We wanted to do a hike and settled for Hoher Kasten which is in canton Appenzell. It was a two hour drive from Basel to get there.
We parked the car in Brülisau, got the cable car up to Hoher Kasten, took in the most incredible views (we could see lakes and also the Rhine) and from there started what was to be our 6 hour hike for the day.
Hoher Kasten Hike Statistics:
Start Point: Hoher Kasten (1794m – take the cable car up from Brülisau)
End Point: Brülisau (922m)
Distance: 16.3km
Min/Max Altitude: 922m & 1816m
Ascend: 654m
Descend: 1516m
Duration: Around 6 hours
It was an incredibly challenging hike. The first part was basically hiking along the ridge from Hoher Kasten (1794m) to Saxer Lücke (1649m). The hike was demanding – you had to keep going up and down, up and down.
The views however made it all worth it.
We passed cows and goats along the way.
We reached the famous Saxer Lücke (1649m) from which it was a steep hike downhill till you reach Bollenwees (1470m) where Fählensee is.
We stopped and had our packed nasi goreng cina (chinese fried rice) lunch by Fählensee while being entertained by other hikers trying to swim in the freezing cold water.
Continuing on it was an easy walk till we walked past Sämtisersee.
The next part of the hike shocked me. I had never had to walk on such a steep slope (or ever seen one) in my life! It was demanding on our knees but I was thankful we were going downhill as opposed to uphill – I wondered how all those people heading in the opposite direction would survive the long incredibly steep climb.
I ended up hiking up this steep part of the trail from Brülisau (922m) to Plattenbödeli (1279m) in 2019 all the way to Hoher Kasten (1794m) and back down to Brülisau via Ruhesitz.
It was another incredibly amazing day hiking again in the Swiss Alps.
If you have more time to spend in the area, you MUST visit this beautiful restaurant Aescher-ai which is just in the area. Click here to learn more about the first time I visited this place.
My favourite mountain in Switzerland, Säntis, is also not too far away. Click here for more.
