Sport & Fun

While elsewhere the whitewater turns into brooks in the summer heat, in East Tyrol you can ride wild waves with kayaks and rafting boats until late in the fall.

East Tyrol is a mountainous region in the south of the main ridge of the Alps and counts almost 1000 peaks on the smallest area, crowned by the glacier massifs of the Hohe Tauern. There rises the Isel, as the most impressive of 30 glacial streams. It makes its way quite impetuously through the Umbal and Virgen valleys out to Matrei. The Tauernbach from the Venediger group and the Kalserbach, fed by the Großglockner massif, join it on the way to Lienz, as does the Schwarzach from the Defereggen valley. In the district capital, the Isel meets the Drau, which draws its water from the southern parts of the East Tyrolean mountain groups.

Especially the Isel, allows white water with special appeal for kayakers and rafting fans. Every level of difficulty is available, from a romantic river walk to the ultimate kick of rafting or waterfall jumping with a kayak. It is fed by the large glaciers of the Hohe Tauern National Park, guaranteeing optimal water levels even in the summer months of July and August. The Isel, which has drinking water quality, offers rafting routes of various levels of difficulty between Matrei and Lienz. The season begins May 15 and ends September 30 each year. The sport of rafting is almost independent of the weather and is therefore an interesting alternative even in bad weather! www.adrenalin-outdoor.at