Short Hike from Niederrickenbach down to Dallenwil in the Engelberg Valley

Tuesday July 30, 2024 -- On Sunday the weather cooled down a bit, followed by two more 30+ days on Monday and Tuesday, but I braved another excursion on my own this Tuesday regardless of the heat. (Weather forecast is for rain again for the next three days) .

It was a relatively short hike I did, and not far from home, in the Engelberg Valley just south of Luzern, a valley I can get to in a short time. We have been in the well-known pilgrim mountain village of Maria Rickenbach on the south flank of Mt. Buochserhorn several times now, as there is very easy access with a cable car which is included in our train passes. (About 100 people live in this mountain village, which has been inhabited since the 1300's). But one hike I had never done was to return from there to Dallenwil at the valley bottom, and as this was only a two-hour hike and partly through the forest, I thought it was a good choice to get out this day. 

Before starting on the descent, I had a look around the parts of the Abbey accessible to the public, something I had never done before. At 10 a.m. it was cool in the mountain hamlet, but soon became hot. Nevertheless, it was cool in the forest, and by the time I got down to the river, there was a bit of a wind blowing. The real highlight of this day was that without knowing it beforehand, I ended up passing through the geographical centerpoint of Canton Nidwalden!

I was back on the train by 1 p.m. and home shortly after 2 p.m. 

After an hour and 10 minutes' bus/train ride, I was getting on the Niederrickenbach cable-car at about 9:40 (this is a small distance south of Lake Lucerne, in the Engelberg Valley).

A look up the lovely Engelberg Valley as the cable-car heads up to the mountain hamlet of Niederrickenbach.

Passing the other cable-car on its way down. The mountain in the back is the famous Mount Stanserhorn, accessed from the north side via an open-topped double-decker cable-car. (We have been there several times). Down below is the town of Dallenwil, which I am going to walk down to. 

A small walk from the summit cable-car station to the church in town, a look up to the mountain called Musenalp. The cable-car ride up there in the tiny four-man cabin is an experience in itself, and one I should have done again this day. (Photos of our Sept.2018 ride up there are worth looking at HERE). 

The main church in Maria-Rickenbach dates from 1860, although there was a pilgrim chapel here since the mid 1500's. As legend has it, a shepherd boy saved a statue of Maria with Baby in Canton Bern and brought it here, where it now resides in the main altar. 

Details of the Holy Mary pilgrim church in Niederrickenbach, including an almost 500-year-old statue of Mary and child in the altar-piece. 

From the terrace in front of the church, this is the view to Mount Stanserhorn and Dallenwil below. The road below is what I followed to descend back into the valley, after having a look at the monastery grounds to the right (the trail passed right between the farm buildings below). Also in the back on the right is Mount Pilatus. 

The start of the trail down the mountain is next to these abbey buildings, a Benedictine monastery established here in 1864.

The trail I am following is Trail no.570, a local trail called "Nidwaldner Zentrumsweg", a 21-km trail over the top of Mt. Buochserhorn through the center of the Canton of Nidwalden. 

The sign pointed to "Church" (and not the one I had just been at), so I figured this was part of the Abbey grounds, and I went to have a look. Indeed, the nuns have a separate worship room in the monastery grounds. I walked through the open corridors to check out some artwork.

There was an open room marked "Krippe", which means "Nativity Scene", and there was this elaborate one to admire. 

On the abbey grounds they also have this lovely covered passage, and their own herb and vegetable gardens. 

After looking around the pilgrim church and abbey grounds of Niederrickenbach, I started on my descent at 10:20, and arrived at the train station in Dallenwil at 12:50. It was only about a 2-hour walk total, but I spent a long time at the view-point at the geographical center of Canton Nidwalden, and sitting next to the river below, as I would have had to wait 30 minutes for a train anyway. 

Starting on my downhill walk at 10:20

A look up to the pilgrim church of Maria-Rickenbach, and Musenalp with its cable-way in the background. 

Passing next to the farm buildings which I had seen from the church grounds. 

I passed a few die-hard hikers making their way UP the mountain. I can't imagine how tough this would have been with the day's heat. This would have been an ascent of about 650 meters!

Another look at Mt. Stanserhorn. We walked up to the summit once starting from further south along this mountain range (photos HERE) 

A few farmhouses along the way

A short piece along a paved road was no problem. Several small wooden "stations of the cross" along the road indicate that this is a pilgrim trail. 

To the north I get the first look at the city of Stans (which lies at the foot of Mt.Stanserhorn, from where people take the cable-car up), and Mt. Bürgenstock's lesser-recognized south side, as well as a small section of Lake Lucerne. 

Attempting another self-timed photo with Musenalp in the background!

Shortly after 11 a.m., I came across this lovely look-out point in the shade, a great place to stay a while. The triangle monument indicates a location of importance, and only upon reading the inscription did I find out I was now at the geographical centerpoint of Canton Nidwalden!

A map of the hiking trails in Canton Nidwalden also reads "Willkommen im Mittelpunkt Nidwaldens", which means "Welcome to the Centerpoint of Canton Nidwalden" 

Here I am at the geographical centerpoint of Canton Nidwalden!

I sat here in the shade on the bench for about 30 minutes, a longer break than I usually take, but it was a nice place to sit on such a hot day, watching the Niederrickenbach Cable-Car go by and admiring the view. The small town on this side of the river below is called Büren, and I walked down through there to cross the river. 

VIDEO:

Watching the Niederrickenbach Cable Car from the bench

Down below the train of the Zentralbahn (Central Train) is making its way through Dallenwil from Luzern to Engelberg (the train I also came on). 

Now I'm descending a forested section through the canyon where the cable-car ascends, with another look up to Musenalp and Niederrickenbach. 

From here I could have been at the Dallenwil station in 35 minutes and been on an earlier train home, but I wanted to walk via Büren (a detour that took 20 minutes longer) as that was where I had ended a different solo hike that I did just over a year ago (also starting in Niederrickenbach at the time, see HERE) and I like to "join" trails, more or less. 

Passing under the cable-way again!

The cable-car heading down to the small station on this side of the river from Dallenwil (There is actually a convenient train station stop right next to the cable-car station). 

Out of the forest now and heading toward Büren. There was a bit of a breeze here and so it was comfortable enough to walk, even with the heat. 

In the back on the hill is a small group of houses that I walked through on my way to Büren from the other side last time. 

More lovely farms

Cows hanging out in their courtyards. I only realized after looking at this photo that the cow wears a harness and a net over the udder. I had never seen this before and don't know why this is. 

A lovely small path as I head to Büren, and a look up the Engelberg Valley. 

Entering the town of Büren (a modern residential area). From here I cross the Engelberger Aa River and return to the Dallenwil train station, another 20 minutes from here. 

Crossing the Engelberger Aa River. This river has its origins beyond Engelberg at the back of the valley, and enters Lake Lucerne at Buochs, between Mt.Buochserhorn and Mt.Bürgenstock. 

Heading south on the west side of the river to the Dallenwil train station at 12:30. As I now had just missed a train to Luzern and had to wait 30 minutes for the next one, I sat here next to the river for a while.

The pink trail is the one I did this day, from Maria Rickenbach to Dallenwil via Büren. Exactly a year ago, I walked the light blue trail, also starting in Maria Rickenbach (both times ascending with the cable-car) along the western flank of Mt. Buochserhorn and endiing slightly further north than what I passed through this day. We have done many hikes in this area, as the cable-car gives us good access. 

Location of Stans and Mt.Buochserhorn within Switzerland. 

Solo Hike down the Western Flank of Mount Buochserhorn

Thursday July 20, 2023 -- Again another week with many thunderstorms, but Thursday promised to be a nice day, so I set off on a solo hike again, the idea being just to get out of the house and walk for a while. It didn't even need to be a long hike, but also not too far from home.

So my choice for the day again was to go up to the mountain village of Niederrickenbach, a lovely peaceful place which I like to go to, as it's not far from Luzern on the south side of Mount Buochserhorn. I chose to walk along the west side of Mount Buochserhorn this time, a side we have not covered yet, although the first part of the trail to get there was pretty familiar (To date always done in the opposite direction).

I started very early so that I could do the short uphill portion in the cool of the morning, but the west side of the mountain was in such dark shadow at 8:45, that I opted to go to the village and the monastery there for a while, and sit in the sun. I started 30 minutes later than originally planned. 

Lately the clouds have been low on the peaks of even the smaller mountains in Central Switzerland, but I had plenty of sunshine and nice views up the Engelberg Aa Valley. The descent back to valley bottom was trickier than I expected, as the trail was very narrow and steep and wet from recent rain. 

By the time I got to the nearest village with a bus stop (approx. 1:15 p.m.)., there was a bus ready to leave in three minutes, so I ended the hike there, having had enough for the day. It had turned into another 3-1/2 hour hike!

The village of Niederrickenbach is accessed by a cable car from Dallenwil. This is the view up the Engelberg Aa Valley on the way up the mountain with the cable car. The village at the bottom there is Wolfenschiessen. I got to the summit at 8:45.

It's a five-minute walk to the church at the south end of the mountain village called Niederrickenbach. I sat here in the sun for a while, and enjoyed the view I had of Dallenwil below, and the alpine pastures at Wirzweli on the opposite side of the valley, on the southern flank of Mount Stanserhorn, whose peak is also hidden in the clouds. (Makes for lousy views for all the tourists who go up there with the double-decker Cabrio cable-way)

To the south, the clouds are also low on Haldigrat. There are so many lovely trails at those elevations, but the last thing I would want to do is walk in that fog. I had it much better here at half-elevation. 

A couple of hotels in Niederrickenbach

Niederrickenbach is known for its Benedictine Monastery, still in use, known as Maria-Rickenbach. Even though we have been here in this village many times, this is the first time I saw that we can actually go down into the monastery gardens. 

A nice sitting area at the monastery, although at the moment there is too much shade here for me!

Back at the cable car station again, I headed out on my planned hike at 9:20. I am headed to Gibel, a 30-minute section which we have walked many times. (40 minutes is way more than necessary)

Looking down the corridor where the cable car comes up. I just missed the next ascent, therefore no photos of the cable car this day!

Starting in the village of Niederrickenbach, I first walked to Gibel along a lovely forest trail which we have done many times but in the opposite direction (40 minutes); then there was the 200-meter uphill section to Arhölzli (35 minutes), then the partially quite steep 900-m descent to the closest bus stop in the village of Büren (1 hour 35 minutes). It actually takes longer because of the steep descent.  

First section after leaving the village, before entering the cool forest

Here I had to make an uphill detour around these two, as they were doing some wrestling along the trail, and I wasn't going near that. 

The 30-minute section through the forest

A close-up look back at the mountain village of Niederrickenbach .

As I left the forested trail, this is the view over the entire hillside, with the village in the red circle. 

I made to Gibel at 9:53, exactly 30 minutes. The next "milestone" is Arhölzli, the highest part of the hike (only 200 meters ascent, though). 

A view up the Engelberg Aa Valley again as I start heading uphill. It was already kind of warm, but luckily it was only a 200-m ascent. 

Panorama view about 3/4 way up. The mountain on the right is the famous Stanserhorn

I thought it looked cool, the cow up on this plateau, and the cities of Stans and Hergiswil below... but she got curious and started to run toward me. Which means I high-tailed it up the hill! Even small cows can do damage, if they want to run you over....

There's the cow way below. And the farmer mowing the steep hillside

This was my favourite section. There was a paved road, but the most beautifully-flowering hillside. An entire section was filled with what was probably oregano, and the butterflies were loving it!

I spent a very long time here, just astounded at the hundreds of butterflies and bees which were gorging themselves on this field of what looks like oregano. There were so many different types of butterflies! I counted at least seven!

Such a pretty meadow here on this hillside. 

At 10:40 I was at Arhölzli, with about two more hours now to descend to Büren. Even with the long time I spent photographing butterflies, I was here in the suggested 1 hour 20 minutes. 

The highest point of my hike!

Heading downhill now, I have to cross this very steep hillside which has recently been mowed and harvested. Past the barn at the back, the trail got very steep. 

This narrow trail was on a pretty steep slope!

For the next 20 minutes or so, the trail was like this. It was slow going. 

A glimpse of the town of Buochs at the west end of one of the many arms of Lake Luzern. In the background is Mount Rigi and the summit called Rigi Kulm, a popular tourist mountain. 

Down below is the city of Stans, from where I caught a train back home (after the bus ride from Büren). Straight ahead is Mount Pilatus, whose summit is also covered in clouds. Another view mountain popular with tourists (probably not a lot of view today). The dark mountain on the right is the Bürgenstock. 

At 11:30 I spied a bench, where I then had my picnic lunch. Below is the city of Buochs, at the foot of Mount Bürgenstock. 

I ended up sitting here for at least 20 minutes, reading a book, before continuing on my descent. 

This was a cute little section of trail. The summit of Mount Pilatus is still covered in cloud. Originally, it was my plan to go up to the summit there, so I am sure glad I changed plans!

For most of the descent past several farms, the trail through the meadows wasn't very visible, and I had to use my GPS a lot. 

Getting closer now to the valley bottom. That town below is Dallenwil. From there, there are a couple of cable cars that access the high pastures on the right and the village of Wirzweli

Passing through some farm yards, right between the barns and the farmhouses!

View towards Stans. The river here is called the Engelberger Aa River (thus the name of the valley) which has its origin in the mountains "behind" Engelberg, and flows into Lake Luzern at Buochs. 

A long section of steps, that's always fun!

Originally I was going to walk an additional 20 minutes along the river to the train station in Dallenwil, but it would have been a boring 20 minutes, and since this bus here in Büren NW (Nidwalden) was leaving in just 3 minutes (i.e. 1:16 p.m.), I figured I'd had enough walking for the day. After all, it ended up being an 8.7 km and 3-hour hike to here! I was back home just over an hour later

What this hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps (It's about 3 to 3-1/2 hours of walking)

Heading to Stans by bus, we first cross the Engelberger Aa River, which I would also have crossed had I walked the final 20 minutes to Dallenwil station. 

Looking at Mount Buochserhorn from the west, I can actually see how high up I was and where I walked down. It was a descent of 900 meters!

Because of the easy access into the mountains with the cable car, Niederrickenbach is a good starting and ending point for us for all kinds of day-hikes! It also only takes us 90 minutes to get here from home!

Location of Mount Buochserhorn in Switzerland.