Mt Titlis was the first mountain on our itinerary. I chose Lucerne as our base as it takes just slightly more than an hour from Lucerne to Mt Titlis.
Lucerne to Engelberg
We took an early morning train from Lucerne to Engelberg – it was quite empty – which was nice. So always start early. It’s just one direct train and takes about 45 minutes. I loved the train – so nice and clean. Got us some sandwiches to eat on the train journey.
At the Engelberg station, if you have purchased online vouchers for the gondola up to Titlis – remember to exchange the vouchers with the actual tickets. After that board the free shuttle bus to the Titlis valley station. You can also walk but I waited for the bus.
Engelberg to Mt Titlis
From the Titlis valley station, at Engelberg, we took the cable car up to the Stand station. Then, we board the Titlis Rotair cable car to the summit station (at 3,020 metres above sea level). Fun! Fun! Fun!
Also – if you want snow/ski gears, I found that the Intersport shop at the Titlis Valley station to be very well stocked. In case you need gloves, hats that kind of thing.
So what's on Mt Titlis?
If you are in Titlis between December to April – there are more winter activities you can do. Of course there will be more tourists. I first visited Switzerland in 2005 – I have to say one thing that is noticeable is the number of tourists have significantly increase. On the trip going down, there was a long queue and people were shoving their way to the front to get into the next cable car down. Now that wasn’t fun. But if you go during off season (like us) then some of the activities may not be available. So you just need to choose what works for you.
Having said that, if the weather condition is not suitable – some of the activities may not be available despite being there in the right month. So it is kind of a bit of luck too.
Titlis Cliff Walk
The Cliff Walk is the highest suspension bridge in Europe at 3,041 metres above sea level. It’s about 500 metres off the ground.
If you come early morning like us, you will find not so many people on the Cliff Walk just yet. Which was great. There will be tourists who will hog certain spots trying to get that best IG photo .. like forever. We just had a few of those on the bridge that time – thank goodness!
Anyway loved the cliff walk experience and the view from there. It wasn’t scary I have to say, I didn’t know what I was expecting. Maybe I was hoping for a bit more thrill. Nope – not that kind of experience. But still lovely.
Glacier Cave
I wasn’t really sure that the cave was opened at first – because for some time only my daughter and me were in the 150 metre walkway/cave! It’s not very cold in there, about -1.5˚C. Later on the crowd started pouring in. I remembered suddenly feeling how I appreciated the short time having the place all to us!
Anyway, the ice in here is up to 5,000 years old. There are some ice sculptures along the walkway.
Ice Flyer
We loved the Ice Flyer – luckily it wasn’t windy or anything, or else it will be closed for safety reason. Beautiful views. Again – lucky us – there was no queue for the Ice Flyer!
Breathtaking Views
Some of the Other Snow Activities
Skiing
This one is kind of obvious. Ski season starts from October. We didn’t do this (was not part of my agenda) – it looked super fun though. But I don’t recall seeing any beginner slope from the top. For beginners, I believe they do offer lessons at the Trübsee Snow Park which opens from Dec, I think there, they would have more suitable slopes for non-skiers.
I tried my hand at skiing in New Zealand before – not very good at it. So I thought that since it’s just me and my young daughter on this trip – I should not go for things that may get us in a fix. Yes – I was that bad. But it was fun – I remembered that. I saw some kids going about to go down the slopes (probably 4-5 years of age) – remembered thinking – ‘Wow! Just wow!’ (also felt a bit embarassed maybe remembering how bad I was at skiing…)
Tobogganing
From Christmas to early March, you can go on the toboggan from Gerschnialp to Engelberg. Although there are times they close due to insufficient snow – yes it’s a luck game too! The run is about 3,500 metres with an altitude of 250 metres. I would have loved to do this.
Snowtubing at Trübsee Snow Park
The Snow Park is opened from mid Dec to April. It looked super fun from the website but it wasn’t open when we were there.
Food
The Mövenpick Ice Cream Bar
We had an ice cream ‘snack’ with hot chocolate – after our Ice Flyer activity. Somehow Ice cream in the mountains taste so much nicer…
Lunch at the Panorama Restaurant
There are actually two restaurants on Mt Titlis. One is a normal sit-down restaurant and the other is a self service restaurant. When we were there, they closed the sit-down restaurant which feature regional specialties, for tour groups. Don’t worry – the self service restaurant serves international food from pasta to Indian dishes. Both restaurants offer breathtaking views of the mountains.
If you are here for a romantic holiday, you could combine a stay at Trübsee Alpine Lodge with a romantic candle lit dinner at the Panorama restaurant….
Shopping in the Mountains
You can also get your chocolate fix up here! And you know what else – buy a Swiss watch! Why not…?
Loved it!
We had such a great time – I highly recommend Mt Titlis if you are staying close to the area especially. Of course – as usual, check the weather forecast before heading up. When the sky is clear, the view is just amazing…
Link to Mt Titlis website here.
Check out also my other posts on our Switzerland trip here.