iCyclades - Cyclades Discovery Guide

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The west bank of the Daubensee looks much steeper than the one we're walking on. This impressive rocky bar is dominated by the head of Roter Totz, which rises to 2847m. If you like adventure, you can go this way and attempt the difficult hike to Engstligenalp and Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland.

The bottom station of the small cable car that descends from the Gemmi is just over 200m from the edge of the lake. From here, hiking trails lead to the eastern and western shores. Our virtual stroll doesn't go all the way round the lake, but takes you to admire the scenery from the eastern shore, as far as the point where the coastal path was still blocked by a firn at the end of June 2023.

There is a lovely footpath around the lake, which takes around 2 hours to complete. Please note: the path along the eastern shore (on the right of our panorama) may not be passable before mid-summer. At the end of June 2023, it was still blocked by the firn you can see in the distance. A little further up the slope, however, a 2nd path provides a passageway.

Right next to the top station of the cable car that climbs to the Gemmi from Leukerbad, a superb view of the Valais Alps awaits you, with peaks topping out at over 4,000m. The cable car cabin that decorates the viewpoint contains a telescope for identifying the peaks. The departure point for the cable car down to Daubensee is in the same building.

At the end of June 2023, a firn was still covering the path that runs along the shore of the lake. So that was the end of our virtual stroll. On the satellite map, you can see that another path runs alongside the lake further up the slope. Go up the scree if you want to continue further towards Kandersteg or go around the lake.

This may not be the exact summit of the pass, but it is where 3 paths cross. To the left (south-west) is the dizzying descent to Leukerbad. To the right (north-east), the path leads to the Daubensee and to Kandersteg. Behind us, the 3rd path leads up to the cable car station.

Continuing on the path down to Leukerbad, you will pass the former Hotel Wildstrubel, built in 1878 and extended in the early 20th century. Today it is a meeting place for thrill-seekers and the starting point of an extraordinary via ferrata that runs along the vertiginous Gemmi wall.