An Easy 9-km Walk along the Reuss River between Erstfeld and Altdorf

Friday March 17, 2023 -- Urs had the day off today but had a funeral to attend. So I met him at 1 p.m. near where the funeral took place, and we still managed to do a 9-km afternoon walk!

Since he did not have his hiking boots along, we did a simple walk along the Reuss River from Erstfeld to Altdorf, connecting a piece of national Trail no.7: "Via Gottardo", a stretch we might not have done otherwise, as we don't do a lot of "straight along rivers" type of hikes.

Nevertheless, we did have some sunshine and good views, and even one interesting passage where a section of trail is a 90-meter tunnel blasted into the cliffs, one of the first major post-war investments by Canton Uri for pedestrians, created in 1959.

At Attinghausen we crossed the Reuss River and walked to Altdorf, a hike I did alone once before, with better weather and lots of blossoming trees, but with the same amount of snow on the mountains as this time, five weeks later in the year! (April 20, 2021. Those photos are HERE, second section of the blog entry). Along the way we passed a BIO-Farm with a lovely shop that sold all kinds of products, so we bought locally-made cheese again, and rested in their garden with something to drink. 

We crossed the Reuss River in Erstfeld at just past 1 p.m. This is a look down the valley in the direction we are walking. The walking trail is on the left, or west side of the river. 

Two hours and 15 minutes is the walking time to Altdorf. We caught the bus there at 4:30 p.m, so we actually took 3.5 hours to walk the stretch! (lots of stops along the way, as usual). 

The church in Erstfeld

A look behind us where we crossed the bridge from the main part of Erstfeld town. The view is upvalley, and that most dominant mountain is called Mount Bristen. 

The 9 kilometer stretch from Erstfeld to Altdorf takes about 2-1/4 hours to walk. We took our time, stopped along the way, and made it to Altdorf for the 4:30 p.m. bus. (I need longer breaks when walking flat along rivers...)

The walking trail along the Reuss River. This was the original mule trail down this valley. Among others, the path followed by Russian General Suvorov in his operations against Napoleon at the end of the 18th Century.

The little house on the right is the old sexton house (pastor assistant), first mentioned in 1558, but rebuilt in 1749 using the original foundation walls. Renovated in 1980, it still retains the late Baroque Uri farmhouse style. Urs has relatives who worked as the sexton, and therefore lived in that historical house for a while. 

A look behind us at Mount Bristen and Erstfeld right and left.

The little part of Erstfeld on the left side of the river. The small chapel on the left is actually on the other side of the river. 

Time to start preparing the gardens

Walking down-river along the Reuss River

On the road between Erstfeld and Attinghausen are two small cableways which access the mountains on this side of the river (another more popular one starts in Attinghausen). We have ridden this one here (Hofstetten-Wilerli) before, when we walked into the Erstfeld Valley (those photos are HERE) 

This stretch along the Reuss River (and all the way to the Gotthard Tunnel in Göschenen to the south) is part of four theme trails. No.7 is the Via Gottardo, No.2 is the Trans-Swiss Trail, and No.55 is the Via Suvorov Trail. We have done several stretches on each of these. 

I can just imagine how pretty this would look with the blossoming trees. 

This suspension bridge near the cliff trail must be very new, as it is not on my hiking trails map

The 90-meter stretch of tunnel which was built in 1959 to improve the hiking trail on this side of the river. 

A look out of the tunnel "window" up the Reuss Valley. You can just see the new bridge below, and Mount Bristen at the back. 

Leaving the main trail to take a detour through the town of Attinghausen. 

In Attinghausen are the ruins of a 12-Century fortress. We didn't go up there this time, as I had visited these ruins on my last trip here. (Photos HERE, second part of blog). 

The church and ossuary chapel in Attinghausen

Crossing the Reuss River to its east side. The view is to the north

A close-up shot of Mount Bristen to the South

Crossing the pastures toward Altdorf. Ahead of us is one of our favourite valleys: Schächental. Comparing this photo to that of my hike here on April 20, 2021, there is as much snow here in March, as there was then in April, five weeks later in the year!

This chapel is called Zwyerkapelle. We didn't actually pass by it. 

Another look south. (One of our next planned hikes is above the cliff on the left). 

To the left of the arrow is the highest peak in this massif, Hoch Fulen (1506m). On July 1, 2020 we crossed from the other side at the arrow. A fantastic 2-day tour that was, those photos are HERE

We passed by a farm called "byherger" which features a large farm shop (where we bought cheese) and a garden with several tables where we sat for a long break, and enjoyed watching this baby make motor noises as it drives the old tractor!!!

I took a screenshot of the garden from the farm's website www.byherger.ch, because I didn't take my own photo there. This was the view from the table where we sat.

Someone else enjoying the mild afternoon!

This was a surprise! This tree is near the downtown of the city of Altdorf, and looks like a sequoia tree!  Here they call it a Wellingtonia

Walking down the main street in Altdorf toward the "Türmil" (Little Tower) where we catch the bus

The "Türmli" was built in the 13th Century and is one of the oldest buildings in Canton Uri. The famous Tell Monument from 1895 stands in front of the tower. 

A cute pastry shop on the main square in Altdorf. 

A 9-km stretch from Erstfeld to Altdorf, mostly along the Reuss River. 

We've done all kinds of hikes around here, it's one of our favourite areas. Especially because there are a multitude of small cable cars giving access tothe mountains. 

An Aunt of Urs' used to live in this House (Sigristenhaus)