Kleine Melchaa gorge winter path

From Giswil railway station, the path leads to the northern end of the village and on to the Gasthof Zollhaus.

You reach the little gorge road via the southern portal of the motorway tunnel. Follow it upwards until it turns into the narrow gorge. Deep down, the water of the Kleine Melchaa river rushes through narrow rocky basins. At the Cholplatz, there is a shelter, and a panel describes the places and their stories, which you pass one after the other in the gorge: Bettlernest, Dom, Giswiler Hüttli Lochcheller, Tuffgräben, Lengbrügg to end point 977 of the winter path at Rindenhüttli.

Here the path branches off and in summer continues up to the geographical centre of Switzerland at Älggi. The winter path takes the same route back out to the gorge and down through the Grossmattwald forest - also a popular sledge run - to the Zollhaus and under the road to the lakeside path. Heading south, you return to Giswil along the Kleine Melchaa, which was diverted into Lake Sarnen in 2015. As a variant, you can also walk northwards on the lakeside path to Ewil Maxon railway station or on to Sachseln.