Hiking in Switzerland

The hike starts here and winds its way along the cliffs on an easy gravel path until you reach the bottom of the Hammetschwand lift. From there, you shoot your way up to the top with a view from the elevator along the way.

What more could you ask for? Aside from refreshments, of course. Well, you get that too. Because at the top is a typical Swiss restaurant, also with a view, but not with five star prices!

After enjoying the view, the food and the refreshments, you can go back down the same way you came, or take the path down the back of the mountain to the cogwheel train and make your way back to Lucerne. Now that is a day out in the mountains in Switzerland!

Almost anyone visiting Switzerland will end up in Lucerne at some point. And if you are in the area you will likely be tempted to head to either Mt Rigi or Pilatus, the two most famous local mountains.

However, I have an even better option for you — a stunning hike above Lake Lucerne, with magical views of the Alps, the lake and a ride in a glass elevator used in a James Bond movie!

This is a hike you don’t hear about much, yet it is perhaps one of Switzerland’s best. Located just east of Scuol, a well-known spa destination in the Engadine region of Grisons, it’s also tucked out of the way, almost on the Austrian border.

Despite living in Switzerland for nearly two decades, I hadn’t heard of this hike was until recently. It is located near the ever-popular ski town of Davos, which famously hosts the World Economic Forum each year.

The hike is a stunning circuit around a series of alpine lakes, each a different shade of blue. Some of the lakes are long and deep, others are small and a shade of turquoise that hardly looks real.

The hike starts at the bus stop and quickly climbs along the crumbling rocks that have fallen from the mountain above. It only takes one and a half hours to reach the hut according to Swiss hiking times, but give yourself plenty of time as it is very steep towards the end. On top of that, once you get over 2500m, the air is thin and strenuous activities like this tend to make you wish you were on a beach somewhere else!

The Cabane de Moiry is an alpine hut perched high (2825m to be exact) in the southern Swiss Alps, overlooking a small glacier. It is a relatively short, yet spectacular hike to this hut. I’d recommend staying overnight if you have the time.