Thayatal National Park is one of Austria’s most beautiful but least-known protected areas — a dramatic 13-kilometre-long valley on the Czech border where the Thaya River has carved a deep, meandering canyon through ancient metamorphic rock, creating a richly forested landscape that is home to wildcats, black storks, and over 40 species of orchid. Together with the adjacent Podyjí National Park on the Czech side, Thayatal forms one of Europe’s most important transboundary protected areas — one of the last great wilderness valleys in Central Europe.

Quick Facts: Thayatal National Park

• Best time to visit: May–September for hiking; spring for orchid blooms; autumn for spectacular colours along the river valley
• How to get there: ~1.5 hours from Vienna by car; the park entrance is near the town of Hardegg (Austria’s smallest town, with a picturesque castle); ~15 minutes from the Czech town of Vranov nad Dyjí
• Combine with: Podyjí National Park on the Czech side — you can walk between the two countries within the park

The National Park Thayatal and its Czech side – National Park Podyjí, belong to one of the most beautiful, romantic and biodiversity rich valley landscapes. The park is famous for the narrow valley which the river Thaya runs through. It is situated on the borders with Czech Republic, north-east of Austria. There are not many places where such a diversity of flora and fauna can be found in a close space as in National Park Thayatal. It covers covers 1,330 hectares of land

Steep cliffs are covered with forests, and the geological bedrock (granite) affects both the landscape and vegetation. There are two castles at the borders of the national park, Burg Hardegg and ruined castle Kaja. You can find there about half of all plant species originating from Austria.

Animal World is so prominent and contains a large number of very rare species of vertebrates. In terms of sport, cycling and hiking are popular activities in the park.

At the Czech side there is one of the most beautiful water reservoir called Vranov. In the case of bad weather you can visit nice city of Znojmo and test the Czech wine.

View National Park Thayatal in Austria in a larger map

Have you hiked Thayatal or discovered Austria’s hidden river canyon? Share your transboundary nature experiences in the comments! 🌿

Discover more Austria travel guides and natural wonders of Europe.