Flights of heights on the Uri cable car hike

I had been looking forward to the last weekend with great anticipation. I had previously neglected the canton of Uri and had therefore long planned to discover the quaint side valleys. And then the time had finally come. Two days of hiking in the heart of Central Switzerland were just around the corner.

The most stylish way to sail from Lucerne to Flüelen in the canton of Uri would be with one of the five nostalgic paddle steamers and thus start the weekend in a decelerating way. The journey takes just under three hours, past the always impressive mountain scenery around Lake Lucerne and with stops at places steeped in history such as Rütli or Tellsplatte. In any case, William Tell will accompany us here every step of the way. More on that later.

Instead of the boat trip, we rang in the weekend on this balmy summer evening with the chirping of crickets and ducks chattering on the shores of Lake Uri. A nice start to a magnificent summer hiking weekend.

Stage 1: Hike from Altdorf to Isenthal

On the first day of hiking, the alarm clock gets us out of bed at a quarter to seven. After a short refreshment at the breakfast buffet, we deposit our suitcase for transport to the stage destination at the reception and get on our socks. The first few kilometres from Altdorf via Seedorf in the direction of Lake Uri are not very spectacular. The plain is in the field of tension between all the infrastructure that has to be carried out here – railway line, motorway, high-voltage lines, industrial parks and somewhere in between is the Reuss, whose delta is a nature reserve. After just under an hour’s walk, we reach the lakeshore and follow the “Path of Switzerland” in the direction of Bauen. The early march off was worth it. Lake Uri, which is very popular with sailors as well as windsurfers and kitesurfers thanks to its winds, is exceptionally as smooth as glass.

After another hour’s walk along the lakeshore (unfortunately mostly directly adjacent to the road) we reach the first foothills of Bauen. Here, not far from the Rütli meadow, our path turns abruptly left onto a forest path. If I hadn’t had such an exact route description with me, we would have missed this turn-off, where the sign “private road” is attached. After the rather relaxed marching, the work now follows. Metre by metre, the path climbs through the forest in the direction of Vordere Bärchi. And soon the effort will be rewarded with magnificent views down to Lake Uri.

Earlier than expected we reach the first cable car station. The canton of Uri has the densest cable car network in Switzerland. The locals depend on this means of transport to overcome the steep slopes. But hikers can also benefit from it to catch their breath in between.

If you are on the Uri cable car hike, you must register with the cable car operators by telephone the evening before with the departure time. “Then you’ll be with me at half past twelve,” Mr. Eberli said when I told him that we would start the hike at 7:30 a.m. 45 minutes earlier than predicted, we now inform the Obere Bärchi mountain station about our arrival at the valley station. After we have made ourselves comfortable in the small transport cable car, we head uphill. In terms of views and cable car experience, this ride is clearly the highlight of the two days.

After a chat with Heidi Eberli, who welcomes us at the mountain station, we continue on the trail. The most strenuous part of the day’s stage is about to begin. The hot midday sun and the battle-mad horseflies make the climb an ordeal. Arriving at the highest point on the Scheidegg, we treat ourselves to a breather in the midst of ripening blueberries and then follow the path downhill towards Furggelen. As the crowning glory of the hiking day, the descent down into the Isental follows, where we will spend the night. We end the afternoon with a fine plate and Mani Matter’s sounds to “Si hei dr Willhelm Täll ufgffuehrt” on the pleasantly shady garden terrace of the Hotel Urirotstock. In this ambience Wohrwurm guarantee.

Stage 2: Hiking from Isenthal to Altdorf

The next morning we allow ourselves half an hour more sleep and continue the hike at eight o’clock. We leave the village of Isenthal behind us and walk straight ahead towards Chlital. In contrast to the first day, today is nothing with a comfortable warm-up. After just a few meters, it goes quite steeply uphill. 55 minutes to the Gietisflueh valley station, was the sign in Isenthal. 35 minutes later we are already at the cable car station and notice once again that walking uphill suits us much better than hiking downhill.

Again, I announce our arrival by phone and Mrs. Kempf replies “she’ll be right there”. The friend then asks, “Shall we get in already?” While I reply “no, no, we’ll wait for her to come”, the gondola starts moving. What a mishap! After another phone call, the train is stopped halfway and reversed back to the valley station. The misunderstanding benefits another hiker who reaches the cable car station just at the moment when we start our second attempt.

With a view of the Uri Rotstock, another flight of fancy follows. A whole 300 meters of altitude are saved thanks to this panoramic ride. But up to the Schartihöreli – the highest point of this two-day cable car hike in Uri – some sweat still flows.

Then we follow the hiking trail straight ahead over the ridge downhill. The beautiful panorama over Lake Uri accompanies us every step of the way. The descent is tough in places. The path is narrow and leads past sloping parts. For the last meters of altitude down to the lake, we are allowed to use a cable car again. The Wipfli family not only operates the cable car, but also offers tipi overnight stays on their farm near Bodmi high above Bolzbach and is happy to provide passing hikers with a glass of water or coffee. In any case, during these two days we noticed the hospitality of the people of Uri extremely positively.

On the last kilometre back to Altdorf, we pass secluded bathing spots and pass the historic natural stone walls that characterise the settlement on a section of the ViaGottardo.

At the starting point of our hike, the luggage is already waiting for us, the transport of which between the stage destinations worked perfectly. Full of impressions and with tired legs we make our way home. We were thrilled that we not only discovered the beautiful landscape on the Uri cable car hike, but also came into contact with the local farmers and, among other things, philosophized about the wolf currently roaming around.

The following map shows the route of the two-day Uri cable car hike. The first stage starts at the Tell monument in Altdorf, is around 16.5 kilometres long and includes an ascent of almost 1,000 metres in altitude. A large part of the gradient is overcome with the cable car from Furggelen down to Isenthal. The pure running time is around 6 hours. From the stage destination Isenthal to Isleten, where Lake Uri invites you to cool off, there is a post bus connection – although unfortunately no post bus serves the route between 13:00 – 16:00.

The second stage starts in Isenthal, is about 15 km long and includes an ascent of 950 metres in altitude (300 m of which are overcome with the Chlital – Gietisflueh cable car). From the Schartihöreli, there is a steep descent of a total of 1,200 metres in altitude. Surefootedness is an absolute “must” here. The pure runtime is around 6.5 hours.

The cable car rides must be booked by telephone the evening before.

You can find more information about the individual cable cars in the Uri cable car guide. A total of 39 specimens are described in detail here.

Note: I was invited to this 2-day hike by Eurotrek. Thank you very much for this! As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm.