The hike I am going to describe here is a beautiful traverse from Engelberg to Meiringen. Even though the trail follows the paved road to the Engstlenalp for a good stretch (4km), the rest of the hike is leading through spectacular and wild terrains.
As the entire traverse from Engelberg would be too long (one would have to add 10km and 1300m of positive elevation gain), it is worth taking the first cable cars and chairlifts to cross the Jochpass and reach the starting point of the Engstlenalp – Jochpass chairlift. This way, one also avoids some of the less interesting parts of the Jochpass trail.
After reaching the chairlift station, you first hike down towards the Engstlensee. The Wendenstöcke seen from the lake shore look completely different than when seen from Engelberg. Looking back, you can see the Titlis, which shape has changed significantly over the last few years. Instead of having a beautiful, dome-shaped ice cap, the ice has receded, and the shape of the peak has completely changed. This change happened over the course of about 10 years, and yet some people still doubt climate change.
The area around the Engstlensee is special because it has rowan trees growing there, which at these altitudes have twisted shapes. There are also a few of these trees in the descent towards Gäntel.
After a first descent, which is steep in places, one reaches a flatter part of the valley below Schwarzental. Before reaching this point, it is worth looking at a series of waterfalls that come out directly of the rock. They are called Jungibäch. I recommend doing this hike at a time when there is a lot of water, so either in spring or after a long period of rain.
The view down the valley shows a less well-known part of the Bernese Alps. It is the area of the Urbachtal, the Engelhörner and the Gauli.
After descending into the valley and walking along the paved road, one leaves the valley to the right by a short ascent. One then crosses the valley side along a balcony trail. However, instead of following the Via Sbrinz down to Innertkirchen, it is more scenic to continue along the mountain ridge to Grüöbi. From there, the view of the Aar Valley with the gorges opens as one heads towards Meiringen.
The last stretch follows the marked trails through Meiringen. If you want to shorten the hike, you can take the small train from Innertkirchen.
Route: Engstlenalp station (Chairlift Engstlenalp – Jochpass) – Engstlensee – Engstlenalp hotel – Jungibäch – Gäntelhitti – Grüöbi – Bergschwendi – Meiringen ZB station
Distance: 19.7km
Elevation gain: 150m positive / 1475m negative
Duration: 5h30
Previous Post
Next Post
