Cargo Cableways and a Short Section of the Via Suvorov Trail

Sunday June 28, 2026 -- The heat is still holding and we are still trying to do our twice weekly hiking, but not able to travel far, as we have to start very early. Also, long hikes are out of the question.

So on this Sunday (final hike of June) we traveled to our favourite valley, the Schächental in Canton Uri, to ride the final two farmers' cargo cars in that valley which we hadn't tried out yet. As I always want to add some sort of a hike to any outing (not just ride up and down), we added a descent along the Via Suvorov trail, a section I had long wanted to walk. This fit in fairly perfectly with the cargo cable-cars, except we first had to walk uphill for 30 minutes before joining the themed trail and walking back down to valley bottom.

Unfortunately, the promised clear skies did not happen, and it was overcast for the ride up, so we didn't see the mountains so well, but at least our climb along the road to the restaurant at Biel-Kinzig was without the burning heat of the sun! In fact, it even started to rain a bit, so we had coffee at the restaurant and waited 30 minutes before starting our descent. With the skies clearing, we had great views, but as soon as the sun came out, the heat was indeed unbearable. We were glad that the descent only took two hours, and we were able to catch the 11:55 bus on the valley road, and were back home again by 1:45 p.m. (shower and nap!), as this is very close to where we live.

Starting early again from home at 6:15, we are already entering the Schächen Valley at Bürglen (Bus from Altdorf train station) by 7:30. This is a look across the rooftops of Bürglen toward the Reuss Valley. This town plays a big part in the story of William Tell, as his place of birth is one of the houses below (allegedly). 

This is the base station of the Witerschwanden-Acherberg cargo cable car, one of two we had not yet ridden. We switch to the second one on the way up the mountain here, and had made arrangements with a Mr. Arnold that we would call him when we got here, he would bring us up, and we'd pay him at the transfer-station, which is where he lives. Usually you have to procure some tokens from a local here in the village. 

We got here at 8 a.m., and took a few photos before calling up to Mr. Arnold!

 This is how I am riding up, and Urs sat in the cabin!

View up the Schächen Valley past the village of Witerschwanden. Twice now we have hiked from further up in the valley to end there at Witerschwanden. Most recently we did this in April 2025. 

The other little cargo cable car passes us at the half-way point!

VIDEO:

Impression of what it is to ride on one of these cargo cable cars!

Urs sat inside the cabin, but I prefer the open section where the cargo goes!

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Unfortunately the day started out overcast with low clouds on the Uri Alps, so going up in the cable car we didn't have the best views of the mountains. The Schächen Valley runs perpendicular to the Reuss Valley, which we can see below. The city of Altdorf lies at the junction of the two valleys.

Interestingly, there is a "mid-station" where you can catch the cable-car as it passes by. You have to climb onto the platform and let the operator know to stop the cabin there (usually a button on the platform for that). 

Arriving at the summit station of the first of the two cable cars. The operator lives in the house next to the station, and we had arranged that he would bring us up to this "transfer" station, and we would pay him here. (Normally you have to procure tokens from locals at the bottom). It cost 8Fr. for each of the two sections, which is really cheap. 

A 10-minute ride on the first cable car, then we switch to the other side of the barn and continue with the other cable-car. 

We paid the fee here at the "transfer" station to Mr. Arnold (8 Fr. for each ride, total 16 Fr. for the both of us!) and chatted with him for a while before continuing on our ride.  

After chatting with Mr.Arnold for a while, we left the second station at 8:22. The next section was shorter, only seven minutes. Mr. Arnold lives in the house on the left.

Nice view down the mountainside where we will be walking later. 

Also here is a platform on mid-section, so that farmers or their children who live up here can board along the way. (Most people have cars now, and it is not sure how long these lovely cable cars will be able to continue operation). 

View out to the Uri Alps again as we pass over several farms heading up the mountain. 

At about 8:30 we reach the station of the upper section of the cable car (called Kessel, or Chessel) and from here we are headed on our hike. 

And now arriving at the very top station at 8:30. A map shows all the cable-cars in Canton Uri! There are currently 39 cableways in Canton Uri for public / touristic use. 

The Via Suvorov trail which we want to walk down along passes through the forest next to the cable-car station (behind me on this photo) and we could have accessed it right away. But we wanted to start higher up, i.e. at the Biel Mountain Hotel, so we first had to walk uphill along this road for 40 minutes. 

There is another cable-way (also two sections) to the Biel Hotel/Restaurant, a cable-car we have already used a few times, and from where we had walked the Via Suvorov trail going north and crossing the Kinzig Pass into the Muota Valley. This time we wanted to start at the hotel descending to the south, but the cable-cars we rode on don't go all the way up there. That is why we first had to walk uphill. In all it was a fairly short and easy hike for us, only 6 km and just over two hours. 

The road actually heads to the left, but on our map we had seen a lesser-used trail behind this farm, which would have shortened our walk a bit. But heading up toward the barn, the owner told us the trail no longer existed, and we had to go back to this road. (Personally, I think she just didn't want us walking through their property, although the old trails are not privately owned). 

Back on the road now, we look down a short section of hillside to the trail below, which we will walk down later. We also could have joined the trail here, but that wasn't the plan!

By 9:20 (it took us 50 minutes to walk up to here) we had reached the mountain hotel and restaurant, and it started to rain lightly. So we decided to stop here and wait for the skies to clear up. 

We have now joined the Regional Trail no.55: Via Suvorov, which follows the path that the Russian General Suvorov and his men took through the Swiss Alps in his skirmish with Napoleon in 1799. To reach the summit station of the second cable-car which we had taken that morning (Chessel) is only 20 minutes from here. We are not walking all the way to Bürglen, but only to the valley road, from here a descent of about 90 minutes. 

Next to the hotel/restaurant we discovered another tiny cable car which was just making its way higher up to another mountain hotel. This one is not generally available to the public, although possibly the staff might be able to ride it. Most likely just to transport goods. 

VIDEO:

The tiny cable-car cabin heads up to another hotel higher up on the mountain

Heading to the restaurant terrace, we pass through the summit station of the Brügg/Biel cableway. This is a very busy line from the valley bottom to this point at the hotel, which is also the starting point of very many interesting hikes up here. We have been here often. 

The cabin just left empty, which means that there were people on their way up. There is a large car park below for two such cable-ways. 

We sat here on the restaurant terrace for 30 minutes enjoying a coffee, the view, and waiting for the skies to clear a bit. 

Watching the Brügg/Biel cable-car from our table at the restaurant terrace. Far below is the city of Altdorf at the junction of the Reuss and Schächen Valleys. Across the Reuss Valley and right in the center of the photo is the Surenen Pass which is part of the Via Alpina Route through Switzerland, from where you descend to Engelberg to the west. We did this hike in August 2017 with an overnight in a cow barn!

Close-up view of the Glattfirn Glacier

The skies have cleared now, so we are now heading off along the Via Suvorov Trail at 10 a.m. All the way down we had to imagine what it was like for a military troop with horses and cannons having to make there way UP the mountain along narrow trails (no roads and few houses along the way) and continuing over the Kinzig Pass higher up, then down into the Muota Valley, which apparently took three days. 

View up to the mountains which form the boundary with the Riemenstalden Valley to the north (and Canton Schwyz). Another cable-car is on its way!

Now we have a much nicer view down to the city of Altdorf and into the Reuss Valley, the Glattfirn Glacier and the Surenen Pass. 

Right about here is where we stopped on the road we had walked up, just a short distance up the hill on the right, to look down at this trail, which we could have joined up with here!

Another look at the beautiful peaks to the north (Spilauer Stock, Rossstock, Fulen). It is actually possible to hike to the summit of both those peaks on the right. 

More nice views to the entrance of the Schächen Valley. 

A simple photo-break to feature the lovely fence, the traditional way that mountain farmers used to build fences.

On the zigzag path heading down the mountain, we pass many attractive farms. Many of them have their own cargo cable lifts. 

Very nice paths through meadows and pastures. Even though we are hiking steadily downhill, it is not tedious. 

Now directly below us is the summit station of the Chessel cable-car, where we started our hike heading along the road to the left. We could have headed along a short path into the forest on the right, and gone downhill from there, where we are now headed. 

That's the little building where the Chessel cable-car is "housed" and from where we started our hike along the road on the left. 

Fantastic views into the Schächen Valley and the Uri Alps, to the southeast this time. 

This view directly to the south is interesting for us, because it shows from a different perspective two regions we have also hiked in. In August 2022 we took a similar cargo cable car up into that clearing (Eggenbergli) and walked back down from there (Also to Witerschwanden but from the other side of the valley). And in July 2020 we did a two-day hike in the mountains further back, with an overnight in a mountain "shed" and a crossing at the arrow (in this direction) on the next day.  

Another pretty mountain farm. 

Another view to the junction of the Schächen Valley with the Reuss Valley, from lower down now. Unfortunately, it is starting to get hot now, even though it is only 10:45!

Views up the Schächen Valley. Urs is hurrying now, as he doesn't like to be out in the hot sun!

Luckily we had several very welcome shady sections through bits of forest. The stone walls are always amazing. 

Below us now we can see the "base station" of the Chessel cable-way, i.e. the start of the second cable car we took. The first one has its shed behind the house on the left, where Mr. Arnold lives!

Some overgrown sections on the trail. Due to the long stretch of hot weather, the meadow grasses look like they are drying out, and the trail is really hard and dry. 

Straight across now from the double cable-car stations! The first cable car docks in the little shed nearest to us, and the other one starts in the shed further back. And the operator lives in the house on the right. 

Getting closer to the bottom now. The little village of Witerschwanden appears close, although we are catching the bus along the main road to the right. The river that flows down this valley is called the "Schächen" and has two sources: One at the Klausen Pass, and the other from the side Valley called Brunnital. You can also just make out the cables from the Eggerbergli cable-way coming down from the other side. (Little shed below the road in the center of the photo). 

Final stretch! It's now 11:39, and the bus comes at 11:55 just below here. So we will make it in plenty of time. 

Once we got to the road at the valley bottom, I still had a few minutes to cross the bridge over the Schächen River, before returning to the bus stop. 

Urs prefers to wait at the bus stop and not make additional detours!

The 11:55 bus is right on time, and even with a 20-minute wait at the train station in Altdorf (cold refreshments!) we were home by 13:45!

What our hike along the Via Suvorov Trail looks like on Google Satellite Maps. Imagine a military army in 1799 with 20,000 men, animals, munitions and cannons going up the trail we had just descended. AND it snowed. Apparently the crossing of the Kinzig Pass (continuing higher than where we just started) and down into the Muota Valley took three days. 

These are all the hikes we have done around the Schächen Valley, with a few of the cableways we have used. 

Location of the Schächen Valley within Switzerland. 

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We have now followed the footsteps of General Suvorov and his army from Airolo to Glarus via the Gotthard, Kinzig and Pragel Passes, and a not-yet completed piece into the Sernf Valley. We will probably not be able to complete the crossing of the Panixer Pass, as the section is too long and steep for us, unfortunately. 

SIDE NOTE: General Suvorov was actually headed north from the Gotthard Pass through the Reuss Valley toward Zurich, where he intended to take ships on Lake Uri to Schwyz. But the French had removed all the ships, and at that time there were no roads along the lake, so he had to do the detour over the Kinzig Pass (three days) and the Pragel Pass as well, to get into the Linth Valley at Glarus. Along the way they also had to battle the French who tried to block their way. And once they got to Glarus, they found the way north was also blocked, so they headed south over the Panixer Pass. It was October, and early snows made the trail treacherous, and he lost a third of his troops and all of his cannons. A very interesting read at this link: https://www.suworow-verein.com/index.php/suworow-en.