The ski and resort town of Engelberg lies at 1,050 m in the canton of Obwalden in central Switzerland and is therefore right in the middle of a winter holiday paradise. In addition to slopes with guaranteed snow, an igloo village and many opportunities for tobogganing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, SnowTrex can confirm that the glacier in particular provides several good reasons to go skiing here.
1. Skiing in the Titlis glacier ski area
The Titlis is the sporting highlight of Central Switzerland and is known as the “ski mountain of superlatives”. From the glacier park to the photo point, it has everything a skier’s heart desires. The Engelberg-Titlis ski area and neighbouring Brunni together offer almost 90 km of pistes. In addition to the family-friendly areas at Brunni and Gerschnialp, Trübsee and Jochstock offer somewhat more challenging pistes. But the tourist highlights await high up on the glacier at over 3,000 metres above sea level. To experience them, take the Titlis Bergbahnen gondola from Trübsee to the middle station at 2,428 metres, from where the Titlis Rotair takes you to the summit of the “Kleine Titlis” and to fabulous views.
2. Titlis Rotair lift experience
In the “Rotair”, the ascent from the middle station to the summit of the Little Titlis at 3,020 m is a special experience in itself. The cable car operated by Titlis Bergbahnen is the world’s first revolving gondola that rotates on its own axis during the 5-minute journey, giving passengers a complete panoramic view. As it spirals towards the summit, passengers get a 360-degree panoramic view of rock faces, crevasses and snow-covered mountain peaks.
3. Exploring the glacier grotto
Once at the top, the attractions continue straight away. From the summit station of the Titlis Rotair, it is only a few steps to an accessible glacier grotto. The impressive ice cave on the Titlis protrudes up to 20 metres deep into the glacier and is accessible free of charge.
Thanks to the refraction of light in the ice, visitors are immersed in a completely blue world and are guided through the eternal ice on a 150 metre long passage with several branches.
4. Flying high with the Ice Flyer
After the excursion into strange ice worlds, the next glacier experience awaits. If you take the red descent, you will reach the lift station of the Ice Flyer glacier chairlift. It is actually a normal chairlift that takes skiers to the start of the piste at the summit – but the view from the 6-seater is really something special. Visitors look past their own skis into metre-deep crevasses. Hovering over the eternal ice, the lift lives up to its name. At the top station, a special viewing point awaits those with a head for heights.
5. Run on the Cliff Walk
The Cliff Walk is Europe’s highest suspension rope bridge, which leads over the abyss at an altitude of 3,041 metres. The swinging rope construction can be reached via an underground tunnel that leads from the mountain station to the viewing platform at the south wall window. From there, it extends over 100 metres to the top station of the Ice Flyer. The bridge is only one metre wide and only a grid separates those crossing from the free fall. The thrill is rewarded by the fantastic view, not only of the 500 metre deep abyss on the steeply sloping south face of the Titlis, but also of the entire Swiss mountain world.
6. Fun in the glacier park
Below the Ice Flyer lift is the area for fun sports fans: the glacier park. Here, winter sports enthusiasts can let off steam on the piste with various sliding devices. The Zipfelbob and snowtubing tyres are among the better-known sports equipment. The kick scooter-like snow scooter or the balancer, a type of monoski with a seat, are more unusual. Riding together on the Snake Gliss, a chain of toboggans connected by links, is also particularly fun. In a toboggan group, up to twelve people wind their way down the slope one behind the other. As an alternative to the glacier park, there is also the slide park, which is located a little further down directly at the Berghotel Trübsee and offers a similar range of snow tubes and the like.
7. Visit to Engelberg Abbey
In addition to all the mountain sports attractions in the glacier ski area on the Titlis, the town of Engelberg itself also deserves a little attention. Because it has an architectural highlight from the Middle Ages to offer: The Benedictine monastery of Engelberg is one of the largest baroque buildings in Central Switzerland and today houses a school and a boarding school, among other things. A magnificent baroque church, which houses the largest organ in Switzerland, also adjoins the abbey. The abbey is certainly worth a visit at any time, but the magnificent building against the snow-covered mountain backdrop is particularly impressive in winter. It is also home to the only Swiss show dairy, where visitors can see how cheese is made by hand.
Fancy a ski holiday in Engelberg? SnowTrex has several great accommodation options on offer, such as the Hotel Terrace. Just click here.
