Part 2: Spectacular Scenery From Cogwheel Train, Mount Pilatus And Gondola

Part 2: Mount Pilatus

it was foggy and cloudy as we went higher. Finally, we reached Pilatus Kulm, the highest point of Mount Pilatus. The peak can be assessed by cable car from Kriens or cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad. The cogwheel railway was fantastic, but the clouds closed in just as we ascended to the top. Trips in Switzerland are expensive, make sure that the sky is going to stay clear before you go or you will be disappointed. 

On top of Mount Pilatus, there is a restaurant selling drinks, sandwiches and desserts. There is a nice little gift shop. Sadly, it drizzled. There was not much to see though. I thought that it was the perfect time to visit in June, snowfall should start to reduce to enjoy Swiss wonderland before summer seeps in. If you have time, I think it would be great to stay at Pilatus Kuhm Hotel, sleeping on a summit at 2,132 meters above the sea level, with breathtaking views of Lucerne and Lake Lucerne.

At the mountain station, we saw a huge terrace with many seats and sun chairs. It would be indulging with drinks and various snacks at the kiosk while enjoying the fabulous view. Because of the weather, I was deeply disappointed that we missed stunning view and toboggan run in Frakmuntegg. Toboggan experience costs 6CHF round trip. We missed the chance to zoom through numerous steep curves, dive deep into dragon holes (tunnels) and fly over two inbuilt jumps. At 1,350 meters the Fräkigaudi on the Fräkmüntegg is the longest summer toboggan run in Switzerland. The spectacular run begins near the Fräkmüntegg mountain station.

We looked around at the top but couldn’t see the clouds moving on so took cable car down and the cruise back to Lucene. It would be amazing to take the cogwheel train down. However, cogwheel train operation was stopped due to the rain and strong wind. Taking a ferry back from Alpnachstad is a good option if you have the time. This was a quick ride to the station of Frakmuntegg where we transferred to gondola for a 30 minute ride to the valley station of Kriens.

Instead of going up to the top by cogwheel train, you can glide with gondola from Kriens to the Fräkmüntegg station. We chose to take Panorama Gondola down to Alpnachstad in only 30 minutes. We had a wonderful Pilatus adventure in cogwheel train and gondola. We really enjoyed the marvellous view. It was less foggy as we descended. Sledding down was fabulous. Gondola ride was smooth despite the wet weather. 

Ropeway gondola flown over green grass field of foot of Mount Pilatus on foggy day. In mid June, the grass and trees were so green. I wished I could rub it between my fingers to make sure it was real. I think Switzerland is cleanest and greenest country. It is a great place to live and travel. Green lowland with wild flowers poking up, Swiss houses and blue sky provide the perfect backdrop for romantic countryside escape.  

The weather in Switzerland might be slightly wet during this season in June, the wildflowers bloomed across the valleys, and a ride on gondola offered stunning views. There was mild rainfall during this month. It would be better to visit Switzerland in July or later for warm weather with the least chance for rain. Nevertheless, we took nice photographs of beautiful scenery while riding on a gondola. Once at the bottom and Kriens, we followed signs for bus number 1. It was a longer walk than we first thought, but just kept following the signs and probably other people. At the bus stop, we took bus number 1 to travel back to Lucerne train station.