Stuibenfall (Niederthai)

Stuibenfall in two cascades

The Stuibenfall is a waterfall in the Tyrolean Imst district in the hamlet of Niederthai in the municipality of Umhausen .

The Stuibenfall is the second highest waterfall in Tyrol after the 1 m higher Stuibenfall in the Pitztal (Jerzens). The Stuibenfall in Umhausen has a drop height of 159 meters. On average, 610 liters of water per second, with a maximum of 2,000 liters per second, flow over the edge of the rock into the depths. Since the stream is largely fed by melt water from the Zwieselbach and Grastalferner, it has the largest water flow in summer.

Emergence

When the mountain range collapsed at Köfels around 7000 BC. Today's Tauferberg towered up on the opposite side . This dammed the Horlachbach , and a large lake formed. The water gnawed through a rock from which today's Stuibenfall falls, the rest of the rock is still preserved as a natural bridge. The remains of the lake can also be seen as bank terraces in Niederthai .

Expansion as a tourist attraction

The waterfall is well developed with hiking trails and gastronomy as a tourist attraction, since 2007 also with a suspension bridge at the top and five viewing platforms on the way down. Some of the platforms are set up in exposed places so that the “stuiben” (dusting) can be experienced directly. Since 2008 there has also been a 450-meter-long, family-friendly via ferrata, the last part of which crosses the waterfall. During the summer months, the waterfall is illuminated in the evening one day a week.

Stuibenfallweg 2016

After a fatal rock fall, the original hiking route had to be closed to the public. After two years of construction, a steel structure with 728 steps and an 80 meter long suspension bridge now leads to the viewing platforms and to Niederthai. The official opening took place on May 21, 2016. At least the upper information board showed the old tour in the summer of 2017 (as shown here).