Panorama Trail from Lake Arnisee to Gurtnellen Dorf above the Reuss Valley

(This post published on January 19, 2026. This was the first of many later walks along the same trail. There are no photos of the lake). 

Wednesday August 14, 2013 -- This is where Urs' Dad grew up, and Urs wanted to show me the region. This is under two hours south (direction Gotthard in the Reuss Valley) by train and bus from where we live. We took a cable car up to a lake called Arnisee (from Intschi valley station) and walked 2½ hours to the mountain village of Gurtnellen, from where we took a bus down to valley bottom at Gurtnellen Wiler (from there bus and train back home).  

These are the photos from the 6½-kilometer stretch we walked, which usually takes less than two hours without stopping for breaks.  

View into the Maderan Valley on the other side of the Reuss Valley, as the small cable-car makes its way up from the Intschi station along the main road below. 

Some hungry little ones near Lake Arnisee, on our way to the main trail. Four of them having a drink at the same time! We started here at about 1 p.m. 

Heading out now along the main trail toward Gurtnellen, we pass a side valley called the Leutschachtal. (Leutschach Valley). 

This is a viewpoint called Heisiggegg, and a good place for a break.

At Heisigegg, looking south toward the Gotthard region

Heisigegg is a good place for a break, after walking for about 20 minutes! We would have liked to sit on the view bench, but there were people there already. 

Continuing on our walk, we see the road/trail up ahead which we are following. The farmers are busy mowing the steep hillsides here, as they need the grass to feed their cows. 

Spectacular views on this easy 6-km walk. 

Looking behind us to where we started on the forested hill on the left, and another look into the Maderan Valley 

This is how the farmers cut and harvest the grass on these steep hillsides!

Mountain farms in Canton Uri above the Reuss Valley

From here we start on the descent to Gurtnellen Village .

We did a short detour off the main trail to visit this little "Maria-Hilf" chapel in Richligen, with an interesting history. It was founded in 1712 by Thomas Baumann and his three sons in gratitude for their safe return from the Villmergen War. The current chapel was rebuilt in 1859 and restored in 1967.

We returned from Richligen to the junction with the hiking trail at Fotigen. From here it's another 25 minutes to walk to Gurtnellen Dorf (Gurtnellen Village) 

Typical farmhouse here 

Ahead of us is the little village of Gurtnellen Dorf. The village church, St.Michael's, was built in 1783, although the village had a church as far back as 1504. 

A nice restaurant (Gasthaus im Feld) in the center of the village, where we stopped for blueberry icecream sundaes, before catching the little bus (Side note: As of 2025, this service is unfortunately no longer offered) that took us down to valley bottom.  

View up the Reuss Valley

This easy walk from the summit station of the Intschi-Arni cable-car to the village of Gurtnellen is about 6 km, and takes less than two hours to walk. 

What this walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps. (Side note added in 2026: The bus from Gurtnellen Dorf to Gurtnellen Wiler at the valley bottom is no longer available).