalzberg road to the Hintereck parking area at Obersalzberg.
If on foot you can reach Eagle’s Nest by these hikes. But as much as we love hiking these hikes didn’t seem the most enjoyable. They were through the woods without many openings to be able to view the Alps along your hike. I would save your energy to hike around at the top like we did.
Possible ways of reaching Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle’s Nest) by foot
- Hike from Ofneralm up to the Eagle’s Nest parking area (approx. 1½ to 2 hours)
- From the parking Obersalzberg on a beautiful panoramic road. Walking time about 2 to 2.5 hours. Return by bus to Obersalzberg possible.
- From the car park Ofnerboden (1150 m above sea level) on the Roßfeldhöhenringstraße on the Dalsenwinkelstraße (easy hike, about 2 hours), also suitable for mountain biking
- From the parking lot Sonneck at the mountain station of the Obersalzbergbahn (easy hike, approx. 2½ hours)
- From the Scharitzkehlalm over the Ligeretalm (easy hike, approx. 2 hours, only outside bus operating times!)
Parking
Eagle’s Nest is only reachable by a bus operated by the Kehlsteinhaus tourism group, you can not drive to it in your own car. You will need to park in their lot, this is a paid parking lot. It is only 3 euros and at the time (2018) was cash only.
From the parking you will head towards the bus station where there will be a booth to purchase your bus tickets.
Bus Tickets and Information
The buses start their first trip at 7:40am, the last bus leaves Eagle’s Nest at 4:00pm. They depart about every 25 minutes. You can check out their bus timetable here.
Ticket Prices (round-trip):
Adults- 16.60 euros ( approx. 18.89 USD)
Children (under 14 years)- 9.60 euros (approx. 10.92 USD)
*elevator ride is included with tickets.
When To Go
The Eagles Nest is open from middle of May to middle of October.
I always suggest getting to places early in the day or later in the evening, not peak hours. We took the very first bus up in June at 7:40am, we rode to the top along with the servers and other workers going up to start their shift.
After hiking around at the top for a few hours we made our way back and boy were we glad that we made that first bus. There were long lines for the elevator up. Instead of just our one bus pulling up there were now 6 buses dropping people off and we saw over 6 more buses going up while on our way down. So glad we missed those crowds.
It is best to go when skies are clear. On cloudy days you won’t be able to see much, and the views are why you go, right??
We stayed in Berchtesgaden for a few days, one of the reasons for that was we wanted to make sure we could go to Eagle’s Nest on a clear day. The best part of Eagle’s Nest are the views. So it seems unappealing and not worth the cost and time if you are just standing in the cloud with nothing to look at.
What to Bring
-A good pair of shoes if wanting to adventure around, the rocks can get slick. I brought my Ahnu hiking shoes.
-Water, I love my travel collapsible ones. You can find them here and here.
-If wanting to hike around some or back down bring a snack, we packed granola bars.
-Camera, you will definitely want to get some shots of those Alps. I loved my wide angle lens for above the Alps. You can find it here.
-Cash- when we were there the parking lot only took cash (3 euros when we went). We didn’t eat at the restaurant, but many in Germany are cash only, I would bring extra just in case!
If looking for information on the area check out these posts:
Zugspitze Cable Car Routes in Germany and Austria
The Alpspitze Cable Car and Hike
How to Get to Lake Konigssee Waterfall Pool In Berchtesgaden
Grunstein Klettersteig: The Berchtesgaden Via Ferrata
12 Days in Germany: A Complete Itinerary to the Bavarian Alps
Where to Eat and Drink in Berlin Germany
Andechs Monk Brewery and Monastery in Germany
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