Mount Pilatus:Things To Do,Steepest Cogwheel

Celebrating 125 years:The World's Steepest Cogwheel:Mt. Pilatus

                       Chilling up at Mount Pilatus with AlpenDohle sharing screen space :)

High up in the mountains with the view of the snow covered valley below me and with the view of the Esel Peak(Donkey Peak) above, I gorgeously had my Alpine Macaroni(Älpler Magronen) with the apple sauce. Sipping on the local alpine wine together with Luzerner Chügelipastete ;I knew the answer as to why Bollywood chose Switzerland as their favorite.

Snow build up 

And this is summer(May) in Switzerland

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The couple who despite the tricky wind paraglided to perfection in the fog that seem to have built a canvas of beauty around the mountains as another Indian couple and me in awe of the surrounding and the beautiful slow clad peaks had our moment of tranquility. Just then came the Alpendohles with a bright yellow bill and bright red legs , the black rude birds from the area which resembled the crow and the raven in search of their bite of food. Pointing towards the mist in the far, we were told that that is where the popular Mt Titlis lies. The Indian couple said that Titlis was cold and windy, so they couldn't do the cliff walk. Up here is perfect. In the mountains, it is said that the weather changes very fast, but today it was a good day. On a clear day the Pilatus Mountain offers a panoramic view of 73 Alpine peaks.Watch my video here for insiders view on Switzerland

Over the next few photo ops,I take you to the world’s steepest cogwheel, the longest summit toboggan run, the largest suspension rope park all not so far from Lucerne on an easy day trip to the spectacular Mount Pilatus.

Reaching Kriens

Take bus No.1 from Lucerne Bus Station to Linde Pilatus Stop (15 minutes) and then walk your way to the Gandola Station of Kriens. Alternatively, you can also reach Alpnachstad by boat or train and then take a cogwheel train to Mount Pilatus. Please find the current list of cost to reach Mount Pilatus here

Mount Pilatus :On The Way

Image Source:UnusualHotelsOfTheWorld

Lucerne is a very small city of around 70000-75000 people. When we were on the Gandola that offered panoramic views, we could say bye to the nice little castle of Kriens also known as Schauensee castle(Schauen meaning look and see meaning lake ; which sums up to look at the lake).Pointing out towards the lake, Colette who lives in the area said that Swimming in the lake is their favorite pastime during Summers. The water is so clear that you can swim past the lake with your mouth open, yet it is cold.

At one of the stops Colette said that yesterday they had Peacock with its feathers dancing in full glory. It was indeed sad that today she didn't come to say me hi.

Krienseregg and Fräkmüntegg : Stop in Between Mount Pilatus

                                                   
Remember ‘K’ for kids. The first stop for the cable car is Krienseregg, perfect for families and children with hiking and play options.

The next stop is Fräkmüntegg.

Remember F for fun and possibly Action. There is a  self-service restaurant which offers a variety of delightful Swiss specialties. For example, there are four different types of Rösti, including the spicy house specialty “Dragon Rösti“, a generous salad buffet, home-made fruit cakes and a tempting array of desserts. They have a wonderful rope park (largest suspension rope park in Switzerland) with 10 different trails, and longest summit toboggan run (1350m).

The rope park is there since 2005 and they always keep on developing this rope park, and there are 10 different trails, all in woods sand they have it for young and the adult alike. For adults, it’s more like team building events and so on. It begins with some easy trails after we sign on the liability waiver and doing all the trails takes around 2 hours of your time. They have special packages for families with kids as well.

Colette continues “It’s interesting to see the Indian couples specially the honeymooners up in this area. As you know in India, the married girl is not always familiar to the guy, and the girls are beautiful with henna tattoos still on their hands and this is one of the nice way they get to know each other. The girl believes in her husband and follows him like a protector which is very cute to see and kind of nice little story brewing up inside”

Mount Pilatus - On Top - Esel Peak and The Lunch

My childhood may be over but that doesn't mean playtime at Snow is!

At the top we have a small boutique hotel of 30 rooms called the Hotel Pilatus Kulm (Kulm meaning on top of something) where some people stay because they can’t resist the view limited them for few hours, some stay for wedding celebrations and some for meetings (I wonder what a place for meetings :P).

ImageSource:SwissTravelling.com

There are couple of short hikes from Mount Pilatus one such is Esel Peak also known as Donkey peak. We call it a donkey peak or Esel peak is because in the past the job of the farmers who were not so rich was to carry the rich tourists onto the top on the donkeys with their luggage. One of the first tourists was Queen Victoria from England in 1868 before the steepest cogwheel was there, and she was carried by the donkeys and the staff who took care of her. She was adventurous and brave.

Alpine Macaroni(Älpler Magronen)

In those days was the Bellevue hotel up here. Another great way to spend time on top is sip on the local wine with Luzerner Chügelipastete, a puff-pastry shell filled with diced veal and mushrooms in a creamy sauce. Yum.

And some local wine

Okay this is where I was :)

A ride To World’s Steepest Cogwheel

Celebrating 125 years this June 4th,the world’s steepest cogwheel runs on the great Mount Pilatus. The journey is really spectacular as it takes you from the top to the bottom in the downward slope you wouldn't have imagined passing through even few short tunnels. It is also where I met two American tourists who I had a brief conversation with. It was great to know “that they have seen the Bollywood movie Lunchbox which is unusually very known to Swiss Locals as well”. From where the train stops, you can get another train to Lucerne or you can also take a boat.

Passing through Tunnels

And reaching to where we board the train!

With this lovely visit to Switzerland, my trip comes to an end. Loved it? Your comments make my day, and your stories will make me visit Switzerland once more, So open up dear readers, I’d be more than happy to listen! Yo.