One day in Lucerne (Switzerland) - Hiking Mount Pilatus

Today, Saturday, 7 am, we drive from Bodensee (Germany) to Lucerne (Switzerland) to meet Tobias's Toronto family. The big plan of the day is to hike the Mount Pilatus (Mont Pilate).

After 2 hours on the road, we can finally catch sight of the Mount Pilatus.

Then we arrive at the Alpnachstad bahnhof (train station), where we park the car, meet the family, put on sunscreen, and get ready for 4 to 5 hours hike to the Mount top. As you can see on the picture below, the hike starts pretty easily and we're already able to admire the beautiful Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne - Lac des Quatre Cantons) and its surroundings.

During the first half of the hike, we're shared between two feelings : the astonishment to be among such a landscape and our bodies's pain because of the difficulty of this hike. As several needed breaks we shoot as many pictures as we can all along the way.

From the Pilatus

From the Pilatus

From the Pilatus

Exhausted by 2 hours of sportive efforts, I decide to jump in the Mount Pilatus shuttle for a 15 minutes crazy ride to the top ! By luck and because the trains are full as so many people are too lazy to hike I can stand in the driver cabin, at the very front of the train !

Here a short abstract of my ride on a Yodel song !

Train tunnel

Train tunnel

AND ...

When Tobias and his cousins finally reach the top and meet me and Tobias's aunt, we enjoy the view, and quickly decide to also enjoy Swiss food at the Hotel Pilatus's Restaurant.

After our heavy but delicious Swiss Macaroni and Cheese with Applesauce, we take some more of the incredible post-card view all around us...

... and it's time to climb again some stairs to step on the highest level of the Pilatus, over the station and the Hotel.

Tobias

View

View

Time to take the little red train back on Earth.

Mount Pilatus is just an amazing place to hike and see. The hike is quite tiring and your legs will hurt as f**k at the end of the day, but it's absolutely worth it. If you're not feeling fit enough to walk though, the little train is also a very cool experience and your eyes will not believe what they're watching at.

You can either take the train to ride the full way to the top ; just for the first half of the way and hike the last 2 hours on a zigzag sunny, rocky and dry path under the sun ; or (like I did) hike the first part through a humid and fresh forest and keep the train for the last part. Knowing that the forest way is really sloping. According to Tobias (who hiked both), it is more agreable to walk the second part despite the sun.

The train ticket works for the day (up and down), you'll pay it 36 CHF (francs suisses) which is equivalent to something like 31 euros.

Take a hat/cap, sunscreen, sunglasses, a light jacket (in summer) and a lot of water !