Glaubenberg Pass to Flühli (Sörenberg) via Summit of Mt. Fürstein

(Blog post published on November 25, 2022)

Thursday October 27, 2022 -- Usually Wednesday is the weekday where we do a hike, but this week the weather forecast for Thursday was to be the best day this week, another fabulous day in this warmest month of October ever.... so Urs swapped his day off. It was a good choice, as it truly was one of the most fantastic days.

We did a hike we have wanted to do for a long time, a very long hike not far from home, starting at the Glaubenberg Pass in Canton Nidwalden just south of Luzern, and hiking over the border into the Entlebuch (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) region of Canton Luzern, near Sörenberg. The hike was over five hours of walking, and included a hike to the summit of the local view mountain Fürstein (and WHAT a view!!!) as well as a bit of a tricky descent down its steep west side: Shady, cold and slippery at this time of year, something we didn't anticipate.

After the successful albeit time-consuming descent off the mountain, the rest of the downhill portion was easy, although the trail through the forest toward what is called the Chessiloch seemed neverending. Chessiloch is Swiss-German for "Kessel Loch" or "Kettle Hole", a magnificent huge pit created over thousands of years by the waterfall dropping here. It was well worth the ca. 20-minute detour in the otherwise already lengthy hike. But the weather was balmy and there was so much variety that we considered this one of our more successful hikes among so many.

The final section out of the Kragen Valley to the village of Flühli passed through the area that was once the original glass-manufacturing region of Switzerland, the art of glass-blowing having been brought here by two brothers from the Black Forest in 1723. "Glass huts" were built in heavily forested regions, and once the woods had totally been decimated for heating material, the huts were moved to other locations. 

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This day was like two separate hikes / excursions. The first part was the climb to the top of Mt.Fürstein and down the other side:

After a long bus ride through the lovely Entlebuch Region of Luzern, we reached the Glaubenberg Pass at 9 a.m., very early in the day for October! The 570m ascent to the summit of Mt. Fürstein took two hours. 

The first fantastic views of the Bernese Alps to the south as we ascend toward the first hill called Rickhubel. 

A zoomed view of the Eiger North Face in the Bernese Alps to the south

Approaching the peak called Rickhubel, 400m higher than where we started. This section took just a little over an hour. Much of the trail up was wet and peaty.

The view into the Entlebuch (specifically the Schrattenfluh Massif in the center) from Rickhubel. 

From Rickhubel we had a long level stretch, but at many places soft and wet, as this is a moor landscape. The summit of Mt. Fürstein is there at the arrow. 

A look back as we climb the final steep section. In the background center is Mt. Pilatus 

I had to make lots of stops on this last steep section!

Finally made it to the top! Air quality is superb, we can see all the way to Germany to the north!

Looking south along the ridge to the Bernese Alps, and the Entlebuch region on the right. This ridge is the Canton border between Nidwalden on the left and Luzern on the right. Later we will be descending the valley on the right. 

A well-deserved break!

The eastern Alps! Most of the people who make this ascend descend back to the Glaubenberg Pass via that lake below. But we are descending to the west. 

Another closer-up view of the mountains to the South. 

And this view is to the west. That massif is called the Schwändiliflue. Our trail took us past the little lake directly below, just showing out of the shadow of the mountain. 

Time to continue on down the mountain to the west! It is now 11:30, relatively early in the day, so we knew we had lots of time to do the rest of this 5-hour hike!

The stile was steep, as was the mountainside, so we had to be very careful crossing the fence here.

In all this was a hike of more than 5 hours. Starting at the Glaubenberg Pass, it took us about two hours to get to the summit of Mt. Fürstein, another 2.5 hours to descend to the suspension bridge at the Chessiloch, and then another hour to the bus stop in Flühli. Total 5-1/2 hours. 

The slope on this side was steeper than we expected, so we had to go slowly and carefully. 

Making our way slowly down the steep, shady and cold west side of Mt. Fürstein!

Warming up in a bit of sunshine and the fantastic view below!

The descent is now behind us, and here is a good place for a 20-minute break for lunch! (Mt.Fürstein in the background)

The view from our picnic bench at the cross. We still have a long descent from here, past the two buildings below. 

Another zoomed view of the fabulour peaks of the Bernese Alps. 

A final look up the "valley" which we came down, before continuing into the forest and ravine below. 

The second part of our long hike was a seemingly never-ending 330-m (40 minutes) descent to the suspension bridge in the ravine, from where we did a 20-minute detour to the waterfall in the "Chessiloch" or "Kettle Hole". This has been an attraction for a long time, and to make the waterfall more accessible, a bridge was built over the river at the very back of the ravine, a bridge that had to be replaced several times due to flooding.

A 40-minute descent through the forest into the ravine

Suspension bridge over the ravine

Heading to the back of the ravine, to see the "Chessiloch"

It's 4:30 p.m. by now and pretty shady in the ravine

A bridge was specially built over the river at the back of the ravine so that people can get closer to the waterfall. 

VIDEO:

Making his way to the waterfall

The waterfall which carved out this deep ravine called "Chessiloch"

VIDEO:

The waterfall at the back of the Chessiloch

The photo doesn't capture how high the walls of the "hole" were.

Heading back out of the ravine

Heading out of the ravine

The final hour of the hike was out of the Kragen Valley and southwards to the village of Flühli, the end of our hike. This whole region is where the art/science of glass-manufacture began in Switzerland, having been brought here in 1723 by two brothers from the Black Forest in Germany. After all the forests here were decimated for the wood required to manufacture the glass, the industry was moved to Hergiswil on Lake Luzern, where there is still a glass factory.

Heading along the hillside now toward the village of Flühli

A final sunny section along a good mountain trail

 A look up the valley toward Sörenberg and the Brienzer Rothorn ridge. This region is part of the beautiful Unesco Biosphere Entlebuch. 

End of October and the farmers are still hard at work harvesting the grass for winter feed. 

The village of Flühli, end of our 5.5-hour hike. 

Those peaks are part of the Schwändiliflue massif. We descended the valley on the other side of that massif

What a nice way to make a pig farm more attractive!

The "Hotel & Kurhaus Flühli", which used to be a wellness center

What our 14-km hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps, starting at the Glaubenberg Pass and ending in Flühli. 

And the scenery for the bus ride back out of the valley was quite impressive as well:

The long stretched-out "Flue" to the east as the bus makes its way out the valley to Schüpfheim

Location of this part of the Entlebuch in Switzerland

All the hikes we have done in the Entlebuch and Nidwalden region to date