Alpine Hiking Mt Rigi

Switzerland offers many walking adventures, many accessible from trains, furniculars, cables and car.

Today we set off for a short 3 hours walk along Mt Rigi.

There is a car park at the bottom and three options for getting to the start of many walks. You can walk the entire way but you would need a day. The first part is very step. We choose to take the furnicular which is around 30 Swiss Francs return.

At the top you can switch off your mind and just follow the track. This is the start to many tracks but the main one is easy to follow and will take you to the summit of Mt Rigi.

The Swiss Alps start declaring themselves early on and are nothing short of breath-taking. It is hard to get one’s mind around the fact that the ones in front are 2000+ metres and the ones in the back ground are 4000 + plus. You really feel on top of the world, mingling with the clouds and gods.

There are plenty of things to see and do along the way. Cafes serving hot tea, wine, food are littered along the walking track.

Cows are taken to the hills in the summer and we are there on the last day they will inhabit the slopes until next summer. We are fortunate to witness the rounding up of the cows, with their big ding-dong, jingle bells as they are mustered to lower pasteurlands.

I love seeing this side of the world… traditional farming techniques that have worked for years and honoured season after season. It works, so why change it? And as my friend says, happy cows = happy milk.

The last part of the walk to the summit is step but very manageable with chairs scattered along the path to the top.

You can catch a train if you wish – the old carriages – some built in 1880 are reliable and comfortable.

At the top there are two dining options – a self serve buffet, or a sit down a la carte restaurant. Depending on the clouds, you will either get the most amazing pan views of the alps and valleys, or fluffy white clouds.

We opted for the self serve buffet and wine, then the train back to the starting point.

The train ride down is excellent and there are many opportunities to take photos of the lush forest. Towards the end there is a lovely waterfall on the right hand side of the train. If you have longer, you can walk down instead of catching the train.

We met a lady on the train who had done 58 walks in 4 months, so there are not shortage of walks not scenery. Have some fun, take a warm jacket and good walking shoes (sneakers are fine) and enjoy the magnificent views from the top of the world.