Hiking trail no. 62, duration: 6 hours and 10 minutes

Distance: 15.97 km
Ascent: 905 metres
Descent: 722 metres

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Schynige Platte - First

Six pearls in six hours: The high-altitude hike from Schynige Platte to First (or vice versa) is something you have to do once in your life. The first two pearls shine right at the terminus of the Schynige Platte cable car: the flora on the mats is almost as diverse as the flowers in the Alpine garden. After the Loucherhorn, you come across pearl three, the wild karst landscape in the Güw area. Pearl four: the Sägistalsee lake sparkles deep below. The greatest pearl, however, awaits on the Faulhorn. The view from up there exceeds all expectations: Lake Brienz on one side, the overwhelming backdrop of the Jungfrau massif on the other. Further down, pearl six already announces itself: the Bachalpsee, which delights everyone as the "blue jewel" of the Bernese Alps.

Description

This wonderful day hike starts at the mountain station of the Schynige Platte cable car and leads past the alpine huts of Oberberg to the western slope of the Loucherhorn. The vegetation in the karst landscape of the Güw area is brittle and barren. Via the Egg, the trail gently climbs along the flank of the Sägissa, with the small Sägistalsee lake shimmering further down.

The trail continues past Berghaus Männdlenen, steadily ascending to Fulegg and finally on the southern slope of the Faulhorn summit. The reward is a magnificent panoramic view. The Faulhorn was called the "Ladies' Summit" in the 19th century because it offers no alpine difficulties.

However, its name has nothing to do with laziness (the ascent is quite strenuous in spite of everything), but goes back to the loose rock layers of marl and slate ("Fulen") that make up the mountain. The descent leads on a rather steep but well-maintained path over the Gassenboden to the Bachalpsee and from there more or less on level ground to the top station of the Grindelwald-First gondola.

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Operating data

Schynige Platte-Bahn
Check the season opening times.
‍Thetrain runs every 40 minutes from Wilderswil station.
Last descent from Schynige Platte at 5.53 pm.

Firstbahn
Check the opening hours of the season.
Last descent possible until 30 minutes after the indicated time.