Heart of the Alps Tour Highlights
Spend a day in the Engelberg Valley with 2 ½ to 3 hours of hiking surrounded by Swiss Alps, green pastures, snow capped peaks, glaciers, grazing Swiss cows, water falls and streams with lunch stop at an alpine restaurant.
- Unforgettable experience and views
- Visit the world famous village of Engelberg with its 12th century living monastery
- Three hours of hiking in the very heart of the Swiss Alps
- Enjoy a picnic with a view to die for or stop for lunch at an authentic Alpine restaurant
- Use of Swiss public transportation system
- This is a quiet, private, tour where you can learn about the Lucerne area and Switzerland – while enjoying great Alpine views
The Hike
Consider this a beautiful 3.5 to 4.5 hour walk/hike over 10,5 kms/6.5 miles surrounded by alpine magnificence
Season
June to October (may also be possible from mid-May, but check with us first)
- Meet: 07:45 am – Under the arch in front of the Lucerne train station
- Train departure leaves promptly at 8:10 am
- We return: 17:54 (5:54 pm)
Includes
Includes
- All transportation mentioned in the itinerary
- Private tour with expert local English-speaking guide who is happy to give you as much information as you want and to answer any questions about Switzerland – the country, its heritage and its culture.
Not Included
Not Included
- Items of a personal nature.
- Food and beverages – take a picnic lunch, or to stop at a mountain inn
What to Wear & Bring
What to wear / bring
- Water bottle & plenty of water
- Comfortable footwear with sturdy soles that have a good grip; ankle-high boots are not essential but highly recommended for ankle support
- Warm layered windproof clothing
- Sunhat and sunscreen
Rates
Rates
Adult Standard: US $365 per person, based on 2 or more
Adult Standard: US $505 for one person
Adult with Half-Tax Card Swiss: Standard Rate less US $31 per person
Adult with Swiss/Tell-Pass/GA: Standard Rate less US $52 per person
Child (Standard ages 6 to 16): US $177 per child
Child with Half-Tax Card Swiss: Standard Child Rate less US $15 per child
Child with Swiss/Tell-Pass/GA: Standard Child Rate less US $26 per child
Children under 6 years are free
5 or more contact ECHO Trails
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Heart of the Swiss Alps – Details
The Hike
The Hike
After marveling at the views, we start our descent on a well maintained and market “Wanderweg” path back to the valley.
We continue on a level signposted path and hike on a plateau overlooking the Engelberg valley with eye level views to the surrounding 3000 m/9000 ft mountain peaks.
We pass mountain streams, listen to the clanging cowbells, examine flowers along the way, and breath the fresh mountain air. The Flower Trail brings us to a vista point with the best view of Engelberg and the North face of Mt. Titlis.
After 30 minutes of easy hiking the path narrows and we start descending to a three building place called Abnet 1650m/4950ft.
Depending on everyone’s ability and interest, we can either take the 4-seat cable car and ride down to our lunch stop at Staefeli or continue on our path to Stauber 1630 m/4890 ft where there is a major stream and the legendary place that explains why the Canton of Uri has a bulls head on their cantonal flag.
At Stauber we meet the Swiss National # 1 Alpina trail and continue for another 30 minutes to our lunch stop at Stafeli, 1393m/4179ft.
The Via Alpina hiking trail connects 8 Alpine nations with 5000km/3000miles of trails linking Monaco on the Cote d’Azur with Trieste on the Adriatic providing Europe’s largest area of unspoiled nature on an exceptional journey of discovery.
At Stafeli on the Via Alpina # 1 trail, we are in the valley and see green pastures and hear the rush of streams coming down the mountains.
Lunch & Afternoon Hike
Lunch Break
We can either take a picnic along or we can stop for a lunch at an Alpine restaurant (payable by ourselves) offering all kinds of local specialties.
Continuing the Hike
After our lunch stop we have an easy level slowly descending 1 ½ hours hike back to the Fuerenalp cable car station. We hike along the stream and enter a very nice shaded forest area before coming to a large open pasture where many of the para-gliders are seen landing.
Return to Engelberg - back to Lucerne
The Return
From the Fuerenalp air cable car station a local bus returns us to Engelberg with time left to check out the monastery or the quaint village before boarding the train back to Lucerne at 17:00.
