Ebenalp (Appenzell) from Zurich – day trip
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Hi to everyone, I wanted to post another trip of mine to the Ebenalp mountain and the famous Berggasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli.
We left Zurich HB at 09:00 and arrived at Wasserauen at 11:30. You have one transfer at Gossau to get on the Appenzeller Bahn for the trip to Wasserauen (end of the line). This train has several villages which are “stop on request” if you want to explore some towns and you do go through Appenzell as well.
We decided to hike up to the top – there are 2 main hikes – one from near the gondola (which is across the street from the Wasserauen train stop) and the other is from the village of Schwende (one stop before Wasserauen). We went from Schwende as it was longer but a little less steep- but still 800 meter elevation gain over 6km- our knees are a little sore today).
Hike # 6 on the map here.
We took the train back to Schwende rather than walk along the highway.We enjoy Alpine hikes but are not avid hikers (nor are we in top shape) but it was mostly pleasant :).
The hike took about 2 hours (with several (7 or 8) 2-3 minute breaks)Warning: Cows (males with horns) blocked our path for about 7 or 8 minutes – they seemed fairly aggressive! You pass through a few farms on the trail and must open a little gate in the fence so we stopped behind the gate until they wandered off!
There is also a cave you walk through to get through the mountain (it took a few minutes to walk through but wasn’t very well lit just FYI).
If you have the Swiss Travel Pass the entire trip is free. For schedules to Wasserauen use the SBB timetable here and for more details on Ebenalp and gondola prices click here.
If you don’t want to hike up, you can hike down to the Berggasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli in about 15 minutes from the gondola station at the top (you will still walk through the cave and the boardwalk path in the pictures below).
See some pics below to give you an idea of what you see.
Lucas
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