The INNside Story

A cascade of water pouring from glaciers and a lake in the high mountains, a waterfall tumbling from high up into the valley, a chain of lakes at the base of 10,000-foot peaks, drawn-out gravel banks, mud flats and extensive riparian forests at the river's lower reaches: the Inn has many facets to show, and a fascinating tale to tell. It's the longest tributary of the Danube in Central Europe, flowing through Switzerland, Austria and Bavaria along its 520-kilometer course. The variety of landscapes is reflected in the diversity of the flora and fauna along the river: grayling and trout swarm in its headwaters, dragonflies, frogs and rare water plants populate the oxbows; owls and bats raise their young in the bluffs. It is the river's indestructible power, however, which is most impressive: in spite of many hydropower plants and dams lining its path, the river still carries more than a million tons of gravel and silt downstream every month, before emptying its load into the Danube.