Nördliche Kalkalpen - West (Bayern, Österreich)

Most of the caves to be found in the eastern alps are located in the Nördliche Kalkalpen (northern lime-alps) in Bavaria, Salzburg and Upper Austria. The western part containes the areas westwards from Salzburg. There are huge plateaus, like the Hagengebirge, the Steinerne Meer (stone sea), the Untersberg and the Steinberge. Smaller karst areas are located in the bavarian prealps, Estergebirge and the Ammergauer alps. Some large and famous caves are located in this area, as the Tantalhöhle (Hagengebirge) or the Lamprechtsofen, formerly the deepest cave in the world with nearly -1700m. Cave exploration of most of the bavarian and german clubs is done during the summer time in the high plateaus. Exploring is a hard thing and often takes much time and the need for bivouacing.