Discover Boltigen: Mountains, Trails and Culture in the Obersimmental
Accommodation in Boltigen
Boltigen is a stop on the Grand Tour of Switzerland. The village is home to Boltigen Church, with its nave and chancel tower dating from the Late Middle Ages, around 1510. After a fire in 1840, it was restored by Rudolf Stettler.
Culture and History
An unusual collection awaits visitors at the HEKU Bicycle Museum: The historic bicycles include a penny-farthing, old military, postal and bakery bicycles, as well as children's bicycles. The exhibition is complemented by more than 200 brand plaques and numerous bicycle bells. The museum is located behind the door of an air-raid shelter, opposite the Reidenbach bus stop. It can be reached by train to Boltigen followed by a bus journey to Reidenbach.
The T1 Obersimmental House Trail connects Boltigen with Weissenbach, Grubenwald, Mannried and Zweisimmen. The themed trail is 20.7 kilometres long and offers views of traditional carpentry throughout the Obersimmental. The route thus connects these villages and the building culture visible there in one continuous trail.
Mountains and Trails
Mittagflue is regarded as Boltigen's local mountain and offers views across almost the entire Simmental. From Tubetal, it can be reached via a mountain hiking trail; hikers can access it from the north-west side. The first stage of the AlpnessTrail starts in Boltigen and climbs steeply up the southern valley flank to the foot of Niederhore.
On AlpnessTrail #1, the view stretches across the idyllic Seebergsee, framed by Seehore and a belt of Swiss stone pine forest. Another trail connection starts at the bus stop on the Jaun Pass: The hike to Bäderhorn leads across open pastureland to Alp Grosse Bäder and onwards to Bäderhorn.
The Jaun Pass is a crossing from the Simmental into the Gruyère region. The pass is home to a compact family ski area with a ski and snowboard school. There are also opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and hiking on winter hiking trails.
Activities
The official Boltigen activity guide lists the Chemifluh–Mittagfluh climbing area as a summer experience. Above Boltigen lies the Bolti climbing garden, which is accessible by public transport. The climbing area offers technically demanding face climbing in the «Zen Forest» sector, steep 40-metre routes in the «Grötteli» sector and short, boulder-focused routes in the classic Bolti sector. At Chemifluh, the «Chemigeist» sector offers climbing on high-quality rock.
Activities also begin on the water in Boltigen: The River-Rafting-Simme tours start here and run through rapids rated as whitewater class II to III. A River-Rafting-Simme trip on the river lasts around 1.5 to 2 hours and includes rafting equipment and professional guides.
In winter, the «Zügwegen» ski lift on the Jaun Pass can be rented for a total of two hours during the winter season. The rental allows groups to ski, go sledging or ride Pistenbock sledges together. The team events on the Jaun Pass offer individually customisable winter programmes for groups of 6 to 45 people.
Families can enjoy the Bruchmandli adventure trail on the Jaun Pass. The adventure trail is one kilometre long and includes six stations for playing and exploring. In Reidenbach, the Grydbödeli barbecue area has a large playground and a covered seating area.
Culinary Delights and Local Insights
At an altitude of 1,508 metres, the Jaun Pass alpine cheese dairy processes fresh mountain milk into alpine-certified products. Bäderalp produces speciality cow's and goat's cheeses as well as solar-oven meringues. Visitors can watch the production process directly from the Jaun Pass alpine cheese dairy's shop; the terrace serves hot and cold drinks as well as a variety of dishes.
Getting Around Boltigen
Boltigen can be reached via the BLS railway line between Spiez and Zweisimmen. A bus runs from Boltigen railway station to Reidenbach. For further destinations, direct connections lead to Matten, Sankt Stephan, Zweisimmen and Lenk.
For the higher-level travel overview: Obersimmental.
