The area of Seebüel is famous for its mountain lakes, multiple rivers and waterfalls.
The itinerary I propose here is a round loop of 3h50 (5h30 if you eat at the restaurant, take some pictures, make a small detour to the Cathedral and enjoy your stay – options I can only recommend)
The if you come by car, you can park it at Louwenesee parking lot, where the hike on the map below starts.
Alternatively, by train, you can reach the city of Lauenen and take the postal bus (or walk) to the Louwenesee.
This hike is a round loop of 9-10 km and an elevation gain of 700 m. To make that round-loop, I suggest to follow the hike trail counter clockwise (see arrows on the map) so that you divide the elevation gain and don’t take the 700m all at once over a few km. This is, however, only a suggestion.
It isn’t an “easy” hike as the elevation gain is quite intense at the beginning and the end of the first half of the loop. The second half of the loop ends with a steep elevation loss (basically the whole 700 m over a few km). Some people started from there but yeah … I don’t know .. it is less fun and you miss the “revelation” of the waterfall, a beautiful experience if you follow my loop.
As I mentioned, the hike begins with a steep elevation gain that brings you to a beautiful green plateau where the river swirls through. From there, you will quickly discover a stunning and huge double waterfall. The hiking trail brings you closer to the waterfall through a beautiful and dreamy landscape filled with cows (if you are lucky).
The path then takes a right turn and makes you climb up all the way to the top of the waterfall. That part is quite tough as it is exposed to the burning sun and gets quite warm in the summer.
Arrived at the top, you will walk below a huge rock and maybe get refreshed by dripping water ;D
From there on, it’s only a mild elevation gain to the Geltenhütte. The view from there is beautiful and makes you face the glacier of Gälte and a few waterfalls.
Have a break, enjoy the view!
From there you have two alternatives:
– Take a small detour to see the “Cathedral” of Rottal. To do so, when you face from the terrace the waterfall, take the left path to leave the restaurant, and directly the right trail that will bring you up that small mountain you see from the restaurant. It’s a few 300 m and only 50 m elevation gain to turn around it and have a view over a stunning and unreal landscape with hundreds of waterfalls (2 very large ones)
– Or walk directly down. For this cross the terrace and leave the following the trail on the left that will begin with a mild elevation gain of a few meters and then simply follow the mountain ridge. At some point you will have a stunning view over the waterfalls! The hike has one tricky section where you should pay extra caution if you are walking with kids as the path gets very narrow and stony. The end of that loop is a steep elevation loss of 700 m over a few km only.
The overall hike is a beautiful experience and is definitely worth it!
Depending form where you travel, you might wanna stay one or two nights and enjoy the area!
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Or do you simply have a question? Contact me!