Carinthia, in southern Austria, is a land of lakes, mountains and sun with an alpine terrain that has a gentler feel than the more jagged peaks of the Tyrol to the north. In these parts they like to call it the 'sunny side of the Alps' and they do have a lot more sun than other areas of the Alps.

In winter the land is snow covered and most of the lakes are frozen, and as in most other parts of Austria, skiing is the main activity. But Carinthia has a more rounded view of wintersports.
Cross-country skiing is very popular as is winter walking on cleared paths through the snow and snowshoeing. Other diverse activities such as ice golf, curling and skating are also enjoyed.
Carinthia offers ski resorts such as the Nassfeld near Hermagor, Gerlitzen mountain, Bad Kleinkirchheim, Flattach and Heiligenblut at Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner as well as the Hohe Tauern and Nock Mountains national parks for all kind of alpine sports and mountaineering.


The mood is markedly more relaxed with a Mediterranean feel – Carinthia borders Italy and Slovenia. Legend has it they once ran out of virgins to satisfy the appetite of a dragon in Klagenfurt because there wasn't a word for 'no' in the local vocabulary.