Country:
District:
For ease of description, the following symbols are used:
Sign R: Yellow sign with hiker pictogram.
Sign No. 26 or P26: Red/white multi-directional sign with green sticker No. 26.
The start of this hike is at Interlaken West Station (Interlaken West Bahnhof).
(S) From Interlaken West station, walk south along the quay near the canal parallel to the Aare. You will soon come to a sign No. 26 showing the route to follow. Stay close to the railway line until you leave the town and look for a sign R near a recycling plant.
(1) Turn right and head towards the canal bank reserved for boats. Follow the path that joins the small road called Lütscherenstraße. Continue along this gravel road until you reach the next P26 sign, passing under a road bridge first.
(2) At the sign, turn left to reach the bridge (Aarekanalbrücke). Cross the Schifffarhtskanal, then at the level of the Aare, look for a sign No. 26, inviting you to go down a spiral staircase to reach the riverbank.
(3) Follow the Aare to a footbridge at a marshy area.
(4) Head north, then west at the next sign No. 26, crossing the Weissenau nature reserve that borders the lake. You will arrive at Neuhaus near a hotel complex.
(5) Pass through the car parks of the hotel complex and use the underpass beneath Seestraße to reach the Lombach stream.
(6) Return to Seestraße and follow the car parks of the Manor Farm complex (campsite). Look for sign No. 26 in the bend of Seestraße.
(7) Follow the directions indicated by the two P26 signs and continue along a balcony path at an altitude of around 600 metres towards the west. Descend towards Seestraße. Cross carefully and stay on the left-hand side, which is designated for pedestrians, for around 350 metres.
(8) Turn left onto the path that runs along the lake at Bätterich. Follow the signs No. 26, taking the Oberländerweg and then the Ländteweg to the pontoon at the Saint Béat caves (Beatushöhlen).
(9) At the terminus, turn right and walk back up towards Staatsstraße. Cross the road carefully and take the path on the right (P26)
(10) Head west towards the Beatus Caves.
(11) Leave the path leading to the caves and descend via two small hairpin bends to a crossroads.
(12) As indicated by sign No. 26, continue right towards the west until you reach a new intersection, just after crossing the Chrutbach stream.
(13) At P26, turn right and start climbing towards a track that runs alongside a quarry.
(14) Leave the track and take the path on the left. Follow the Pilgerweg (also known as the Via Jacobi) to a crossroads.
(15) Stay on the pilgrims' path, passing over the funicular railway that connects Beatenbucht to Beatenberg. Gradually descend towards the lake.
(16) A sign marked R indicates an alternative route for the Via Jacobi. Stay on the upper path until you reach Merlingen. In this village, follow the various signs marked No. 26 until you reach the junction with Mittelstraße.
(17) Turn right, then left into Bühlstraße. Pass over a church and cross Kirchestraße at the cemetery.
(18) Now follow Kirchestraße until you leave the village. After another P26, cross the Stillenbach stream and look for another sign No. 26 at a fork in the road.
(19) Turn right onto Bäreneggweg and walk to a crossroads.
(20) As indicated by the P26 sign, stay on this small road and drive through the hamlet of Bärenegg. At an altitude of 689 metres, the road becomes Merligweg. Continue along this road, which crosses two streams, until you reach the next sign No. 26.
(21) Start a hairpin bend and cross the Stampach. Enter Sigriswil via Endorfstraße. Follow the various signs No. 26 to the village centre. Turn right into Dorfstraße to return to the Hotel Adler, your accommodation for the day (E).
Visorando member
Moderate 
Very difficult 
