Up the Nordkette Mountains by cable-car

We started the day with a trip up the Nordkette Mountains by cable car. This trip was included in the cost of the Innsbruck card.

The first station in the center of town

The adventure stated with a bus into the center of town to take the first of the cable cars up the mountain . This cable car is a bit like a tram as it runs on rails, but is pulled by a cable. The car is suspended in a cradle so it is always level. This is needed because it dives down under the city, then over the river and up the other side, sometimes at nearly 45 deg ??

First it dives under the city

Then over the Inn River

And starts up the steep hill

Can you see the cabins are horizontal but the cradle is a a slope ?

At the end of the line at Hungerford, we took a suspended cable car up to the next stage. There is a short walk between the two cable cars and places to get a snack and buy things.

Here are a series of pictures taken as we went up, shows how the mountain side changed. The whole are is very popular with walkers, skiers and recreational cyclists.

Just out of the city, homes on the slopes

Trees that fell in winter, quickly cut so that the cyclysts can ride through

Looking back to Innsbruck and the Inn River

Enormouse pine trees

Getting smaller as it is steeper and colder

Next an even smaller cable car to near the summit. Much much too cold and windy to walk the few metres up to the summit. We enjoyed a coffee and cake at the little café, rather rustic and not expensive.

The top cable station. The marker to the right is the top of the mountain

Fantastic view, but almost too windy to stand up

So windy that the water off the gutter was flowing uphill!

Up flowing water

A lovely, cozy tearoom with a million dollar view

And some great cakes

Going up the Nordkette is a great adventure, even if the weather is not the best. The journey is part of the fun and we would definitely recommend taking a break and have a coffee and cake !

Next – A visit to the Alpine Zoo in Innsbruck