Pizol 5 Lakes Hike

One of the first hikes I heard of when I started working in Zurich in 2011 was the Pizol 5 Lakes Hike. I finally did it 8 years later and it has to be one of the most scenic hikes there is in Switzerland.

Characterised by views of 5 beautiful mountain lakes and unrivaled views of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sardona, the Pizol 5 Lakes Hike is simply a must do when looking for a scenic hike in Switzerland.

Pizol 5 Lakes Hike

Details:

Length: 11.4km
Duration: 4.5 hours (I managed to do it in 2.5 hours as I ran downhill)
Difficulty: Medium to Difficult (as you keep going up and down to reach the next lake)
Altitude: 660 m ascend, 1050 m descend

How to Get There:

Take a train to Sargans (55 mins train ride from Zurich), then a bus from Sargans train station to Wangs Pizolbahn.

The cable car station is just across the car park from the bus stop.

It costs CHF 44 for the cable car and 2 chair lifts (sessellift in German) up to Pizolhütte (2227m), the starting point of the Pizol 5 Lakes Hike. If you have a GA or Halb-tax, then it is half the price.

The Hike and My Impressions:

For anyone fit, this is not a difficult hike.

As this is an extremely popular hike, you will be sure to encounter a lot of hikers throughout the trail.

The 5 lakes you will see on this hike are: Wangsersee, Wildsee, Schottensee, Schwarzsee, Baschalvasee. 

When getting off the chair lift, you would actually need to do a detour to the left to see the first lake Wangsersee. It seemed that most people skipped it – you can still see it if you look back as you commence on your hike, but just not up close.

After an easy start, you will see the first peak you will have to ascend. Other hikers were generally very considerate with letting the faster ones pass them.

It should take about an hour to get to Wildseelücke (2493m), from where you have the captivating views of the second lake, which I think is the most impactful, the Wildsee. Be careful here as the pathway is pure rocks and quite narrow at times. I even stepped on snow.

Walking down to the next deep-blue lake, Schottensee (2335m), I noticed a group of hikers looking up towards the right. I believe what we saw was a chamois – a goat-antelope species native to Europe, scaling up the steep high cliffs. It was such a sight to behold.

There were people dipping their feet in here and many stopped for a picnic.

Moving on, you will start climbing again, the Schwarzplangg, which for me was something new as the track was filled with animal poop. The constant loud noise of the bleating sheep reminded me that I was trespassing their home.

You have the mountain you are climbing on your right at this point (as in picture above) while on your left (as in picture below), you have views of the Sardona heritage site, with the Pizol glacier, Ringelspitz, Piz Sardona and Glarus Alps.

Quite a lot of people took a break at the top of Schwarzplangg  for lunch but I quickly continued on and descended towards the Schwarzsee (2368m).

From there, you start climbing once more till you reach the legendary Steinmannlis. Apparently there were 5 of these giant stacked stones up here once upon a time, but there is only one now (which I did not notice). Since the 60s, particularly students on school trips have been building smaller versions of the Steinmannli.

Nearing the end of the hike, you start going downhill from here over the east face of the Gamidaur which leads you to the fifth and final lake, the green Baschalvasee (2174m). Sadly the picture I took wasn’t great – and it was the least exciting lake on the hike.

After you pass Baschalvasee, you will continue descending down to the Gaffia station from where you take one chair lift and then the cable car down to the Wangs Pizolbahn.

As I was done in about 2.5 hours, I decided to continue hiking downhill to the cable car station, skipping the chair lift ride.

.
.
.
.
.

I hope this has been a useful post. If you are looking for other hikes to do, how about the best panoramic hike in Switzerland or the Aletsch Glacier?