Walenpfad Hike: Panorama Mountain Trail to Engelberg

The Walenpfad Hike: Panorama Mountain Trail

The Walenpfad Hike known as the Panorama Mountain Trail can be hiked in either direction. The two endpoints are Bannalp and Engelberg. I hiked the trail from Bannalpsee to Engelberg and this blog will be based on my experience but if you prefer to do it in the other direction, simply spin the route around and go for it.

HOW TO GET TO THE WALENPFAD HIKE (STARTS AT BANNALPSEE)

The Walenpfad hike is a great trail to head out on if you are based in Engelberg Town, which is in central Switzerland. From Engelberg Town, it takes 1 hour and 15 minutes on a train and one bus before you reach the ticketing office for the gondola/cable car. The trail starts at the Luftseilbahn Fell where you will catch the cable car to Bannalp and hike through to Brunnihutte. You can do the hike in reverse but I prefer this route as you can visit at golden hour with views of Mount Titlis.

CABLE CAR TO BANNALP AND DOWN FROM BRUNNI

The Bannalp-Chruzhütte cable car costs $12 for a one-way ride. The last cable car is at 5:30 in the summer but you can check the timetable here to be sure of the latest updated info. 

The Brunni cable car to and from Engelberg is $20 for adults for a one-way ticket. The last cable car down from Brunnihutte to Engelberg is 4:59 pm. You will need to check the current timetable here.

However, what that means is that if you want to catch the last cable car down you should start by midday at Bannalpsee to make sure you get there in time. If you prefer to stay for the golden hour and don’t mind the 1.5-hour walk down to Engelberg, catch a cable car to Bannalpsee around 3 pm or 4 pm, and then save yourself the $20 when you arrive at Brunnihutte, enjoy the sunset, and walk down to Engelberg.

If you have the Swiss Half-Card you will receive a huge discount on your tickets. I bought mine when I arrived in Switzerland and it has saved me over a thousand dollars.

WALENPFAD HIKE MAP

On the below map you can see the route we took from Bannalpsee to Brunnihutte and then down to Engelberg. I’ve attached our GPX route so you can see where we went. You can download it here for use on your Garmin, smartwatch or another app.

Hiking The Walenpfad Hike: Panorama Mountain Trail

The Walenpfad trail can begin from either Brunnihutte, Engelberg, or Bannalpsee. We did the hike from Bannalpsee so we could have a beautiful golden hour/sunset looking out towards Mount Titlis and the mountain range surrounding. This meant we left Engelberg around 3 pm and kicked off our hike at 4 pm. That might seem quite late for a hike that ended up taking 5 hours and 41 minutes.

However, the trail down from Brunnihutte to Engelberg is very safe in the dark and this is the best way to have nice lighting as we have in the photos you will see.

At 4 pm we arrived at Bannalp after taking the cable car up. There are actually quite a few nice little huts here with food, coffee, and playgrounds for the kids. We continued on without stopping in this area.

The trail begins by winding around Bannalpsee, a beautiful alpine lake. At the same time as you begin to marvel at the lake, you will also start to hit the incline as the trail heads up into the mountains. The view of the lake continues to get better and better as you climb higher and higher.

The gradient is quite intense with a consistent incline for the first 1-2 hours of the trail. However, if you do feel like a break mid-climb there is another mountain hut halfway up the climb. We skipped the hut but took a break on our own little viewpoint after passing the herds of cows and goats.

After the mountain hut, the trail really juts into the side of the grassy mountain and is quite spectacular in making the hikers look like tiny ants crawling across its surface. This section of the trail is really the last final climb before you start to hit the downhill and send your farewells to Bannalp as you edge closer to Engelberg.

You will know you have hit the halfway point when you reach the fence crossing in the middle of the field. From this point on you are heading down, down, down to the Brunnihutte. First, you will wind your way along the switchbacks of the huge grassy hills. You won’t quite see Titlis yet but the backdrop is already starting to form with multiple layers of mountains in the distance.

The trail then sends you into the forest and the trail really diversifies as you are in complete shade and surrounded by trees rather than the wide-open views as you were accustomed to earlier in the hike. As you wander through the forest the trail undulates ever so slightly with small ups and downs before finally, you emerge into the open again and the views have intensified with bigger mountains now dominating the horizon.

At Brunnihutte there is a small pond, kids’ games, and of course a restaurant, toilet facilities, and a great seating area looking out towards Titlis. We sat down here for a while enjoying the late colors of the evening sky. There was no epic sunset but the golden hour we had enjoyed on our walk to Brunnihutte would make the journey worth it. 

OPTION 1: Buy the Swiss Half Fare Card: Switzerland trains, buses, and cable cars are EXPENSIVE! I found the best way to get around cheaply was to buy the Swiss Half-Fare Card before I arrived. It gives you 50% off every regular train, bus, and even many cable cars. It only costs $150 USD but pays itself off in just a few days with many train tickets in Switzerland costing close to $100 alone. If you are staying for more than 5 days, I suggest buying the Swiss Half-Fare Card.

OPTION 2: Buy the Swiss Travel Pass: The second option is to get the Swiss Travel Pass, which gives you unlimited train, bus, and (many) cable car rides but it’s pretty expensive at around $100 USD per day so if you don’t travel each day it isn’t worth it.

OPTION 3: Buy the FLEXI Swiss Travel Pass: The final (BEST) option is to get the FLEXI Swiss Travel Pass, which allows you to buy 8 days’ worth of transit but you can choose the night before if you want to activate the next day. That way you don’t need to travel every day to get your money’s worth, you can just activate the FLEXI Swiss Travel Pass on the days when you are doing sizeable transits. My advice is to book the Swiss Half-Fare Card or the FLEXI Swiss Travel Pass in advance before your trip so it’s ready to go when you arrive.

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The Swiss Travel Pass starts at $260 for 3 days. Click here to check if it’s available on your travel dates.

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