Gasterntal, or the "secret" valley

Localisation : Switzerland, Berner Oberland
Distance : 25km, from Kandersteg CFF train station / 49km from Frutigen CFF train station
Elevation : +590 from Kandersteg / +1’050m from Frutigen
Technical skills : easy
Physical difficulty : easy / medium from Frutigen, because of the total distance. No very steep climbs.
Nature of roads: 68% unpaved, gravel roads, short easy single tracks
Suggested start : Kandersteg SBB train station or Frutigen SBB train station
Bike : MTB or gravel
Loop from Kandersteg, 25km : https://www.komoot.com/fr-fr/tour/1410722007
Loop fromFrutigen, 49km : https://www.komoot.com/fr-fr/tour/1431637294
If you don’t have Komoot, you can get the .gpx file for this route directly here.

(picture gallery at the bottom of the post)
** visit our instagram @urbirunbike ** – and if you like it here, you can buy me a coffee

A beautiful discovery in summer 2023 : The Gasterntal, a sublime valley hidden behind Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, surrounded by a backdrop of rocky beauty.

From Kandersteg, you have to continue to what looks like the end of the valley, beyond the cable car, where you think you can’t go any further…

But there is a small road hidden in the forest, which leads to the magnificent gorges that are the gateway to this “secret” valley. The ascent (2km, +160m) is breathtaking, in the heart of the Chluse Gorges, on a small gravel road, between tunnels and stone bridges that cross the tumultuous river. This ancient mule track has existed for centuries, and marked the first section of the steep ascent to the Col de Löstche on the southern side of the valley.

After this delicious “appetizer”, you arrive on a plateau completely surrounded by vertiginous mountains, from which several hundred meters high waterfalls shine… It’s magnificent, magical. You won’t know where to look, totally out of this world…

You can pedal quite easily to the end of this plateau (8km, +300m, some sections a little steep), between forests, marshes and alpine pastures, passing from one side to the other of the river, sometimes spread out in wide meanders, sometimes noisily threading its way through narrow rocky gullies. Don’t hesitate to go all the way to the end of the road, to take a break at the Heimritz mountain restaurant (alt. 1,630), but you’ll also find other small restaurants earlier on the way…

We loved this discovery, a route we took from Frutigen (where there’s a SBB station), to enjoy a pretty climb (easy, 12km +490m following cycle route 64) to Kandersteg (where there’s also a SBB station).

(done in July 2023, on my mountain bike, with my lover on her eMTB – can easily be ridden on a gravel bike).

Loop from Kandersteg, 25km : https://www.komoot.com/fr-fr/tour/1410722007
Loop fromFrutigen, 49km : https://www.komoot.com/fr-fr/tour/1431637294
If you don’t have Komoot, you can get the .gpx file for this route directly here.

** visit our instagram @urbirunbike **

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