Kandersteg & the Wildstrubel Circuit

A quieter classic Alpine walk in Kandersteg and around the Wildstrubel Circuit between the Valais (French speaking) and Bernese Oberland (German) staying in hotels. This is a one-week, 'quieter' hotel trek in Switzerland, which starts and finishes at Kandersteg. Follow a circular route around the Wildstrubel and walk along two stages of the famous Alpine Pass Route. Throughout the hike, the scenery is expansive with views extending across the Oberland, to the 4000m peaks of the Valais, and down the Rhone valley.
You will use trails that have served since Roman times to link the German-speaking Bernese Oberland and the partly French-speaking Valais. Most notoriously there is the Gemmi Pass, which has been a principal route through the Alps for centuries. We will also cross the Rawyl, Lotschen and Hahnenmoos passes to link the attractive villages of Leukerbad, Crans, Lenk and Adelboden before completing our circuit in Kandersteg.
Our final pass, the Bundeschrinde, due to its beauty and position is perhaps the highlight of this walking holiday in Switzerland. The towering crags above the pass are a superb point for watching Chamoix (mountain antelope) prancing around upon the ledges.
You have an extra day in Kandersteg in which you can do a circular walk up to the Oeschinensee: a fantastic post glacial lake. Please talk to our team if you would like to add extra nights in some of the other places.
There are some long days but lifts and cable cars can sometimes be used to shorten some of the walks (not included in the tour price).
Before the rail tunnels were bored through the mountainsides and threaded through the adjacent valleys; the mountains formed a natural barrier. Kandersteg was a hamlet literally at the end of the road. Surprisingly a lot of the trade over the high passes before rail, was done in winter with heavy oxen-pulled sledges. There wasn't much work to be done on the land at that time of year and the sledges could move quite rapidly. On the other hand it was a very risky business and many were caught out on high passes in blizzards.