Ebene Reichenau lies in the Gurk valley of Carinthia, at the lower gate of the Nockalm Road, and it is where the toll booth sits across the road, with a car park and a cafe beside it. The village is small, with wooden farmhouses and a church spire, and the fresh air, the sound of a stream and the smell of mown hay make it feel far from anywhere. It lies at about eleven hundred metres, so the climb to the top of the Nocks, which begins right behind the village, has about a thousand metres of height to gain.
This side of the biosphere reserve has a different feel from Innerkrems. The first hairpins climb steeply through spruce forest with little to see but trunks and sky, then break out onto open alpine pastures, where the road swings in great loops across grassy slopes and the distant peaks come into view. Sheep bells, wooden fences and old hay huts add to the picture. Everything is on a gentle scale, and the road is wide enough for two vehicles. The rolling shape of the Nocks gives the sense of riding on the back of some enormous sleeping animal.
Nearby, the pass of Turracher Höhe, to the east, is another well-known road, famous for its steep gradients and the little lake at the top. To the south, Bad Kleinkirchheim is a spa and ski resort with hot springs and a golf course, with roads leading down toward Villach and the Italian border. In this area, the Alpine climate means cold nights, thunderstorms in the afternoon and fog in the early morning. Check the forecast before you pay the toll, since riding the Nockalm in cloud is a waste of the view.
There is no reliable fuel in the village, and the nearest large town is Lind, twenty-five kilometres away, so top up beforehand, in Feld am See or in Bad Kleinkirchheim. The cafe by the toll booth serves coffee and cake, and local farm shops sell cheese and bacon. The best months are June to September, with peak colour in early autumn when the larches turn gold.