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Hiking In the Toggenburg Region of Switzerland
A Hike to Gamplüt
There is fabulous hiking to be had all over Switzerland and some of the most interesting trails can be found just an hour away from Zurich. The beautiful region of Toggenburg is well known for skiing and Winter sports, but offers a whole host of trails such as the one to Gamplüt which we took the other day.
There is the very long, Toggenburg Mountain Tour, which is a total of 87 kilometers going from Wildhaus to Wil. However, plenty of shorter hikes like the one to Gamplüt, and others which we have listed below, all enable you to enjoy the beauty of Toggenburg region on foot.
There is even the “barefoot walk” along the high moor of Rietbach near Krummenau, which gives you a great opportunity to discover rare flowers and fauna.
The whole area offers plenty of choice for hikers, beneath the Säntis mountain and the seven striking Churfirsten peaks, with beautiful vistas at each turn. In fact Toggenburg has a total of 20 sign-posted routes, each between 13 and 44 kilometers long, and there are also some beautiful mountain lakes you can hike to, such as the Gräppelensee, the Schönenbodensee and the Schwendi Lakes.
We started hiking from the Dorfplatz in Unterwasser in the direction of Wildhaus. We then followed the sign in front of the Hotel Sternen to the Thur waterfalls and on to Gamplüt then Wildhaus.
We went in early Autumn as the leaves were just beginning to turn golden. However, the landscape is stunning all year round.
The impressive Thur waterfall.
You can even sit down to take in the beautiful views.
As well as hiking there are some fun activities on offer too.
If this has whet your appetite to explore the region a little more, see below for details of some specific trails you might like to choose.
List of Some Key Hiking Trails and things to do around Toggenburg
- The Sound Trail – KlangWelt Toggenburg– hearing sound in a variety of different ways on this interesting trail
- Toggenburg Saga Trail from Alt St. Johann to Alp Sellamatt – you can do this impressive tour year round.
- Chäserrugg– stand on the Churfirsten peaks and take in the beautiful panoramas
- Hobby-Hobby Train Lichtensteig– Europe’s highest “Hobby Railway” running on a circular track
- Säntis– the highest mountain in the Alpstein Range at 2501 meters, Säntis offers spectacular views from between Toggenburg, the Rhine Valley and Lake Constance.
- For more information on hiking to Gamplüt and Wildhaus see here.
Have fun exploring this stunning region!
All photos by Carmen Sirboiu
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