Circular hike Käserstatt-Melchtal-Gibel

Andrea Norinelli with Nikin & Pax (from 21.09.24):

If you want to enjoy the panorama of both the Pilatus and the Haslital, then this hike is just right for you!

Take the cable car to the Käserstatt mountain station and after a short ascent, hike down into the Melchtal valley. There is a short passage that requires a head for heights and very good surefootedness. You then walk leisurely across alpine meadows down into the Melchtal valley before heading back up along an easily accessible forest path until you reach Hüttstett, from where you have a fantastic panoramic view over the Melchtal valley as far as the Pilatus and down to Lungern and Brienz lakes. It's worth taking a break here to enjoy the wonderful mountain panorama.

The route continues over stony trails and again over beautiful meadows up to the Gibel. This is where the peace and quiet comes to an end: as a well-known vantage point, there are plenty of hikers here. But it's worth it, the view is fantastic and you can see from Lake Brienz to the north face of the Eiger and the entire Haslital. Another break is definitely in order here to enjoy the view.
After that, it's just a short stretch over gentle trails back down to Kaserstatt.

A detour to the Käserstatt mountain restaurant is a must! Super friendly staff who also lovingly look after the dogs (we were asked by 5 employees if we wanted water for the dogs) and wonderful food.

We only had to cross one pasture with cows, but they were very relaxed. However, during the summer months there are definitely a lot of cows on the walk. There are also some marmots on the route, so please keep dogs on a lead!

The hike requires some fitness and certainly good surefootedness. But it does not lack in beautiful views!