Hiking in Switzerland – Gabrielle and Urs

Saturday June 13, 2026 -- After a week of cold and rain, another heat wave is apparently on us, so we are looking to head into the mountains this weekend. Although many cable-cars and Postauto buses aren't running yet, there are a couple of options. Not far from here between Lakes Sarnen and Lungern on the way to the Brünig pass is a panorama road between two lovely valleys north of the Brienz Rothorn range, and a bus runs over the Glaubenbielen Pass but only for the summer months. From the pass we have many hiking options, especially around the massif called Giswilerstock.

Last year in August 2025, we hiked from the pass to an alpine dairy called Fluonalp where we bought the best Sbrinz cheese, and we wanted to return there. Last time we went along an easy trail over a saddle called Chringge, but this time we wanted to try the other passage, a somewhat shorter route but with a very steep ascent of about 250 meters.

Cheese, refreshments and a dessert for Urs at the dairy, and then we continued toward the Turren cable-car station, from where we descended to Lungern. In all a 3½-hour hike, and although never too hot, the start at 10:15 was not nearly as "cold" as I'd expected. Unfortunately I again didn't sleep well the night before, and might have benefitted more from a nap in a pasture than the obviously-made-from-coffee-powder coffee that I ordered at the farm restaurant!

The most beautiful view of the Bernese Alps across from the Küssnacht arm of Lake Lucerne, as the train makes its way to Luzern at 8:30 a.m.

Also a view of the Nidwalden Alps past Hertenstein.

In Luzern we changed trains to Schüpfheim, and from there took a bus up the Marien Valley (valley of the Waldemme River) in the direction of Sörenberg. As it was a beautiful Saturday after a few cold and rainy days, we knew that the bus would be full. In fact, two buses made the run at 9:33 to Sörenberg, and both buses with packed, also standing.

Half-way to Sörenberg (i.e. after a 13-minute ride), all those kids got off our bus at Flühli, and the rest of the ride was more comfortable.

From Sörenberg we had to get on a final bus for the 18-minute ride toward the Glaubenbielen Pass. This bus was also full, but most people got out at the Brienzer Rothorn cable-way station, which accesses the Rothorn Ridge from this side. (The more popular way to get up there is with the steam train from Brienz on the other side).

The bus runs up over this panorama road only during the summer months. But it is a great starting point for very many beautiful hikes, including one called the "Steinbock Trek" (i.e. Ibex Trek). We once saw chamois when hiking here in August 2019 when we hiked from the Brienzer Rothorn peak to here.

End of the line here for the Sörenberg-Glaubenbielen Bus. After a short break, the bus heads back to Sörenberg. At this point, about five people headed north, and only two other people headed the same way we were going....

Starting at 10:15 at the Glaubenbielen Parking along the panorama road to Giswil, we headed up past Jànzimatt Alpine Dairy to cross the Giswilstock Massif along the steep trail, headed down to Fluonalp Alpine Dairy farm, and from there to take the Turren cable down to Lake Lungern. In all we did three climbs of almost 700 meters total!

My favourite alpine flowers: The Globe Flower.

And these brush-like flowers indicate a rather wet terrain!

It wasn't as cold as I had feared, but for the start, a very comfortable temperature for hiking.

To the southwest we can see the Brienzer Rothorn peak and can even make out the Rothorn Kulm Hotel and the summit station of the cable car from this side.

Beautiful countryside!

After a 20-minute walk we reach the Jänzimatt farm, where there were two girls loading goods into the car to take back to the parking lot where they run a stand selling the cheese etc. that they make here. The first time we walked through here was on that August 2019 hike, and we bought some refreshments from their stand before boarding the bus: This PHOTO. We are actually headed to the little chapel for a break.

So many lovely meadow flowers now.

Watching the activity at the Jänzimatt farm as they prepare to open their little stand down at the panorama road.

And we, in our turn, are also being watched!

The little St. Wendelin chapel next to the Jänzimatt farm was built in 1913, although there was an earlier chapel here in 1881 which was torn down. The stained-glass windows are a work of a local glass painter from Stans.

After a bit of a break here and changing into lighter clothes (as it's already getting to be a warm day), we head out again at 10:50. In the back on the ridge is the Rothorn hotel, which is reached from the other side by the oldest steam cogwheel train in Switzerland.

More pretty flowers!

Having crossed the pass on the right twice (most recently in August 2025), this time we are wanting to try the other passage, a very steep climb.

A look behind us at the little Jänzimatt chapel.

Zoomed view of the Jänzimatt Chapel and far in the background is the Schrattenfluh, a prominent range in the Entlebuch region.

Last time we were here, we took the trail via Rückenegg to Fluonalp, a 1¾-hour hike. This time we are headed over the pass at the arrow, which should take us only 1½ hours to Fluonalp, but is a much steeper climb! We started the climb at 11:10.

Heading up the steep trail to a pass simply called Furgge.

More pretty alpine flowers.

On our way up we spotted some climbers on the crags next to the pass.

Even though it was a tough climb, the geology was stunning.

We were spurned on by the thought that those two children below us, hiking up the same trail with their father, were much faster than we were!

I couldn't let those kids pass me, so I hiked pretty quickly!

Not much further now, but an interesting trail!

Massive cliffs here. See the kids further down the trail? They were catching up quickly!

This was a very steep climb!

I was very impressed at how well the children could hike this trail!

Getting to the summit at 11:50 means we did this climb (250 meters elevation gain) in just 40 minutes! Having previously drawn the trail on our interactive map, the regular time it should have taken us was 50 minutes! It was definitely the kids that spurred us on!

The first view we get of the east side of the ridge as we reach the pass.

We can even see the summit of Mt.Titlis from here, with the newly-built tower.

And the view to the west from the pass.

We took a 10-minute break here to eat our sandwiches as it was noon, and we had some great views. But shortly after getting here, a group of very loud young men also made it up along the same trail, and we couldn't enjoy the peace of this place. The Dad and his two kids are taking a break here as well!

Continuing on now at noon, after only a 10-minute break at the saddle / pass. We are headed to that farm in the center of the photo, but are first hiking through the forest on the left.

The group of young men, and the Dad with kids stayed longer on the saddle. Behind them we spotted another rock climber on one of the peaks.

I am not fond of people who hike in groups. The conversations start to get quite loud, which ruins the peace of the mountains. That's why we don't stay long in places where there are talkers. Side note: In the background you can see a climber!

Lots of Gentians, large and small, on this hillside!

Continuing on down the east side of the Giswilerstock massif.

The view as we head down the hill. After heading north for a bit, we are returning to the Fluonalp farm below, and from there heading up the road on this photo.

A karst landscape: Pretty, but a bit strenuous to navigate! It seemed to be a really long downhill section.

We spotted these two cute birds, one of them looked like quite a young one, and the other is keeping a close eye on us! They are called "Alpine Accentors", or in German: Alpenbraunelle.

Our hike takes us further to the north via this karst terrain, before heading back to the Fluonalp in the south. But what lovely views of the Alps.

After a long and rather tedious descent through the forest, we now are on a nice trail getting closer to the Fluonalp alpine dairy farm.

And here the first view of the south end of Lake Sarnen. The prominent peak in the center is Mt. Stanserhorn, and far at the back we can see Mt. Rigi. The sound of the cowbells was very loud here, as it echoes around this upper plateau.

This is a very popular site for local excursions, as it can be reached by car. The outside tables are always full! And as it is now 1:15 p.m., the main lunch rush is over, but the staff is still very busy serving refreshments and Alpen Magronen.

The main reason for coming here was to buy the dairy's specialty cheese called Sbrinz, a local cheese that was already popular in the 16th Century, being transported via several alpine passes to Pope Clement VIII who loved this cheese. The one we bought has been aged for three years, and is very hard, but tasty when broken into little pieces. Here at the dairy, groups can also arrange to watch how cheese is made.

We weren't planning to stay here, but then decided on a cold drink, a local specialty called "Orangenmost", a mixture of orange and apple juice with carbon dioxide. But the staff were so busy, we had to wait quite a while to order. Then Urs kind of wished to have his favourite meringue dessert, and so I ordered a coffee as well, to wake up a bit, not having slept well. (The coffee was quite obviously made from powder, maybe even chicoree powder!). We ended up spending an hour here. I should rather have had a nap in a meadow somewhere.

As we had been descending from the pass, we had heard alphorn music. Later, when we had already left the restaurant and continued on our hike, we heard it again. And we were wondering if all the busy staff had to leave their stations and play for a while!

Leaving now at 14:20 for the last leg of our hike to the cable-car station at Turren, another 90 minutes from here!

Just up the road a bit from the farm are the storage sheds where the Sbrinz cheese is aged. Always interesting to look inside. (This is the second time we have passed by here).

A look behind us now at the two little cheese sheds, and the pass which we had crossed over earlier.

Oh-oh, someone is surprised to see us!

Now here was the sound of cowbells! Lovely view of Lake Sarnen (Sarnersee) to the north!

Hiking with the cows!

VIDEO:

Cows and Cowbells and views of Lakes and Mountains

Spectacular views from up here!

At 3 p.m we reached the top of another hill from where you have to descend into little valley to a farm called Dundel (40 minutes) and from there another 10-minute ascent to the cable-car station at Turren. We highly doubt we can make the 4 p.m. run, but it runs every 20 minutes, and there is a shuttle bus to the train station in Lungern, for the 17:04 (hourly) train, so we should make it OK.

We took a little break up here to enjoy the view! Directly across from us on the other side of the little valley (we have to go down, then up again) is the cable-car station at Turren. In the center of the photo is the Brünig Pass, from where you descend into the Bernese Oberland area. And the snow-capped mountain is the Rosenlaui Glacier.

Close-up view of the Rosenlaui Glacier, which you can see spectacularly when you head up the Reichenbach Valley from Meiringen. (I was there most recently on a hike out of the Reichenbach Valley in July 2025.) In the very center of this photo is the Chaltenbrunnen Upland Moor, the highest altitude moor landscape in Europe.

This was the last nice trail for a while! The descent to the hamlet of Dundel was on a very wet and muddy trail, as the entire hillside can be accessed by the cows, and they kind of destroy the hiking trails! There is an alternative option, you can walk all the way down on a paved road, which we did not want to do.

We are now actually following a local themed trail called "The Lungern Butterfly Trail". We had only seen two butterflies on the way, and Urs was pleased to have photographed the one displayed at the top left! (And the one I took was out of focus, so not displayed here!)

Down below is the little hamlet called Dundel, and from there we still have another 10 minutes of an uphill hike to the cable-car station.

More cows surprised to see us! They are obviously allowed to range freely over this entire valley!

It's now 15:47 and we are doubtful that we will reach the cable-car station by 4 p.m., but we are trying hard! Uphill on paved roads takes the longest for me.

Up here at Turren is a hotel, a restaurant, a fabulous playground, and a display of older cable-carw that used to run on this line. We were here only once before when we did a very lovely winter hike starting and ending here at this site. (February 2023).

We made it to the cable-car station at 15:59, but as it turns out, the operator doesn't run it exactly aat 4 p.m. He waits till he can sell a few tickets first! So we started on our way down at about 2 minutes after 4!

What our hike from the Glaubenbielen parking lot to the Turren cable-car looks like on Google Satellite Maps. We started at 10:15, and caught a cable-car at 4 p.m., and got to the Lungern train station at about 4:35 p.m.

Passing the opposite cabin as we make our way down. These cabins are very large and can carry quite a few people! There were about 10 people riding down with us.

View past the Brünig Pass into Canton Bern, with the Rosenlaui Glacier.

The base station of the cable-car is in a smaller village called Obsee, and to walk to the train station in Lungern would take about 30 minutes. But there is a very convenient (free!) shuttle bus which can take you there in just a few minutes! (The bus is operated by volunteer retirees in the community, a real convenience!)

Even though the shuttle bus was parked outside the station, they first had to call the driver from wherever he had gone to take a break! Then, since we were the only passengers, we all agreed to wait for the next cable-car, so I could watch it descend. We were then six people and a dog to drive the five minutes to the station, where we then still had about half an hour to wait.

The Turren-Lungern Cable-way.

A five-minute drive to the train station, but as the train between Meiringen and Luzern runs only once an hour, we had to wait 30 minutes here, for the 17:04 train. From here it takes only an hour and 40 minutes to get home.