Round-Tour from Lungern to Brünig Pass in Canton Obwalden.

(This post published on November 21, 2025).

Thursday August 22, 2013 -- This day dawned a gorgeous day and I had the opportunity to do a solo day-trip. Spur-of-the-moment decision was to head to this village named Lungern, only 1 and 1/4 hours train ride from home, via Lucerne. This is a lesser traveled route to the well-known city of Interlaken and the Bernese Alps (usually goes with a fast train via Berne) and requires a cogwheel train. From Lungern I walked 4 hours through forests and mountain meadows to the Brünig Pass and back along the train tracks to Lungern. Total height difference was 500 meters.

This is the north end of Lake Lungern, as the train heads southward toward the town of Lungern.

Approach toward Lungern, with the Bernese Alps in the background. The Brunig Pass is visible on the left side. The red line is approximately where I walked toward the Pass, and I returned from the pass on the left directly toward the church. (After arriving in Lungern, the first thing I did was walk to the church. It's a fairly new church and replaces the original one which was washed away in a storm, and the only part that remains is the tower, seen on this photo here).

The mountain in the back of this photo is called the Wilerhorn. I hiked up through the woods on the smaller hill to the left of that, then over to a variety of meadows and lonely farmsteads at the foot of the Wilerhorn.

The first thing I did after getting to the train station was to walk to the large Catholic Church. Not so old, built in 1891-1893. The style is called "New Gothic". The original church further north on the lake was damaged during heavy storms of 1887 (only the tower remains), so this was the new location selected for the replacement church.

View up the lake to the north, from the terrace in front of the large church.

Details of the church in Lungern.

Another look across the cemetery and the houses in Lungern, before heading off on my hike, which took me via Obsee, a small community on the very south side of the lake. I started from here just after noon.

A long first section through the forest. It's now 1:30 p.m. and I still have about 90 minutes to the Brünig Pass. I came up from Lungern Obsee, a 15-minute walk from the large church, and about 20 minutes if you go directly from the train station.

Often you come across these little forest huts where you can stop for a picnic. The stone on the right displays the flag of Obwalden. The date of 1857 (written weirdly) might refer to the start of the construction of the Brünig Pass road.

A beautiful day for a wonderful hike.

The trail heads up a type of couloir with views of isolated farms and farm buildings.

First view of the Bernese Alps on the far side of the Hasli Valley, which is the south side of the Brünig Pass.

Now a 1½-kilometer stretch along a mountain road till I reach the farm at Schäri. (About 100 meters elevation gain, and 30 minutes of walking).

Lonesome farmstead (Schäri) at the foot of the Wilerhorn. I got here just after 3 p.m., and was really glad to be able to fill up my water bottle at the fountain there.

View of the Bernese Alps on the south side of the Brünig Pass, as I start on my descent now, as I am about at the half-way and highest point of the loop.

The little scattering of buildings up ahead is called Aelpeli.

Cows and goats roam free and will often follow you for some time along the trail.

Panorama view toward the Bernese Alps from near the Brunig Pass

From the Aelpeli Farm, it's only another 15 minutes to descend to the Brünig Pass, about 100 meters elevation, but partly on a steep and gravelly road.

After following the railway line from the Brünig Pass for three kilometers, and just before starting on the descent toward Lungern, there is a little chapel called the Burgkapelle. The chapel was first mentioned in 1537. The current chapel, dedicated to the patron saint of the region, Brother Klaus, was built in 1883.

Superb view of Lake Lungern to the north as you descend again from the Brünig Pass.

From the Burgkapelle, the trail continues for another 1.7 kilometers along the railway line till the train station in Lungern (about 25 minutes).

On the way to the train station, a view to the west toward the large newer church which I visited before starting on the hike.

A typical house in the area. This is quite close to the train station, which I reached at about 5:30 p.m.

This is what the loop hike looks like, about four hours of walking. I started in Lungern train station about about 11:45, did a detour to the church (not indicated on this map, unfortunately), then walked to Obsee and uphill to the Schärli Farm, descended to the Brünig Pass and returned to Lungern, which I reached at just before 5:30 p.m.