Archiving our adventures.

From the Niesen into the Diemtigtal

Photographer
Abbie Schenk
Travelled
25.08.2025
Published
29.03.2026
Dossiers

On a semi-cloudy August day when the temperatures weren’t too high, Elaine and I decided to go for a long hike on the Niesen Panoramaweg. The hike started from the Niesen Kulm (peak), went down a muddy mountainside cow pasture into a forested valley, over stones and some rocky scrambles, up a mountain sheep pasture, and down into another valley.

The route is meant to take 5.5 hours and end at a Beiz (pub) in Springenboden, with a bus running to the Oey-Diemtigen train station. But we ended up taking eight hours and branched off the route earlier to ensure we’d catch a train at Oey-Diemtigen instead of worrying about catching the last bus.

It took us longer than expected for a few reasons. Our trail runners weren’t ideal for the muddy start, and we weren’t used to navigating cows on the trails. Parts of the trail were very rocky, and one part in particular was like a humid, swampy jungle. We also didn’t properly account for how far 14km actually is; by the time we branched off, we were very tired but still had to walk quite far to Oey-Diemtigen. And we walk at a slower pace than whatever the official pace of Switzerland is (I’ve since found out about and use the hiking speed setting in the SwissTopo app for planning).

All-in-all a hike that was more challenging than it should be due to our inexperience and inadequate shoes for the route. But the vast amount of different scenery also made it one of our most memorable ones for positive reasons.

A Wanderweg route sign on top of the Niesen Kulm.
A view of the hike to come through a break in the clouds.
The start of the hike, going through the cow gates.
A view back at the Niesen Kulm restaurant.
A mountain surrouneded by clouds.
A trail marker painted on the bouldery mountainside.
The path turns going down the Niesen, with a view of the Diemtigtal and ultimate destination below.
Moss growing on a rock on the path.
Elaine standing on the hiking path.
Clouds are kept at bay by the mountains.
A Wanderweg route sign on top of the Niesen Kulm.
Clouds and fog along the Niesen cliffs.
A cow wanders along the hiking path.
A view of the next part of the hike.
A farm house in the valley.
A pink mountain flower.
Rolling green hills in the valley
The rocky path through the valley.
Water draining down the mountain over rocks.
Smaller rocks along the mountain.
A Wanderweg marker on large rocks indicates the path.
The mountainside with low hanging clouds.
Part of the hike going through more dense brush.
A look back down into the valley we hiked both down into and up from.
A look back down into the valley we hiked both down into and up from.
Sheep on a mountaintop sheep pasture.
A stony path through a forest.
A view of the rocky mountainside.
The path continues along the moutainsides. When we checked the map and realized we would have to go along another side just like this around the corner, we decided to branch off early to get to the train station.
A grassy path along a hillside.
A small brook with a few pieces of farm remains.
A view back up the hill with a small brook and a farmhouse.
A tree stump of a freshly logged forest frames a view of the Diemtigtal valley below.
The path continue through a freshly logged forest.
The view of the Diemtigtal.
Finally, the view of the Diemtigtal welcomes us as we get to the last stage of the hike.