How many days do you need in Engelberg?

Two nights covers the essentials: one day for the Titlis, with Trübsee on the way down, and one for the Brunni side or the Fürenalp cable car and the walk back to the village. A third night adds a long hike, such as the Surenen Pass or the walk over the Jochpass to Engstlensee, or a day trip to Lucerne.

Do you need a car in Engelberg?

No. The village is walkable, and a free local bus runs at short intervals to the train station and the valley station of every lift through the summer and winter seasons, with a reduced service in the quiet weeks between them. The road and the railway both end at Engelberg, and most visitors arrive by train from Lucerne.

When is the best time to visit Engelberg?

July to September for walking, when the summer huts, the Trübsee loop and every lift are open. Snow tubing at the Titlis Glacier Park runs from late May to mid July, snow permitting. The ski season lasts from autumn into late spring.

What language is spoken in Engelberg?

German, spoken day to day as Swiss German. Signs and timetables are in standard German, and English is widely spoken at the lifts, in hotels and at the tourist office.

What currency does Engelberg use?

The Swiss franc. Euros are of little use in the village, but cards are accepted almost everywhere, including the lift ticket offices. Some francs in cash are useful at the small summer huts on the alps.

Which airport do you fly into for Engelberg?

Zurich, ZRH, about two hours away by train with a change at Lucerne, where the trains for Engelberg leave every hour.

Things to Do in Engelberg, Switzerland

Titlis

Viewpoint · 4 hr

The top station sits at about 3,020 metres, just below the 3,238-metre summit, with a glacier cave cut into the ice and a suspension bridge along the cliff. The revolving Rotair is the usual way up; when it is closed for maintenance, the TITLIS Connect cableway runs instead. Go up on the first lift, before the tour groups fill the cabins from mid morning.

Canyon

Aa Gorge

Canyon · 2 hr

A shaded path follows the river down from the village through a wooded gorge, with bridges, small falls and mossy rock, as far as Grafenort. Take the train back up from Grafenort station. Wet roots and stones make the narrow sections slippery, so wear shoes with grip.

Engelberg Abbey

Monastery · 1.5 hr

A Benedictine community founded in 1120 still occupies the head of the valley, in Baroque buildings raised after a fire in 1729. The abbey church holds the largest organ in Switzerland, with 137 stops on four manuals. Guided tours of the monastery can be booked ahead, and a show dairy inside the walls makes cheese in front of visitors.

Ski Resort

Engelberg-Titlis

Ski Resort · 6 hr

In winter the lifts above Trübsee, the Jochpass and the Titlis make one ski area, with the glacier at the top skied from autumn into late spring. The Laub, a long open face dropping toward Gerschnialp, is the run freeriders come for. The sunnier Brunni slopes across the valley are smaller and lose their snow first.

Lake

Engstlensee

Lake · 4 hr

From Trübsee a chairlift climbs to the Jochpass, and a path drops from the pass to this lake on the Bernese side. The water is clear and very cold, with an old mountain hotel on the shore at Engstlenalp. To get back, ride the Engstlenalp chairlift up to the pass and walk down to Trübsee.

Fürenalp

Viewpoint · 2.5 hr

A steep cable car climbs the other side of the valley to an alp at 1,850 metres with a full view of the Titlis across the valley. A hard via ferrata climbs the cliff below the top station, for those with a head for heights or a guide.

Lake

Härzlisee

Lake · 2.5 hr

A small heart-shaped lake on the Brunni side of the valley, reached by the cable car to Ristis and a chairlift, with a barefoot path around the shore and a mountain hut beside it. The easy Brunnistöckli via ferrata starts a short walk away, and via ferrata kits can be hired at the lift. In summer this is the quieter mountain, and the better one for children.

Waterfall

Stäuber Waterfall

Waterfall · 4 hr

Near the head of the valley a big fall pours off the rock below the Fürenalp, on the walk from the top of that cable car down past the summer huts at Aebnet and Stäfeli to the valley station. The path is long but mostly downhill, and the huts sell cheese from their own alps. They open only in the alpine summer, so outside it carry food.

Other

Surenen Pass

Other · 8 hr

The old route out of the valley crosses this pass on foot into canton Uri and ends at Attinghausen, near Altdorf, with the train back by way of Lucerne. Start at Stäfeli to shorten the climb and allow a full day. It is a serious mountain walk, so go only in settled weather in high summer or early autumn.

Waterfall

Tätschbachfall

Waterfall · 1.5 hr

Off the cliffs on the south side of the valley, this waterfall is about an hour's level walk from the village along the river toward the Fürenalp lift. It runs fullest in early summer with the snowmelt, which makes it a good short outing on an evening or a cloudy day.

Trübsee

Lake · 2 hr

A lake at 1,764 metres on the way up the Titlis, with a flat path around it of about an hour and a half and the Titlis wall standing over the far end. It is where the ascent is usually broken and it is worth stopping for on its own.