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Grindelwald

Lace 'Em Up for a 3-Day Hike Along the Via Alpina

A short but challenging hiking adventure from Engelberg to the Magnificent Bernese Alps.

Hiking Moderate, Difficult

Also in Nidwalden, SwitzerlandObwalden, Switzerland

Grindelwald
Grindelwald Photo: Ana Ulin

Description

Starting in the attractive Swiss alpine town of Engelberg, famous for its skiing, hiking, and ancient monastery, the trail quickly takes you out deep into nature. Spend three days climbing up to craggy peaks, meandering through alpine meadows, and descending through shaded woodlands. Cascading waterfalls, the Turquoise Urnersee lake, the famous Eiger north face, and the ice giants of the Bernese Alps are just some of the highlights on this route.

The trail takes you along part of the Via Alpina Green Route, through some of the most stunning parts of the Swiss Alps, starting in Engelberg, passing through Meiringen and Grindelwald and finishing in Lauterbrunnen.

The Via Alpina is a hiking network of epic proportions. Five interwoven trails totaling more than 5000km in length criss-cross all eight countries of the Alps: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, and Switzerland. The routes take you through everything from the ancient Walser villages of Piedmont, to the glistening Altaussee salt mines in Austria, connecting lush meadows on valley floors to craggy peaks in the sky. The trail has been designed to take hikers through all the major massifs, regions, geologies, and historical sights, and also to lesser-known attractions that deserve a place on the map.

Since 2014, the Via Alpina has been under the responsibility of the International Commission of the Protection of the Alps. An NGO committed to preserving Europe’s most magnificent mountain range, the Alps are under immense ecological pressure, in part from the 120 million visitors they see each year. The director of the project, Claire Simon, would like to “diversify the unlimited ski-tourism industry with respectful, low-impact alternatives.” And so the Via Alpina was created in 2002.

Taste a sample of the Via Alpina’s epicness with this 3-day hike. Each hiking day is mapped out and described in detail in this guidebook.

Sources http://www.via-alpina.org/en/stage/112 https://www.erlebnisregion-mythen.ch/de/erlebnisse/sommer/weg-der-schweiz/

Routes included

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