The "Swiss Path" from Seelisberg to Isleten

(This post published on December 31, 2023)

Friday January 3, 2014 -- Perfect day for hiking... no snow at this altitude and mild temperatures. This 11-km piece we did is part of what is called "The Swiss Path" which was created in 1991 to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Swiss confederation. 

To get to our starting point at Seelisberg we had to go by boat from Brunnen to Treib and then by cogwheel train. From there we walked down to a town called Bauen on the lake which has a tropical microclimate, and is so tucked away at the base of the mountains that they built a special tunnel to give the residents auto access to the rest of the country. Until the year 1956 the village was only accessible on foot or by boat. The road took 7 years to built, 30 men working on it, all the work done by hand.

From Bauen we walked along the old walking trail to the nearest bus stop at Isenthal. This footpath, passing through several tunnels, is one of the most important historical footpaths in Canton Uri.

The 6-minute boat ride from Brunnen to Treib is the fastest way for us to access Mount Seelisberg!

In the lakeside station of the Treib-Seelisberg funicular

Starting on the way up Mount Seelisberg with the funicular. In the background is Brunnen, where we previously set off by boat. 

Starting on our walk southward at 11:15 a.m., we pass the community church in the village of Seelisberg. 

A look back at the church as we continue down the road. 

An approximately 11-km trail from Seelisberg to Isleten bus stop via the village of Bauen, which is accessible by road only since 1956, but has no bus service. (The only public transport there is boat). We started at 11:15, and got to Bauen at 13:20, and to the bus in Isleten at about 2:30 p.m. (?)

At the first look-out point, view south toward Flüelen and Mount Bristen. The photo is dark, but the lighting is neat!

From the second look-out point, a look back toward Brunnen and the Mythen mountains

And now some better lighting for the view south, as we cross a wide open pasture. Bauen is not visible below, but where we caught the bus at Isleten is the small peninsula into the lake ahead. 

Along the way we passed a cute little castle called Schlösschen Beroldingen, originally built in the 15th Century, although the current build is from 1671.

Some farm houses and barns along the way. 

Across the lake is the village of Sisikon and the Riemenstalden Valley behind it. The "Swiss Path" also follows the entire lakeshore on the other side of this lake. 

Another look at the south end of the lake, and the cliff on the right which we walked along (through a tunnel) to the peninsula at Isleten

Heading down the long set of steps through the forest toward lake level. 

Arriving in Bauen above the village church. 

The current church was finished in 1812, but the first churches and chapels in Bauen were from 1360 and 1585 although the latter was destroyed by a land slide. After that, no churches were built for 170 years. 

So many palm trees here in this specially mild microclimate!

A look at the rest of the lakeshore walk which we are starting on (a 30-minute walk from here). This is a long tunnel blasted into the cliff, and was the first access by road from the south side, which took 7 years to build from 1949 to 1956. 

Heading off along the cliffs, a look back at Bauen, and where we walked down from. 

Walking through the tunnel trail along the lake. This was the original and first road built to connect Bauen to the rest of the Reuss Valley. 30 men worked on it from 1949 to 1956, all the work done by hand! It is now a walking trail, part of the "Swiss Path" and one of the most important historical footpaths in Canton Uri.

Looking out of one of the "windows" in the cliff! 

A close-up look at the magnificent Mount Bristen, further up the Reuss Valley. It's now 2:15 p.m.  

Back in October of 2013 we took a boat ride on Lake Uri from Flüelen to Brunnen. This is what the village of Bauen looks like from the boat, in autumn. 

Also from the boat ride on Lake Uri in October 2013, you can see the "windows" blasted into the cliff wall, behind which is the tunnel which was the original road built from 1949 to 1956, but is now a footpath to the village of Bauen. Deeper in the mountain is the newer tunnel road, built in 1969. 

(Additional notes made at that time in Endomondo: "3 hours to Isleten where we had missed the last bus for another 3 hours by just 10 minutes. So we hitchhiked and got a ride to Fluelen ".  Also, a bus schedule for that time shows that the bus would have left at 13:07, and the next would have left at 16:17. So it looks like the time on all my photos is off by an hour).