Guided Walking at Adelboden

• Our experienced leaders offer the choice of two different walks each day
• Choose the option which best suits your interests and fitness
• We provide flexible holidays. Choose easier walking one day and harder the next or just explore independently or relax around the resort

• Our leaders are friendly and welcoming making your holiday fun and sociable

•  Easier Walks   Harder Walks     High Routes

Easier Walks on good paths and through valleys and high meadows. Harder Walks have some steep and rough ascents and descents

Day 1: Arrival day

 For those arriving on the Geneva flights, the onward journey to Adelboden is by coach.  

These introductory walks venture onto the high meadows above Adelboden, either using a gondola lift, or by making the ascent on foot. Both walks offer excellent views of the valley, the surrounding mountains, and Adelboden far below. It is also possible to identify many of the other walks that can be enjoyed later in the week.

Easier Walk: 8 miles with up to 850 feet of ascent and 2,800 feet of descent

Harder Walk: 9¾ miles with up to 2,950 feet of ascent and descent

Day 3: Engstligen Valley and Waterfalls

The impressive Engstligen Waterfalls are one of the area’s most impressive sights and are clearly visible from the hotel balcony. The falls drop around 600 metres making them the second longest in Switzerland. Above the waterfalls is the Engstligenalp, a vast expanse of Alpine flowers and pastures that were once an ancient glacial lake. This impressive hanging valley, either reached by cable car or a rocky mountain path, is surrounded by a series of lofty summits and glaciers.

Easier Walk: 7¼ miles with up to 740 feet of ascent and 570 feet of descent

Harder Walk: 5½ miles with up to 1,740 feet of ascent and 3,080 feet of descent

Day 4: Kandersteg and Oeschinensee

The village of Kandersteg lies in the adjacent valley to Adelboden, just a few miles away as the crow flies. The local topography, however, requires us to take a coach to Frutigen and up the Kander Valley. Our walks head to Oeschinensee, a picture-postcard mountain lake which changes colour from azure to emerald depending on the cloud cover.

Easier Walk: 10km (6.3 miles); 240 metres (790 feet) of ascent and 685 metres (2,250 feet) of descent

Harder Walk: 13.3km (8.3 miles); 855 metres (2,800 feet) of ascent and 850 metres (2,800 feet) of descent

Day 5: Free day

Today no walks are organised, allowing you to explore the local area independently or just relax in the hotel and village. Options for your free day include:

Adelboden: : It is not necessary to travel far on your free day as a relaxing time could be spent around the resort. The village has a large open-air swimming pool with free access for guests at the Hotel Waldhaus-Huldi. Tennis courts are also available locally.

If you wish to travel further afield, Switzerland’s excellent integrated network of buses and trains could be used to reach one of these places:

Thun and Spiez: The popular lakeside resorts are accessible as part of a highly scenic bus, train and boat trip. Thun, with its castle and interesting old town, has a

market on Wednesdays. A lake cruise will take you through breathtaking scenery back to Spiez for a look around before the return journey.

Bern: The Swiss capital of Bern can be visited by a bus and train journey of about an hour. The city has a fine medieval centre, together with an impressive 15th century Gothic cathedral and a wide selection of museums.

There are several mountain railways in the area which will take you high into breathtaking scenery. The Niesen Bahn is the closest. The Rothorn Bahn is a steam hauled rack railway from Brienz to the summit of the Rothorn. An even more expensive and longer day could get you to the eternal ice and snow of the Jungfraujoch, at 3,454m, the highest railway station in Europe. The Schilthorn Cable Car of James Bond fame also ascends from Lauterbrunnen. Tickets and timetables for these trips are available at Adelboden’s bus station or tourist information office.

Day 6: The Hahnenmoos Pass

The broad grassy saddle at the Hahenenmoos Pass is the historic route between Adelboden and the village of Lenk. From the top there are stunning views of the Wildstrubel-Wildhorn massif and of the Obersimmental Valley. The pass was once the site of a local festival where villagers from the two valleys met for trade and athletic contests.

Easier Walk: 7 miles with up to 870 feet of ascent and 2,480 feet of descent

Harder Walk: 9¾ miles with up to 2,600 feet of ascent and 4,620 feet of descent

Day 7: On the slopes of the Elsighorn

The Elsighorn is the northernmost significant summit on the high ridge that separates the Engstligen and Kander Valleys. The harder walk ascends to the summit itself, the easier follows a traversing route that heads back along the hillside to the Lohner Falls and then Adelboden. Both groups start the day by taking a bus down the valley, and then a minibus up to the cable car station.

Easier Walk: 7¾ miles with up to 1,330 feet of ascent and 2,770 feet of descent

Harder Walk: 8¾ miles with up  to 2,820 feet of ascent and 4,870 feet of descent

Please note that all itineraries outlined below are provisional and could be subject to change. A finalised itinerary will be available at the resort and your leaders will brief you every evening about the next day’s walks

High Routes - Sat 25 August 2012

Our high level walks venture to high summits and cols that are normally 'off-limits' on our Guided Walking holidays. Using cable cars and rough steep paths, that may be exposed or have fixed ropes, we'll aim for some of the area's best summits. Most holidays have opportunities to bag some 3,000m (10,000 feet) peaks: a memorable achievement that you'll want to savour. 8 to 13 miles with up to 4,500 feet of ascent.

A fine selection of accessible mountain peaks including the Schwandfelspitze, Regensboldholm and Ammertebspitz.

Local transport

On some days the walks start and finish at the hotel. On other days we’ll use the hired transport to explore the surrounding area. The cost of transport to and from the walk is payable locally.