Walenpfad: Engelberg, Central Switzerland
A great hike for a slow-paced adventure to take in multiple vistas in the Engelberg region.
After a sudden cold snap, I thought summer hiking season might be over, but then in early September we got a sunny day in the middle of the week and I thought - “to heck with it, I’m going hiking!” This trail leads from the Brunni-Engelberg region to Bannalpsee, with a couple tough sweaty ascents, but nothing technical. There is one “tricky” section just past Walegg, where the trail hugs the mountainside with a steep drop-off to one side. There are steel cables to keep this part from being truly exposed, but it is a little rocky and could be vertigo-inducing nonetheless. The benefit of hiking the trail in this direction means you get to end at Nidwalden’s jewel, the lovely Bannalp lake.
However, if I were to do this hike again, I would consider doing it in the opposite direction, starting at Chruzhutte and ending at Ristis. This way has more downhill, but you’ll be facing the mountain ranges the whole time (instead of them being at your back for the majority) and it will end with spectacular views of Titlis and the whole of the central Alps. Finally, the Chruzhutte cable car is quite small and locally owned, meaning it doesn’t run that often and is quite small. The cable car takes you down to the tiny village of Oberrickenbach, where the Post Bus only runs once per hour. So, it could easily take 3 hours to get back to Zurich once you finish the hike going in this direction. But - the benefit is that you end up at the lake, which would be a wonderful place to soak in the late afternoon sun. There is no bad option there. The choice is yours!
Start: Ristis mountain station (connection from Engelberg)
End: Chrüzhütte cable car station (connection to Oberrickenbach)
Basic Route: Ristis -- Brunnihütte -- Walenalp -- Walegg -- Alp Oberfeld -- Berggasthaus Urnerstaffel -- Chrüzhütte
Length and Rating: Moderate. 12km, 4 hours, 800 meters ascent.
