The Bernese Oberland in 8 days
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Hotel accommodations
Explore the Swiss village of Kandersteg, an Alpine gem located at 1,200 m in the Bernese Oberland, the highest region of the canton of Bern, located at the foot of the highest peaks of the Swiss Alps.
Explore Kandertal and its UNESCO World Heritage-listed treasures, such as the turquoise blue Lake Oeschinen and the Gasterntal Nature Valley, with its walking trails leading along the River Kander to the Kander Neve Glacier.
Immerse yourself among its traditional wood chalets, in the unique natural beauty of mountain pine forests, lush alpine roses and exotic edelweiss or snow flower, and on hillside tours with glaciers and steep mountains in the background, natural habitat of mountain goats, eagles, chamois and groundhogs.
- Explore the Bernese Alps and its natural paradise, in the heart of the Swiss Alps.
- Try the Zvieri Plättli, a dish with matured mountain cheese, smoked hard sausages, pickles and black bread.
- Enjoy the slopes for Nordic skiing, classic skiing and skating in the Kandertal Valley.
- Walk between the Blue Lake (Blausee) and the Gemmi Pass, through an extensive network of trails.
- You can practice bouldering or block climbing in Kandertal, or ice climbing in Kandersteg.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrival in Kandersteg
Located in the Bernese Alps, and 65 km from the town of Bern, this beautiful Alpine village of traditional chalets has retained its typical rural character, and has only about 1,000 inhabitants.
Its origins date back to the early Bronze Age and is now known as an attractive resort. In summer it is a true paradise for walkers and in winter, an unmissable destination for lovers of cross-country skiing.
Its origins date back to the early Bronze Age and is now known as an attractive resort. In summer it is a true paradise for walkers and in winter, an unmissable destination for lovers of cross-country skiing.
Overnight in Kandersteg
Hotel Alfa Soleil
The accommodation is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery with views over the Bernese countryside and mountains.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
Day 2 - Enjoy your day in Allmenalp 5,5 miles | 8,8 km
Start your adventure in the Swiss Alps by taking the cable car to Allmenalp, a meadow that is home to a dairy farm full of rural charm, marmots and goats, and surrounded by waterfalls overlooking alpine glaciers and the cliffs of the Kander and Allmibach rivers.
On your descent through Alpbach, a gorge that runs through the valley to the River Kander, you can take in beautiful scenery and enjoy a pleasant, leisurely walk.
On your descent through Alpbach, a gorge that runs through the valley to the River Kander, you can take in beautiful scenery and enjoy a pleasant, leisurely walk.
Overnight in Kandersteg
Hotel Alfa Soleil
The accommodation is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery with views over the Bernese countryside and mountains.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
Day 3 - Enjoy your day in the Gasterntal Valley and Klus Gorge 8 miles | 13 km
Start this walk through a narrow gorge in the romantic and rugged valley of glacial origin in Gasterntal, a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site, from where you will admire the River Kander.
Walk the Gasterntal Valley's gravel path, the "hidden valley", located behind Kandersteg at 1,352 metres above sea level, through a gallery of rocks, melting waterfalls, cliffs and two tunnels. Stroll along the River Kander through open forests and meadows to the remote Selden, the only village in the valley with beautiful wooden inns.
You will also have the option of discovering the Waldhaus Nature Reserve if you decide to turn back before heading towards Selden.
Advance along a narrow rocky path through the Klus Gorge, where the glacial thaw creates stunning waterfalls and the spectacular landscape of the UNESCO-listed Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn alpine mountain range are the backdrop.
Walk the Gasterntal Valley's gravel path, the "hidden valley", located behind Kandersteg at 1,352 metres above sea level, through a gallery of rocks, melting waterfalls, cliffs and two tunnels. Stroll along the River Kander through open forests and meadows to the remote Selden, the only village in the valley with beautiful wooden inns.
You will also have the option of discovering the Waldhaus Nature Reserve if you decide to turn back before heading towards Selden.
Advance along a narrow rocky path through the Klus Gorge, where the glacial thaw creates stunning waterfalls and the spectacular landscape of the UNESCO-listed Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn alpine mountain range are the backdrop.
Overnight in Kandersteg
Hotel Alfa Soleil
The accommodation is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery with views over the Bernese countryside and mountains.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
Day 4 - Enjoy your day in the Lake Oeschinen 6,4 miles | 10,3 km
Access this paradise on a cable car ride from Kandersteg, passing through the Hohturli Pass to the Kien Valley. Start the walk on a path of fir forests and carved trees to the Heuberg Viewpoint.
Discover Lake Oeschinen, located at the foot of Bluemlisalp Mountain, one of the largest alpine lakes in Switzerland, which feeds on the underground streams and drains generated by the Bluemlisalp, Oeschinenhorn, Frundenhorn and Doldenhorn glaciers, at more than 3,000 metres high.
You can visit Underbargli and, on the way, admire the alpine flora of orchids, gentians and snow flowers, herds of sheep and wild animals that inhabit the rocky slopes.
Discover Lake Oeschinen, located at the foot of Bluemlisalp Mountain, one of the largest alpine lakes in Switzerland, which feeds on the underground streams and drains generated by the Bluemlisalp, Oeschinenhorn, Frundenhorn and Doldenhorn glaciers, at more than 3,000 metres high.
You can visit Underbargli and, on the way, admire the alpine flora of orchids, gentians and snow flowers, herds of sheep and wild animals that inhabit the rocky slopes.
Overnight in Kandersteg
Hotel Alfa Soleil
The accommodation is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery with views over the Bernese countryside and mountains.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
Day 5 - Enjoy your day in the Blue Lake and its Natural Park 8,3 miles | 13,4 km
Start this walk in a natural resort and mystical setting: Blue Lake (Blausee), one of Switzerland's most famous mountain lakes due to the particular colour of its crystal clear water from underground sources, and located in a 20-hectare Natural Park that originated from a rockfall in the Kandertal Valley.
Tour the lake which, in 1885, was described in a tour guide as a "wonderful jewel in the landscape, in the midst of the solitude of forests". Check it out by walking through the peaceful adjacent forests, on trails, and the successful organic trout farm, located on the shores of the lake.
Cross the valley and take the historic railway walking trail of the northern slope of Lotschberg, along the River Kander, a path along the tracks and the railway line. On your way back to Kandersteg, admire the viaducts and mountain tunnels to the ruins of Felsenburg Castle.
Tour the lake which, in 1885, was described in a tour guide as a "wonderful jewel in the landscape, in the midst of the solitude of forests". Check it out by walking through the peaceful adjacent forests, on trails, and the successful organic trout farm, located on the shores of the lake.
Cross the valley and take the historic railway walking trail of the northern slope of Lotschberg, along the River Kander, a path along the tracks and the railway line. On your way back to Kandersteg, admire the viaducts and mountain tunnels to the ruins of Felsenburg Castle.
Overnight in Kandersteg
Hotel Alfa Soleil
The accommodation is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery with views over the Bernese countryside and mountains.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
Day 6 - Enjoy your day in the Lake Dauben and the Gemmi Pass 8,9 miles | 14,4 km
Start this tour in Sunnbuel, between the cantons of Bern and Valais, offered since 1863 by Thomas Cook, the father of tourism, as the first guided route in Switzerland.
Explore this region through a wide, steep path and multi-coloured flowery meadows. Visit the viewpoints of its mountain hotels, the Wildstrubel and Schwarenbach, before climbing the classic walking route on the historic Gemmi Pass to the crystal clear Lake Dauben.
Despite Gemmi's inhospitable and rough landscape, marvel at the views of the Valais Alps, the village of Leukerbad, the Lonza Valley, the Rhone Valley to the Mischabel range, and the Valley of Lammerenboden to the Wildstrubel, among many other mountains that make up this Swiss panorama.
Explore this region through a wide, steep path and multi-coloured flowery meadows. Visit the viewpoints of its mountain hotels, the Wildstrubel and Schwarenbach, before climbing the classic walking route on the historic Gemmi Pass to the crystal clear Lake Dauben.
Despite Gemmi's inhospitable and rough landscape, marvel at the views of the Valais Alps, the village of Leukerbad, the Lonza Valley, the Rhone Valley to the Mischabel range, and the Valley of Lammerenboden to the Wildstrubel, among many other mountains that make up this Swiss panorama.
Overnight in Kandersteg
Hotel Alfa Soleil
The accommodation is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery with views over the Bernese countryside and mountains.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
Day 7 - Enjoy your day in the southern slope of Lotschberg 8 miles | 13 km
Take the train to the village of Hohtenn, while admiring the magnificent views of the valley and the River Rhone. Venture onto one of the main railways in the Alps, and an important north-south axis in Europe that crosses the Bernese Alps.
Climb the Rhone Valley on a steep hillside, while observing the cliffs, vineyards, chalets and small villages on the mountain slopes.
The southbound stretch is the setting for one of the most beautiful walks in the region: the southern slope at Lotschberg (Lotschberger - Sudrampe). Take a part of this railway route path.
Climb the Rhone Valley on a steep hillside, while observing the cliffs, vineyards, chalets and small villages on the mountain slopes.
The southbound stretch is the setting for one of the most beautiful walks in the region: the southern slope at Lotschberg (Lotschberger - Sudrampe). Take a part of this railway route path.
Overnight in Kandersteg
Hotel Alfa Soleil
The accommodation is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery with views over the Bernese countryside and mountains.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
It offers rooms with bathroom, TV, telephone and hairdryer. You can enjoy a small wellness zone, the large living room with fireplace and board games, and the lounge bar with a pool table for guests and open to the public.
Don't forget to enjoy Nico's Restaurant, run by owner and chef Nico Seiler, and its menu, made with local natural products.
*In case this accommodation is not available, you will stay at a similar category one.
Day 8 - Kandersteg
For your return from Kandersteg, take a train from your station to Zurich, Bern or Geneva airports, or take your rented car to continue your journey as your next destination.
End of our services.
End of our services.
Itinerary map
Services
Included
- Accommodation in en suite rooms in charming hotels
- Daily Breakfasts
- Picnics
- Dinners
- Luggage transfers
- Transfers as specified in the itinerary
- Information dossier with maps and routes
- 24-hour telephone support
- Sustainable travel, we compensate the CO2 emissions of your trip
- Taxes
Extras
- Travel insurance
- Cancellation insurance
- Additional nights
Accomodation
General information
The accommodations with which we collaborate have a private bathroom and all the necessary services to ensure the best comfort available.
Our team checks in situ the quality of all the accommodations offered, so that you have an unforgettable experience during your trip.
The accommodation that we will book for your trip will be selected taking into account our commitment to you: guaranteeing comfort, calm and enjoyment throughout your trip.
We work with quality hotels and country cottages with limited capacity, so we invite you to confirm your reservation as soon as possible.
The name of each accommodation will be provided to you a few weeks before your trip begins.
Room types
It is possible to book this journey in single, double or triple rooms.
All rooms have private bathrooms.
Travel & transfers
You have three options to get to Kandersteg: arrive at Zurich airport (ZRH) and then take the train to Kandersteg via Bern; arrive at Bern airport (BRN) and take a train from there; or arrive at Geneva airport (GVA) and take the train via Bern. All trains are operated by the company "SBB".
For the return journey from Kandersteg, take the train from its station in the direction of Zurich, Bern or Geneva airport. All trains are operated by the company "SBB".
For the return journey from Kandersteg, take the train from its station in the direction of Zurich, Bern or Geneva airport. All trains are operated by the company "SBB".
FAQs
Is luggage transfer included? What are the luggage requirements?
Absolutely! Each traveller has included 1 piece of luggage that we will transfer between your accommodations. It's important that this piece of luggage meets the following criterias:
- Maximum weight of 45 lbs (20 kg).
- Must be only 1 piece of luggage without any attachments or accessories.
- Should not contain valuables, fragile items, food or medications.
- Must be correctly identified (booking reference of your trip and the full name of the trip holder).
Is this walking holiday for me?
This route is ideal for anyone looking to explore a true natural paradise, lovers of walking amid exotic flora and the natural habitats of alpine fauna.
It is also ideal for you if you are looking for an adventure with bird watching or high mountain extreme sports, and if you like local stories, legends and traditions.
In this Alpine setting, you will enjoy traditional mountain food such as homemade Alpine cheese and, if you love Vegetarian food, you will find this route will be perfect.
What should my physical preparation be?
This route is of medium-low level of difficulty. Although you do not need much experience in walking, a very good physical condition is very important so you are able to walk through well-signposted mountain trails, with some ascending stretches along steep and narrow roads.
If you prefer, you can make use of cable car or gondola services, which operate during the season. In this case, we will offer alternative routes.
What is the best time to travel?
We recommend doing this route between June and October when the weather in Switzerland is warm, the rains are minimal and the walking trails in the Alps are suitable for your planned route.
Between July and August, the region is very busy and barbecues at lakes and in nature parks are common, so we suggest you keep this in mind in case you are looking for a different type of activity in the mountains.
If you want to practice winter sports, you can do it at any time of the year, as it is an Alpine area with polar climate, below zero degrees centigrade.
How far in advance should I book my trip?
We recommend that you book as soon as you are sure about your travel dates, as accommodation can fill up very quickly in this area.
What equipment do I need to bring?
Once you make your reservation, we will send you all the detailed information about the specific equipment you need for this route, considering recommendations for shoes, boots, clothes and a day-to-day backpack.
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