Wendelstein / Tatzelwurm (from Brannenburg)
Category 113.5 km
Distance
840 m
Elevation Gain
6.2%
Average Gradient
14%
Max Gradient
The Tatzelwurm road from Brannenburg in the Inn valley is one of the most serpentine and visually dramatic climbs in the German-Austrian border region — a 13.5km ascent gaining 840m through 28 numbered switchbacks on a road named after the mythological Bavarian dragon whose lair was supposedly located in the rocky gully above the waterfall at kilometre 7. The gradient averages 6.2% with consistent ramps to 14% on the tighter hairpins above the mid-mountain waterfall. The road transitions from a shaded gorge section in the lower valley through a mid-section of open meadow pastures before reaching the Tatzelwurm summit junction at 1,090m, from which the Sudelfeld plateau and onward Wendelstein approach are accessible. The Wendelstein (1,838m) itself is served by a rack railway from Brannenburg — the road does not reach the summit — but the climbing roads on the mountain's flanks provide the finest sustained gradient environment in the region.
Pro Tip
The full Tatzelwurm from Brannenburg works superbly as the return leg of an Oberaudorf-Bayrischzell circuit via the Sudelfeld plateau — a 85km round trip from the Inn valley with 1,400m of climbing that constitutes one of the best days on the bike available in the Bavarian Alps without crossing into Austria. The roadside Gasthof at the Tatzelwurm waterfall serves Bavarian Brotzeit (bread and cold cuts) and has been feeding cyclists on this road for decades.
Part of
Cycling in Bavarian Alps