Awe at the blue Gelmer Lake

The valley station of the Gelmerbahn in Handegg at the Grimsel Pass is reached via a suspension bridge. Pure adrenaline is then offered by the Gelmerbahn with its over 100 percent incline. Originally built as a work railway, the airy funicular railway today makes the hearts of excursionists beat faster. Clattering and backwards, it climbs for twelve minutes. From the mountain station, a marked mountain hiking trail without significant altitude differences leads through the rock landscape and around Gelmer Lake. The route runs along original streams and huge rock slabs, offering a breathtaking view of the turquoise lake and the rich fauna and flora. The circular trail leads back to the starting point via the dam, but it is also possible to descend into the valley by keeping left before the dam. At Chöenzetennlen, another small mountain lake can be found with the idyllic Stockseewli. After crossing the mountain pass road, the still young Aare river is reached and the varied hike ends beautifully via the historic mule track.

Throughout the hike, an impressive mountain landscape is experienced – on beautiful days even in double as the mountains are mirrored in the blue of the water.

Background: Gelmer Lake was built together with Grimselsee as a reservoir for power generation. It belongs to the facilities of Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG (KWO), which operates several storage power plants in the Grimsel and Susten area and supplies electricity to around one million households.