Niederjochferner, Alpine glacier in Ötztal Alps, Austria

Niederjochferner is a glacier in the Ötztal Alps that extends northwest from the Similaun. It has a western and an eastern arm; the western arm lies partly in Italy within the Texelgruppe Nature Park, while the eastern arm is also called Similaunferner on the 2025 official Tyrolean map and flows north between the Marzellkamm and a 3261 m peak into the Niedertal. In 2010 its tongue reached down to about 2690 m.

The glacier's western arm once extended further west as a small unnamed tributary below the Tisenjoch, where the ice mummy Ötzi lay; as the ice retreated, this tributary became separated from the Niederjochferner. By 2010 the glacier tongue reached down to about 2690 m above sea level. The find site of Ötzi lies about 70 m northeast of the Ötzi monument.

The name Similaungletscher, used in the media, comes from the Similaun peak opposite the ice; official Tyrolean maps keep Niederjochferner, after the Niederjoch pass where the Similaunhütte stands above the western arm. Since 2025 the official map also labels the eastern arm, flowing north into the Niedertal between the Marzellkamm and a 3261 m rise, as Similaunferner.

The route from the Similaunhütte to the Similaun summit runs along the Niederjochferner and is considered relatively safe and easy. The glacier tongue dropped to about 2690 m by 2010 and continues to retreat, so ice and snow conditions change; the eastern arm is labelled "Similaunferner" on the official Tyrolean map (as of 2025).

Near the Tisenjoch area close to the glacier, Ötzi was discovered in 1991, an ice mummy from the Bronze Age over 5000 years old. This find made the region known worldwide and reshaped our understanding of prehistoric times.