Game observation and circular hike on the Niederhorn

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Standing on the mountain punctually with the first rays of sunshine and setting off in search of ibex, chamois and co. before the onslaught of day-trippers – this is exactly what the Niederhorn on Lake Thun offers. From July to September, you can go stalking here every Thursday morning together with a local wildlife specialist. An excursion for which it is worth getting up at the crack of dawn!

The early bird…

It is still pitch dark when we get on the bus in Thun to Interlaken. The meeting point for the guided game viewing is at 6:30 a.m. at the valley station of the Beatenberg funicular. Not only we, but also the cable car staff have to get up early on this Thursday. This early morning ride from the valley station to the summit of the Niederhorn is carried out especially for our group. Shortly after seven o’clock we reach the mountain station and as soon as we get out of the gondoli, the first ray of sunshine blinks at me behind the Silberhorn.

A few clever people have already gone to the Niederhorn the evening before and saved themselves the early getting up with a night in the Berghaus Niederhorn. This morning, there are a total of 15 people who are listening intently to the explanations of wildlife specialist Urs Grossniklaus. He is a passionate wildlife photographer himself and knows the area around the Niederhorn like the back of his hand. Before we go on a “stalk”, Urs distributes some CL Companion binoculars from Swarovski Optik among the participants. Swarovski Optik supports this tour as a partnership and offers such a nice extra, in my opinion.

… meets the mountain dwellers on the circular hike

We start the hike along the ridge in the direction of Burgfeldstand. From deep down in the Justi Valley, the roar of the deer penetrates up to us. I search the plains in front of me with binoculars and discover four peacefully grazing chamois. The fact that a small group of hikers appears here early in the morning doesn’t seem to bother them much. And so I have the opportunity to try out the smartphone adapter from Swarovski Optik. Since our photo equipment currently still does not include a telephoto zoom, we have always been left empty-handed when it comes to wildlife sightings. Great animal portraits are not created with a maximum focal length of 90 mm. For me, the variably adjustable adapter is a great (and especially super light for the mountain) alternative. And yes, one or the other fellow hiker looks enviously at my gadget.

While we are still watching the chamois, Urs Grossniklaus has already hiked a little further and is looking for ibex at the ridge. On these hot, sunny summer days, the ibexes like to retreat to the shady northern slopes. But before we reach the ridge, a white bundle scurries past us. “There, look – what’s that?” A ptarmigan! And soon after, the next exciting animal sighting follows: On the steep slope below us we spot a stone goat. And while concentrating on the steep slopes, we discover more chamois moving acrobatically through the alpine terrain. Only the ibexes seem to be hiding this morning. The colony on the Niederhorn comprises around 100 animals. But here the bright sunshine does not benefit us – as a rule, the ibexes are more active on overcast days than today, where we start to sweat shortly after seven o’clock.

Before we continue our search, Urs Grossniklaus unpacks a selection of different horns from his backpack and explains the special features. I learn that the horn of the chamois is called a “crutch” and that you can read the age from it.

Hiking happiness on the Niederhorn

Afterwards we continue our hike towards the Gemmenalphorn with a magnificent view. On this wonderfully clear day, we can even see the snow-capped summit of Mont Blanc on the horizon. Only the ibexes don’t make it easy for us and our guide. In the meantime, the morning is advanced and we cross the first hikers who hike back from the Gemmenalphorn. But even these have not spotted ibexes or golden eagles up there. And so we decide to descend towards Oberberg. On the alpine meadows not far from the Oberberg hut there are numerous marmots to observe. Here we linger for a while and then hike back to the Niederhorn mountain station.

Even without an ibex sighting, it was a thoroughly successful morning. We heard deer roaring, spotted three ptarmigans, observed numerous chamois and marmots and observed a stone goat. But the highlight for me was to start the day on the mountain and at noon to have the feeling: Wow, today I experienced a lot!

Tips for wildlife observation and circular hikes on the Niederhorn

The following map shows the route of our guided game viewing tour. The circular hike starts at the mountain station of the Niederhorn and then leads along the ridge in the direction of Gemmenalphorn. Depending on the weather and wildlife sightings, you can make the additional loop to the Gemmenalphorn or, like us, return directly via Oberburgfeld to the Niederhorn (or alternatively to the Vorsass middle station). The distance of our tour variant is 7.5 kilometers and 450 meters in altitude (pure hiking time without stops approx. 2.5 hours). You should pack a snack (no pub stop on the way).

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The guided game viewing on the Niederhorn is carried out every Thursday during the summer months from July to September and requires registration by telephone until the day before. The cost for the approximately six-hour tour (pure hiking time approx. 4 hours) including mountain railway tickets for adults is 39 CHF (children 50%) All further information can be found here: Wildlife observation Niederhorn

If you’re still in the mood for action after watching wild animals, you can ride down the scooter from the Vorsass middle station at high speed down the valley.

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