Hiking the Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 17 Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft
Stage 17 of the Trans Swiss trail is 10 km long with 340 m ascent and 100 m descent and goes from Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft. This section is a pleasant lake-side stroll followed by a climb into the hills on the pilgrimage path of Nicholas von Flüe, the patron Saint of Switzerland.
| Where: | Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft Canton Obwalden , Switzerland |
| Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Giswil, Bahnhof – 1 hr 29 min Flüeli-Ranft, Dorf -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 55 min |
| What: | Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 17 – Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft Yellow trail markers – Trans Swiss Trail Route 2 |
| Skill: | Easy – About 2 hrs 45 min Length 10 km, Ascent 340 m, Descent 100 m |
| Stage 1 – Porrentruy to St-Ursanne Stage 2 – St-Ursanne to Soubey Stage 3 – Soubey to Saignelégier Stage 4 – Saignelégier to St-Imier Stage 5 – St-Imier to Chézard-St-Martin Stage 6 – Chézard-St-Martin to Neuchâtel Stage 7 – Neuchâtel to Murten Stage 8 – Murten to Laupen Stage 9 – Laupen to Bern Stage 10 – Bern to Worb Stage 11 – Worb to Lützelflüh Stage 12 – Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E. Stage 13 – Langnau i.E. to Eggiwil Stage 14 – Eggiwil to Schangnau Stage 15 – Schangnau to Sörenberg Stage 16 – Sörenberg to Giswil Stage 17 – Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft Stage18 – Flüeli-Ranft to Stans Stage 19 – Stans to Seelisberg Stage 20 – Seelisberg to Erstfeld Stage 21 – Erstfeld to Wassen Stage 22 – Wassen to Andermatt Stage 23 – Andermatt to Passo del San Gottardo Stage 24 – Passo del San Gottardo to Airolo Stage 25 – Airolo to Osco Stage 26 – Osco to Anzonico Stage 27 – Anzonico to Biasca Stage 28 – Biasca to Bellinzona Stage 29 – Bellinzona to Tesserete Stage 30 – Tesserete to Lugano (Comano) Stage 31 – Lugano (Paradiso) to Morcote Stage 32 – Morcote to Mendriso |
Getting There
The Trans Swiss Trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. Stage 17 picks right up where stage 16 left off, at the Giswil train station.
After a short stroll through Giswil, the path follows the main road out of town.
The Trail
Shortly after leaving town, the path leaves the main road and follows a stream down to the shore of the Sarnersee lake. For the next 5 kilometers or so, the trail stays along the lake shore, often sandwiched by the train tracks.
The views across the Sarnersee were very pretty. The water was also very clear and we saw a lot of fish.
Much of the shore line was private property, but there were a few public areas for swimming including the Badi Beizli where we stopped to have our picnic. Shortly afterwards, we came to the Sachseln train station. Here, the trail leaves the lake shore and heads towards the hills.
As we were walking through Sachseln, we passed the church dedicated to the memory of Saint Nicholas von Flüe. The mosaics on the outside of the church were quite nice and so we decided to step inside. There, I looked at a brochure about Nicholas von Flüe and learned that he was and I quote “an irritating Saint.” After seeing visions, he decided to leave his wife (Dorothea Wyss) and 10 children to become a hermit. I’m not sure that irritating is the word they wanted to use, but it is possible that they did, as the story says his wife happily gave him her blessing to go and be a hermit. He was, by most accounts, a very popular hermit and many people came to visit him and seek his advice. His advice was said to be very good and in fact, advice he gave in 1481 is credited with preventing a war between the Swiss cantons.
After leaving the church, the trail continues up the hill towards the town of Flüeli-Ranft, the birth place and home of Nicholas von Flüe. This is a pilgrimage path and along the way are sculptures and messages to inspire prayer and contemplation.
When we reached Flüeli-Ranft, we were at the end of our hike and at several of the main Nicholas von Flüe historical sites. We took some time to walk past the statue of Nicholas von Flüe and to explore the chapel dedicated to his birthplace. The view of the town from the chapel was very pretty.
After getting some gelato (there a couple of restaurants in town here), we still had some time until our bus and so we went into the original home of Nicholas and his wife Dorthea. One of the items displayed was a picture from when the pope visited this site.
After we exited the house, it was time to get our bus home.
Getting Back
The Flueli-Ranft, Dorf bus stop is across the street from the historical home of Nicholas and Dorthea, so we were there in plenty of time after our sight seeing.
While this wasn’t my favorite stage of the the Trans Swiss hike, I did learn something new about Swiss history as I had never heard of Nicholas von Flüe before this hike. Makes me wonder what we will discover on the next stage.
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