Beyond Bockstein: The Heilstollen and Sportgastein
The main road and rail routes head southeast from Bockstein towards the twelve-kilometre-long Tauern rail tunnel 1km away, where road vehicles are loaded onto wagons and transported through the tunnel by train. Trains carrying private cars operate from 6.30am to 10.30pm southbound, and from 6am to 10pm northbound; a single journey costs oS190/?13.87, and a return is oS320/?23.36. On the other side of the tunnel, the road winds a scenic descent down the Molltal towards Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia. A toll road, the Gasteiner Alpenstrasse (oS50/?3.65 per person, oS20/?1.46 for bus passengers) heads southwest from Bockstein up the increasingly narrow valley of the Nassfelder Ache , whose steep sides are washed by numerous waterfalls, towards the winter sports area of Sportgastein. One kilometre out of Bockstein, you pass the access road to the Heilstollen , or "Healing Galleries", 500m up the hill and hidden among the trees. Inside, an underground train ferries patients to radon-rich tunnels with high degrees of humidity in order to treat a variety of ailments, including respiratory diseases and arthritis. The shafts were first dug in the 1940s in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to find gold and silver ore; those working on the project soon began to report that the atmosphere underground had a beneficial effect on their aches and pains. Nowadays the network of tunnels form a full-scale medical facility working in tandem with the spa hotels in Badgastein, although it's said that you need at least nine trips down (with at least a day's rest between each one) to reap the benefits - thereby discouraging casual visits. If you're interested in trying it, though, a single visit costs oS650/?47.45, and includes a medical check-up followed by an hour in the tunnels (phone at least a day in advance for an appointment: tel 06434/3753-0), but the humidity coupled with the exposure to radon tends to leave you exhausted. There's one daily bus from Badgastein train station to the Heilstollen, leaving around 10.30am and returning around 3.30pm. More frequent Badgastein-Sportgastein services pass by the end of the Heilstollen access road. Five kilometres beyond the Heilstollen, SPORTGASTEIN , on the borders of the Hohe Tauern National Park, is a buzzing ski area in winter; in summer, it's little more than a car park, though facing a truly breathtaking amphitheatre of ravine-scarred mountains. Numerous enticing hiking trails radiate outwards from here, and there are a few Hutte which open their doors in summer to offer refreshments, including the Nassfeld Alm twenty minutes' walk south of the car park.
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