Engelberg | High-altitude path to Fürenalp

The high-altitude path to Fürenalp is really a great hike in Engelberg! Our journey started at the “End of the World”, in Horbis. From there, we followed a continuously ascending mountain path up to Alp Ober-Zieblen. A sweaty ascent! On top, the path led us along the “Hahnen” mountain massif towards Fürenalp. A rewarding tour with extraordinary alpine panoramas and splendid views of Titlis mountain.

A complimentary bus ride to kick off the day | Great hike in Engelberg

We parked the car at Engelberg Fürenalp cable car station, from where we took the bus back to Engelberg village.

The day started pretty well by the bus driver telling us that the bus trip was complimentary. YEAH! “Since I grew up in here in Engelberg, this bus was always free and will hopefully continue to be so in the future”, the bus driver said. Great stuff and how rare these days!

Back in Engelberg village we looked out for the mighty yellow signages. There are countless hiking opportunities around here, hence I always end up double checking quickly with the local tourism office . It is not necessary, really, the signage is sufficient, but it has become a tradition by now J 

Engelberg and its famous Abbey

Engelberg is one of the most popular and well-known mountain resorts in Central Switzerland.

There is nothing you cannot do around here! Biking, hiking, climbing, paragliding, golfing, trail running, skiing, snowboarding, sledding, you name it!

Besides all the fun stuff, you can find here the beautiful Engelberg Abbey (Kloster Engelberg in German), a Benedictine monastery.

Since its founding in 1120 A.D. the monastery has significantly influenced the little mountain village. It has been known for its educational quality since the Middle Ages.

Today, in addition to a high, middle and commercial school, students from all over the world attend the monastery´s boarding school.

Furthermore, it houses its own cheese factory, where you can watch the local cheese being produced by hand. Don´t miss it when you visit Engelberg and make sure you taste some of their wonderful cheeses!

First stop: The End of the World (Horbis)

We left the wonderful abbey behind us and headed towards the “Grotto Trail”. At the edge of the forest we came across the Lourdes chapel, a place to stop and rest for a moment.

From there we continued over the bridge and along the “Bärenbach” stream to Horbis, the so called “End of the World”.

It turned out that the end of the world on this great hike in Engelberg looked rather happy and friendly. We even found “The End of the Wolrd – Horbis”, which is nestled against the mighty rockfaces, somewhat pretty and welcoming. In addition, a cosy restaurant awaited us there.

We skipped this, however, and turned towards the forest.

And this is when this “End-of-the-World”-feeling suddenly kicked in! For some of us, this wasn´t only the “End f the World” but also the end of an easy-peasy hike.

A tough ascent at the End of the World

What followed now was officially described as a narrow mountain path which steadily and in regular curves leads up to Alp Ober-Ziebeln.

True to its word, that is exactly what it did. Steadily. And in regular curves.

If you are not in the best of your hiking spirits, the next hour could get difficult…Let´s just say, one of us was not in the best of hiking spirits today.

Subsequently it did get hard. And sweaty. Furthermore, this ascent just did not want to end.

At least this is how it felt like…for some of us…

Alp Ober-Zieblen | The redemption

Luckily the mood brightened up closer to the top.

Thus, by the time we reached Alp Ober-Zieblen, firstly, we were able to laugh again.

Secondly, we were rewarded with great alpine views.

Thirdly, we could even have a little fun again. Or was he possibly still contemplating to take this cable car for goods back down???

The VERY enjoyable high-altitude path to Dagenstal

Exhausted from the ascent what followed now felt almost liked walking downhill. Therefore, the high-altitude path towards our next stop Dagenstal was even more enjoyable. 

Meanwhile we tried out our newest toy, the DJI Osmo Mobile 3  – a foldable 3-axis gimbal for smartphones. Please do check out our video for our beginner results of this experiment.

The final part on this great hike in Engelberg

The final path to Fürenalp took us through an unexpected slate quarry. The scenery was very special, with the orange stone set against the blue sky.

There was something else “unexpected”: another ascent. The final ascent.

Oh dear, this one was a tough one. Why? Not because it was particularly steep, but because we simply did not expect it. It seems like, when your mind is in relax-mode already, your muscles are too.

That feeling, when you already see yourself at the final hut and then, another ascent. Oh no!

In the end we managed.

With a lot of encouraging, motivating and finally begging, but we managed.

The reward? Great views, of course!

By now, we know what usually follows after a tough ascent…exactly: fantastic views. Here they come (imagine drum rolls). Our winner, Titilis mountain.

Titlis is a dominant mountain of 3,238 metres, located on the border of the cantons of Obwalden and Bern.

It is mainly accessed from Engelberg (996 m) through the three stages of Gerschnialp (1,262 m), Trübsee (1,796 m) and Stand (2,428 m).

The final part is covered by the world´s first rotating cable car – Titlis Rotair. We haven´t had the pleasure yet, but it surely is on the bucket list!

The silver medal goes to: A lonely mountain path to Fürenalp (drum rolls).

Last, but not least, my favourite hashtag put into reality: #agameoftones.

We took a long breath in and a full breath out: Tough but rewarding!! Such a great hike in Engelberg!