Framed by the Salzkammergut region’s idyllic landscape and bounded by steep rock faces lies the Totes Gebirge – a wild, almost untouched karst plateau. At an altitude of just over 2500 metres, its surface is dry and barren while its interior is criss-crossed by caves and underground waterways: a mystical, seemingly inhospitable place. And yet: away from the bare, vegetationless rocks, this “desert of the Alps” is a paradise for wildlife and one of the most diverse habitats in the entire Alpine region.