Appenzeller Alpenweg

A circular route through the pre-Alpine Appenzell landscape with the peaks around Mount Säntis as backdrop. On your hike through partially protected intact natural countryside, you'll be almost alone on the Alpine meadows. Half-way along is Schwägalp, from where the cable car to the summit of Mount Säntis departs.

From Urnäsch railway station, the hiking trail leads through the village and past the Reformed church. The long ascent then begins, alternating between forest, meadows and open alpine pastures. After just over seven kilometres, the route reaches Hochalp, a 1,529-metre mountain in the Appenzell Alps.

The route continues in a wide arc towards Schwägalp. It remains on yellow-waymarked hiking trails, repeatedly crossing open slopes before houses come into view again around Schwägalp and Siebenhütten. At around 29 kilometres with 1,700 metres of ascent, the circuit demands stamina; just over ten and a half hours should be allowed for the entire route.

Beyond Siebenhütten, the trail climbs steeply once more. In the Spitzli area, the hike reaches its highest point at around 1,570 metres, without the route reaching the summit, which lies more than 300 metres away. This is followed by the long descent, initially across pastures and later increasingly through forest. Towards the end, the first houses of Urnäsch appear, and the trail leads through the village back to the railway station.