Hiking in the Obersimmental – always along the water

Unfortunately, the weather forecast was clear last weekend. It was raining and this during our discovery tour in the beautiful Bernese Oberland. So that we could beat the rain, the alarm clock tore us out of our sweet dreams early. I had hoped that it would stay dry until noon – and anyway there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.

Our host, the Lenkerhof, is already in the middle of the wonderful hiking landscape of the Simmental, which offers almost inexhaustible route variations for both experienced high alpinists and leisurely pleasure hikers. Among the highlights are the impressive Simmen Falls, the Seven Fountains, where the Simme rises and the Iffigen Falls with a drop of over 100 m. It is precisely these three highlights that we wanted to combine with a hike.

Start at the Simmen Falls

We did not miss breakfast and immediately set off. Past the Lenkerseeli, where the sun sent the first faint rays over the mountain peaks, Weg led through the plain of the Obersimmental. The extensive fields were already busy at this early hour. The weekend was all about the Hornusser festivals and the athletes prepared conscientiously. Living Swiss tradition, very beautiful. However, we were drawn on to the first impressive stop – the Simmen Falls. The roar can be heard from afar and the noise of the gurgling water swells with every step towards the Simmen Falls. Since the sun found its way over the mountain peaks exactly at the time when we were standing at the Simmen Falls, we were incredibly lucky to take photos. This place is magical.

From here, a steep path along the young Simme zigzags up the forest. At the Barbara Bridge we took a short breather. Unbridled and wild, the Simme thunders down into the valley. The glittering spray makes for a natural spectacle like no other.

After about an hour you reach the Rezliberg. A flat, green mat where the thighs can recover a little from the exertions. Behind it lies a steep, almost vertically rising limestone wall, which belongs to the Wildstrubel massif. “Bi de sibe Brünne” is the motto here and indeed water fountains bubble up from countless (and yes there are more than seven) springs, which form the birthplace of the Simme, so to speak. Even without an esoteric streak, you can feel a very special power here.

The trail continues flat through a high alpine reed landscape until the second steep ascent follows. It’s got it all. The ascent high up to the Langermatte takes a little more than an hour and cost me a few drops of sweat. But the view over the Simmental is reward enough.

From up here, the path leads downhill over alpine pastures in the direction of Iffigenfall. Due to the darkening clouds, we spared ourselves the detour over the Iffigenalp and hiked quickly down into the valley. Punctually at 12:00 o’clock we felt the first thick raindrops and when we finally reached the Iffigenfall, it was already raining heavily. Despite the post bus stop, we decided to tackle the rest of the route on foot. The post buses run very irregularly (on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and the next one only at 2:00 p.m.) and therefore we were faster on foot. Soaking wet but incredibly happy about all the great moments on the way, we returned to the Lenkerhof. Thanks to the bad weather forecast, we had the Lenker mountains practically to ourselves.

Route of our hike at Lenk

The map shows our route. The route is about 18.5 km long and includes an ascent of 800 meters (up and down). It took us just under 6 hours (without a longer stop).

Note: My stay at Lenk was supported by the Lenkerhof Gourmet Spa Resort – thank you very much for this. As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm here.