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To make the description clearer, the following symbols are used:
Sign R: Yellow sign with a hiker pictogram.
Sign No. 26 or P26: Red/white multi-directional signpost with a green No. 26 sticker.
The start of this walk is at Interlaken West Station (Interlaken West Bahnhof).
(S) From Interlaken West railway station, walk along the quay near the canal running parallel to the Aare, heading south. You will soon come across Sign No. 26, showing the way forward. Keep close to the railway line until you leave the town and look out for an R sign near a recycling plant.
(1) Turn right and head towards the bank of the canal reserved for scheduled boat services. Follow the path until it meets the small road, Lütscherenstraße. Continue along this gravel road until you reach the next sign (P26), passing first under a road bridge.
(2) At the signpost, turn left to reach the bridge (Aarekanalbrücke). Cross the Schifffahrtskanal, then, when you reach the Aare, look out for signpost No. 26, which directs you down a spiral staircase to the riverbank.
(3) Follow the Aare to a footbridge in a marshy area.
(4) Head north, then west at the next sign No. 26, and cross the Weissenau nature reserve which borders the lake. You’ll arrive in Neuhaus near a hotel complex.
(5) Pass through the hotel complex’s car parks and use the underpass beneath Seestraße to reach the banks of the Lombach.
(6) Return towards Seestraße, walking alongside the car parks of the Manor Farm complex (campsite). You’ll come across signpost No. 26 again at the bend in Seestraße.
(7) Following the directions indicated by the two P26 signs, proceed along a path at an altitude of nearly 600 metres heading west. Descend back towards Seestraße. Cross carefully and keep to the left-hand side, which is designated for pedestrians, for approximately 350 metres.
(8) Turn left onto the path running alongside the lake at Bätterich. Follow Signpost No. 26 along the Oberländerweg and then the Ländteweg to the jetty at the Saint Béat Caves (Beatushöhlen).
(9) At the terminus, turn right and head back up towards the Staatsstraße. Cross carefully, then rejoin the path on the right (P26)
(10) Heading west, make your way towards the Beatus Caves.
(11) Leave the path leading to the caves and head back down via two small hairpin bends to a junction.
(12) As indicated by sign No. 26, continue to the right, heading west, until you reach another junction, just after crossing the Chrutbach stream.
(13) At P26, turn right and begin the climb towards a track that runs alongside a quarry.
(14) Leave the track and take the path on the left. Follow the Pilgerweg (which is also the Via Jacobi) to a junction.
(15) Stay on the pilgrims’ path, passing over the funicular railway that links Beatenbucht to Beatenberg. Gradually descend towards the lake.
(16) An R sign indicates an alternative route for the Via Jacobi; stay on the upper path until you reach Merlingen. In this village, follow the various No. 26 signs until you reach the junction with Mittelstraße.
(17) Turn right, then left onto Bühlstraße. Pass over a church and cross Kirchestraße at a cemetery.
(18) Now follow Kirchestraße until you reach the edge of the village. After another P26 sign, cross the Stillenbach stream and follow another sign No. 26 at a junction.
(19) Turn right onto Bäreneggweg and walk to a junction.
(20) As indicated by signpost P26, stay on this small road and walk through the hamlet of Bärenegg. At an elevation of 689, the road becomes Merligweg. Continue along this path, which crosses two streams, until you reach the next signpost No. 26.
(21) Negotiate a hairpin bend and cross the Stampach. Enter Sigriswil via Endorfstraße. Follow the various signposts marked No. 26 to the village centre. Turn right onto Dorfstraße to return to the Hotel Adler, today’s accommodation (E).
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