About Rothbachfall and the Koenigssee Waterfalls
Rothbachfall and the Konigssee Waterfalls (or Röthbachfall and Königssee, respectively, with the umlaut) were a series of waterfalls that we managed to experience in a singular excursion involving a boat tour on the lake that included a hike to a smaller and even more scenic lake at Obersee. The waterfalls were merely our excuse to immersively experience the beauty of the Berchtesgaden National Park, which might be recognizable in some of the opening scenes of the Sound of Music (before Julie Andrews sings).
In any case, we bent over backwards to visit the Rothbachfall (or Roethbachfall) in particular because it was said to be the highest waterfall in Germany at 470m. Add to that the mirror-like reflections of the Obersee fronted by a half-submerged boathouse (great subject for photographs) along with the surrounding mountains and you end up with a divine scene that makes me think this could very well be the most scenic part of natural Germany.

Along the way, we spotted a couple of waterfalls. The first one was the Koenigsbachfall (or Königsbachfall), where the Koenigsbach dropped into the east side of the lake pretty early in the boat tour between Schoenau am Koenigssee and St Bartholomew.
The second waterfall was the Scharinbachfall where the Schrainbach fell more voluminously into the far southwestern part of Lake Koenigssee. The latter waterfall was easily visible from the dock at Salet in addition to from the boat itself.

At this spot, we were able to see the iconic boat shed fronting the reflective mirror-like lake, and we could see the majestic Roethbachfall in the distance on the opposite side of the lake.
Unfortunately during our visit, we couldn’t risk missing out on the return boat ride, which was at about 6pm. The signs suggested that hiking to the base of Rothbachfall took 1 hour and 15 minutes in each direction (or 2.5 hours round trip), which made it too risky as I would have started this hike at 4:30pm. Thus, I had to be content with the views from the mouth of Lake Obersee, which I thought was good enough though I certainly would have liked to get closer for a more immersive experience.
In any case, we returned the way we came, boarded a 5pm boat (they typically leave every 15-30 minutes), and by 6:30pm or so, we finally made it back to the car park. And thus, we managed to experience the three main waterfalls in Lake Koenigssee (which meant “King’s Lake” by the way and it was the country’s deepest lake) with a minimal amount of physical exertion.
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
This content is for subscribers only. See Membership Options.Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
This content is for subscribers only. See Membership Options.Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...