Liechtensteinklamm: A photo spot behind each ledge

iPhone Photography

Aug 24

Liechtensteinklamm is a gorge (gorge is English for the German word „Klamm“) near Salzburg that’s famous for its narrow walls that reach a height of up to 980 feet. The gorge is about 2.5 miles long. Of those, roughly 1 mile is accessible to visitors.

Here’s a Google Maps link for Liechtensteinklamm. In Google Maps, use the Save option to remember this location (You may need to swipe up on your smartphone to make the save link visible).

The only way through Liechtensteinklamm are numerous wooden walkways and bridges that were built in the gorge in a dipsy doodle. For your visit, remember that this is a gorge. It’s quite humid in there and the wooden walkways and bridges are quite slippery in some areas. Because of the high walls it’s also shadowy inside the gorge and thus it’s a little colder than outside. So, adjust your clothing accordingly. I saw a few people hiking in there wearing sandals. They didn’t look too happy while they worked their way along the wooden handrails (which are wet and slippery, too).

Anyway, during the hike through the gorge you’ll be rewarded with stunning views and a waterfall at the end (which is a actually the start - in terms of the direction the water flows)

Waterfall at the end of the hike through Liechtensteinklamm

How to photograph inside Liechtensteinklamm using iPhone.

When I took those photos in 2016 I used an iPhone 6S plus and had no problems because of the humidity. There are a few places inside the gorge where water is dripping from above. I didn’t dare to photograph in those places. But if you own one of the newer, water resistant, iPhone models, that should be no problem.

Because of the low light in the gorge, I used ProCamera in low light mode which just worked perfectly. If you think about using a bigger tripod in the gorge, then forget about it. There’s no room to put up a tripod in there and other visitors will get quite nervous and pushy when you block their way on the narrow walkways.

One thing I do recommend is to get yourself a Joby Gorillapod for iPhone. You can easily mount that to the handrails and get nice, steady shots if you shoot e.g. a long exposure. Good places to take such photos are the numerous bridges that you’ll cross. These are great spots to photograph into the gorge.

Post Processing tips using Adobe Lightroom

As your photos will contains lots of rocks, try increasing the clarity slider to the maximum. That will bring out all the fine details of the rocks. Experiment with contrast to add even more depth and structure to the rocks.

After a massive landslide inside the gorge, it had to be closed in 2017. Reconstruction is ongoing and it will be re-opened to visitors again in 2019.