Join adventure planning expert Lottie as she heads off the beaten path on our Hut-to-Hut in Switzerland tour
We opened the door to our room, right at the top of the house, and collapsed into a fit of giggles. A four-poster bed, complete with red checked curtains, red-and-white bedclothes, and little Biber biscuits placed neatly on the pillows, awaited our arrival. Two soggy hikers and a damp dog—exhausted from a day in the hills battling rainstorms, mud, and rampaging cows—hardly matched the scene. It was over-the-top and absolutely perfect.
Anna jumped straight into the steaming hot shower while I towelled down the dog before settling her onto her sheepskin in the corner. Peeling off my wet clothes, I took a closer look around the room. A handwritten welcome card in Swiss German lay on the desk. Books about the surrounding mountains begged to be read from the shelf. And best of all, the intricate, decorative framed artwork above the bed—which I knew to be woven from human hair…
This is Switzerland…but not as you know it.
Arriving in colourful Appenzell
Arriving in the town of Appenzell, you’re greeted by brightly coloured buildings, sweet shops, and trinket hawkers. Traditional music blares from restaurants, where men in lederhosen serve sumptuous cakes and coffee to tourists on sunlit terraces. Every hotel displays richly coloured artwork of farming scenes, and had I been lucky enough to visit in September, I might have witnessed herds of decorated cattle marching through the streets, accompanied by traditionally dressed children running at their sides.
Appenzell—and the Alpstein mountains that tower above it—are steeped in culture, tradition, folklore, and mystery. Arriving here by train feels like stepping back in time. Turning a corner, I stumbled into a traditional marching band. Ducking into the town museum, I found myself absorbed in the region’s fantastical history.
Delicious local food is served!
At our family-run guesthouse, the welcome set the tone for a week among some of the friendliest locals I’ve ever met in the Alps. The wooden stairways creaked as the owner explained, in his beautiful Swiss dialect, that dinner would be ready at 6pm—something special had been prepared.
Dinner was our first introduction to the region’s generous hospitality and delicious food culture. A traditional rösti with homemade cream of mushroom sauce arrived—bigger than my head, and more than any reasonably sized human could expect to eat in a week. To the delight of the other guests, who were already well underway with their own enormous portions of meat and potatoes, we expressed our astonishment.
And so it continued. Massive portions became the norm as we wound our way through the mountains, each guesthouse offering its own speciality in XXL proportions. From rösti (those addictive fried potato cakes), to pasta with apple sauce (who knew?), to rich cakes and cheese pies—all washed down with something no trip to Appenzell is complete without: Appenzeller bier.
Walking through the Alpstein mountains
Walking out of Appenzell the following day, we began our week-long hike through the Alpstein massif. Located just south of Lake Constance, on the border of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, this region is relatively unknown to foreigners, but it is starting to attract the attention it deserves. We started on good trails, ascending first through forestry, then out onto the rolling hills, spotted with cows and goats. Every few hours we passed a mountain guest house, and had the weather not been quite so bad, it would have been hard not to laze out on the terraces with a beer in hand.
Almost at the top of our first ascent, we passed a small church, where the local priest was conducting a ceremony to a large group of lederhosen-clad locals and a herd of especially attentive cows! We were hiking with a dog, so we gave the cows a wide berth, passing instead behind a small hut where one could purchase fresh Alm Käse (mountain cheese) and butter. The weather turned for the worse, and by the time we reached Kronberg peak, it was a full-on rainstorm. We did not pause much to enjoy the view (usually breathtaking) before running down the hill in the direction of our guesthouse hidden in the forest – Lehman.
The rain did not stop us on our hut-to-hut adventure!
The benefit of all the rain was that the waterfalls were wild! What I had planned as a cooling dip in a placid pool on the way to Lehman, was a whirlwind of froth and foam. As thunder boomed in the skies above our heads, we sprinted along the forest trail to our warm bed for the night. Unfortunately, thunder and rain were to be a theme of the week, but with a flask of Appenzeller whisky (which is delicious by the way) tucked into my rucksack, we donned our rain jackets each day and set out into the mountains.
Ancient caves and wonderful hospitality in the mountains
On day 2 we passed through the ancient Wildkirchli caves. These caves have been used by humans for thousands of years, with archaeological evidence showing Neanderthals once sheltered there and later prehistoric hunters passed through the area. In the 17th century, a hermit monk turned part of the caves into a chapel and living quarters, creating the unique cliffside sanctuary that visitors can still see today. Built into the cliffs is the unique Ascher guest house. Its creaking wooden floor boards and roaring fire offered a warm welcome to hikers escaping the storm outside, and we settled in with our cacao to play chess, whilst darkness settled over the mountains.
After Suka said hello to the chickens in the morning (I don’t think the chickens were as enthusiastic as she was), we had to decide on our route for the day. The storm raged on, and passing over the iconic Santis summit as planned, would have been a pretty bad idea! So we decided to take the long way round, and use the gondola to ascend to our next accommodation. What ensued was definitely a ‘type-two-fun’ mission of mud and cow dodging. We were thoroughly sodden as the next rainstorm broke and we dove into a charming mountain hut. To the amusement of the hut owner, we ordered a litre of tea – (come on – we are 2 British girls on a hike!), and the three of us huddled, shivering in blankets.
Settling into our wonderful accommodations
Mountain guest house Tierwis – when we finally reached it – dodging the thunderstorms to arrive at its exposed ridgeline position – was our most unique accommodation of the whole trip. We were shown to our quarters – a bunk house above a barn accessed only by ladder. A huge pile of blankets had been set aside for the dog, and lighting the space with candles, the three of us nested down in the hay loft.
Accommodation in this region is truly special, with each night offering a unique stay. All of our guest houses along the way gave us private rooms, with everything from 4-poster beds, to bunk beds with epic lake views, to haylofts and 4* hotels. The thread that linked them was the unbelievable hospitality we received.
Every night we were welcomed by name into the warm embrace of hosts whose families have welcomed travellers in these hills for hundreds of years. If you don’t speak German – no worries, enjoy the lilt of this beautiful dialect, and use your best body language to communicate, laugh and enjoy your time amongst warm-hearted people.
A love letter to Appenzell
Living in the Austrian Alps, I didn’t expect to be quite so taken with this small region on Austria’s doorstep—but I was. The landscapes feel wild, the trails constantly change—from rocky scrambles to quiet forest tracks—and the farm life gives you a real glimpse into how things have worked here for generations (even if it does turn every walk into an obstacle course when you’ve got a dog in tow). The peaks, the lakes, the food—I could go on. This is really a love letter to Appenzell.
Sitting outside a barn, surrounded by pigs and goats, tracing graffiti that dated back to 1604, we reflected over cups of homemade alpine herb tea. This is the kind of place that slows you down. This is authenticity, this is peacefulness, this is people at their kindest, this is wild adventure, a place to reflect, to sit for hours and simply…be. This is travel as we want it to be.
This is Switzerland, but not as you know it.
Try something off the beaten track…
Our Hut-to-Hut in Switzerland tour runs from June to September and is perfect for those seeking comfort, authenticity, and a real insight into Alpine culture and traditions. We offer a range of itineraries—from the classic 6-day adventure crossing the entire range, to a more relaxed option for those who want to slow down and really take it all in. Try something off the beaten track—you won’t regret it.