Short Hike in the Rolling Hills of the Entlebuch near Escholzmatt

Sunday August 30, 2026 -- After the three-hour hike we did on Saturday, Urs didn't really want to do another long hike, so we had considered a simple two-hour walk along a riverbank somewhere. That plan then quickly changed to a "simple" two-hour walk in the lovely rolling hills of the Entlebuch / Napf region, because given the choice, we still rather pick the mountain walk. Plus this lovely region is only a 90-minute trip for us, less time than to get to the river walk I had originally considered.

We traveled to the town of Escholzmatt, where we have started and ended several previous hikes, and first followed a "Stations of the Cross" trail uphill to a little pilgrim church called St.Anna, and then continued back down to the Ilfis River through lovely cool woods and green meadows, back to the village of Wiggen, where we had also previously ended two hikes.

We were back home by 1:40 p.m. (a 90-minute trip) before the day became hot once again.

The lovely Entlebuch Region as we approach Escholzmatt at about 9:30 a.m. 

Having left home at 8:10, we were at the start of our day's excursion in Escholzmatt at 9:36. The walk we have planned is exactly two hours according to our map, so we expect to be done by noon. 

Walking down main street in Escholzmatt, with its attractive buildings, made especially pretty by all the red geraniums. 

Attractive fountain next to the town's church. 

The last time we were here (on a snow-free day in December 2025), we were pretty impressed by this building, even without the fabulous geraniums. It is the Gasthaus Löwen, and the oldest Gasthaus in Escholzmatt, having received its tavern license in 1671. 

St.Jakob Parish church in Escholzmatt. Built in 1892-1894 in the Neogothic style, this is a fairly new building. We didn't go in this time because we had a look at the interior on that December 2025 hike.  

Another view of the "Red Lion Inn" before we head up the hill behind the village. We had considered stopping here for lunch after our short little walk, but they are closed on Sundays. 

Heading up the hill on the west side of the town, with a view to the St.Jakob church. 

This was not a long nor strenuous hike, just two hours and a little over 6 km. I mainly wanted to join the starts and ends of other hikes we have done to Wiggen, and to/from Escholzmatt, but walking along the road would not have been fun. We started at 9:40 in Escholzmatt, and got back to Wiggen at 11:58, so just over two hours with a long break at the St.Anna Chapel. 

St. Anna is a pilgrim church, so the trail through the forest up to the chapel was part of a "Stations of the Cross" trail, with such votiv shrines along the way. 

Views of the Entlebuch hills as we head up toward the St.Anna Chapel. 

It took us 30 minutes to reach the chapel, a climb of about 200 meters altitude. The placard had information about the Reformation Period in Switzerland. (I didn't read it). 

The "back" side of the chapel is the first we saw as we reached here. There was a super modern toilet here as well, which was a surprise (On the other side was a picnic area, so probably popular as a family excursion, and so the toilet is very practical!)

And the front side of the chapel. We did a quick look around inside before taking a break on a nearby view bench. There is not a lot of documentation about this chapel, but the date above the door reads 1613, which would be the build year. But it is assumed there was already an older chapel than this one at this site. 

There is currently a landscape photo exhibition, thus the two screens, but most impressive is naturally the fantastic wood-panel ceiling. 

The individual panels on the ceiling are family crests. In 1922 the chapel received a major restoration, and at that point is when the panels with the family crests were added. 

We had a 15-minute snack break on this bench in the shade, with a view of the rolling hills to the west. 

The view from our little bench across from the St.Anna Chapel. 

By 10:25 it was time to continue on our walk, with a final look back at the little chapel. 

Heading southwest now, I had hoped to see some of the Bernese Alps, but the elevation here isn't high enough. 

Looking behind us again at the little chapel hidden in the trees. 

A little detour to see what the best view is. That massif ahead of us is called Hohgant, and on the far right is the northern part of Mt.Niederhorn. On the other side of that is Lake Thun. (We are currently in Canton Luzern, and the mountains we see to the south form the border with Canton Bern). 

Another look behind us past a field of grazing cows, to the little hill where we can only just still see the chapel. 

In this part of the country we see more of the Simmental cow breed. 

We now head west again for a short stretch along one of the many paved roads up here, before we start on our descent to the south. The view back toward the east is definitely the prettiest!

We don't often come across totally caved-in houses such as this one.... What a shame. 

We now had a nice and cool descent on a forest road... 

...and along some nice soft meadow paths. 

Once in a while we pass attractive farm houses on the hillside. 

The final stretch is on a paved road down to the Ilfis River on the outskirts of Wiggen. 

The railway line of the BLS train runs here between Luzern and Bern. More specifically, the Kambly Cookie Factory is nearby, and we usually detour to there when we are in the area, but today was an exception. (Sundays are usually very busy at the shop there). 

Urs is always particularly taken by the farmhouses that have pear trees growing along their facades. This one has the branches of the tree stretched right along the windows, something you don't often see. 

Fortunately we were not in a rush to get to the bus stop in Wiggen (another 20 minutes along the river from the crossing here), as the barrier had just gone down, and we had to wait quite a while! (No train in sight, but we don't cross when the barrier is down). 

Here comes the BLS train on its way from Escholzmatt to the next stop in Trubschachen at the Kambly Cookie Factory!

Crossing the Ilfis River now for the last 20 minutes of our walk. 

Following the Ilfis River, and parallel also to the main vehicle road down the valley here. 

A nice footpath along the Ilfis River. Here we get the first view of the little village of Wiggin, where we will catch the bus which comes from the south from Kemmeriboden and Marbach, then heads to the train station in Escholzmatt. 

We reached Wiggen at just about noon, enough time to buy refreshments (or ice cream, in this case for Urs) at the little shop and snack bar here. The bus is expected at 12:08, and it was running late by 3 minutes. (We would have had time to go into the church, but I was sure I had been inside before on my February 2024 hike to here, but this does not seem to have been the case). 

And now the bus heads back to the train station in Escholzmatt. We were home again by 1:40 p.m., to relax for the afternoon!

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. It was a short hike (2 hours) starting in Escholzmatt and ending in Wiggen. 

All the hikes we have done in the region around Escholzmatt and Trubschachen. This is also called the Napfgebiet, outliers of the Napf mountain. The border between Canton Luzern and Canton Bern runs between Wiggen and Trubschachen. 

Location of Escholzmatt within Switzerland.