Neckerweg

The Schwägalp Pass, where the Appenzellerland turns into the Toggenburg, is located in a moorland landscape of national importance. This area is home to rare flora and fauna, including black grouse and the carnivorous sundew. Once a year, the Schwägalp Pass becomes the site of Switzerland’s national sport: a stadium is built and around 12,000 spectators gather to see the Schwägalp-Schwinget Swiss wrestling competition. The “Bergkranzfest” (Swiss wrestling festival) takes place each August and is one of the most important events in the sport of Swiss wrestling, which is known as “Schwingen”.

For the rest of the year though, there aren’t normally any hulking wrestlers trying to pin each other to ground, just gentle hikers enjoying the views on the way to the Säntis. By contrast, this hiking route sets off from the valley station and descends, with the Säntis – known as the King of the Alpstein – behind you. After just a few metres of walking, you will already be in the wilderness: diverse flora thrive at the foot of the wall of the Säntis: eyebright, wolf’s bane, yellow gentian and silver thistle have all adapted to the extreme climate and proven true survivalists. The route is strewn with limestone blocks that hark back to the time of Urnäsch glacier, whose ice margin was located here around 17,000 years ago. When it melted, it left behind the blocky scree of the wall of the Säntis in its wake.

Further on, ferns adorn the wayside leading to the Gasthaus Passhöhe inn. Once you have crossed the pass road, you will enter the woods; from this point on, attractive paths and steps lead to the Chräzerenpass. You are now in the Kreisalpen forest reserve. Spanning 470 hectares of woodland, it is home to wood grouse, black grouse and hazel grouse. Then comes a longer stretch over a surfaced road and a gravel road leading to Horn. It’s worth looking back to see the north face of the Alpstein.

Now for a change of scenery: for a short while, you will follow the Ofenloch-Weg route. The spectacular gorge, also known as the Grand Canyon of Eastern Switzerland, is striated along its edges. The huge rock face on the way in is almost enough to floor you. In this area, some parts of the path are secured by cables. A brief uphill stretch is followed by another descent, zigzagging through the Cholwald forest to Ampferenboden – the perfect place to stop for a rest. This is also where you will reach the river Necker, which rises near the Ofenloch gorge and for which this route is named. From this point on, you will stay close to the river for the remainder of this hike.

Keeping uphill of the river, hike to Mistelegg. This section takes around 1.5 hours. After crossing the river, Schwanzbrugg, Neckerau and St. Peterzell – your destination for this leg – follow a short while later. This sleepy spot in the Neckertal valley, with its beautiful village centre, was once a popular place to rest for pilgrims on the Way of St. James.