Historical paths in the bedrock

It is assumed that the Grimsel Pass between Oberhasli and Wallis was used as a connecting route long before our era. As a trade route, the Grimsel Pass together with the adjoining Griess Pass to Italy was busy from the Middle Ages until the 19th century. This historical mule track also largely forms the route of the described hike here.

The granite landscape of the Aarmassif exerts a special fascination in the Grimsel region. Huge slabs build the flanks of mountains, often crowned by angular rock needles and shattered peaks. The starting point of the hike is the Grimsel Hospiz in the middle of this scenery. During the first few minutes of the hike, the footpath still has to wind through artificial structures. You walk under the Hospiz briefly back on the road until the path leads down via stairs along the dam. Below is a hairpin bend, where you must cross the road and shortly afterwards go underneath it. This is followed by a section of a service road and a bridge over the very young Aare below the dam wall of Lake Grimsel. From now on, only natural paths follow. The hiking trail belongs to the “Grims Kristallweg,” an adventure trail for the whole family.

The path leads on the left, western side of the Aare around some ridge backs. Soon the Aare becomes the Räterichsbodensee, at whose rocky shores the path was partially adventurously carved into the rock. The path is safely laid out but being free from vertigo is certainly an advantage. Two romantic bridges further down cross the Aare back and forth. Shortly afterwards, the path follows along granite slabs that look like petrified waves of a sea, and soon after, Handegg is reached.