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Berggasthaus Aescher – Hike to famous cliff restaurant

Short hike to the famous cliff restaurant near Appenzell with a fun cable car ride and spectacular mountain views.

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Berggasthaus Aescher is a famous mountain restaurant built into the side of the cliffs near Appenzell. Ride the Ebenalp cable car up the mountain, then a short hike down to restaurant. On the way you pass through a large cave with an old hermit’s hut and open air chapel, aka Wildkirchli. 

The views are fantastic, with Mt Säntis and other impressive Alpstein peaks in the distance. Because this hike is short and relatively easy, it’s a nice option for non-hikers that want to experience the classic Swiss alps without much effort.

Keep reading to learn how to visit Ebenalp.

Location:   Appenzellerland, Eastern Switzerland
Address: Ebenalp Cable Car
Car: Schwendetalstrasse 82, 9057 Wasserauen
1hr30 from Zürich
Train: Train station: Wasserauen
2hr10 from Zürich
   
Trail: 700m each way to cliff restaurant (optional loop)
Condition: dirt path with uneven terrain and stairs, no strollers
Skill: moderate, safe but not advised for those with a fear of heights
Open: May to October
Prices 2024: Cable car return: Adult CHF 34, Child CHF 14, under 6 free
SBB GA, Half-fare & Junior Cards accepted.
Services: restaurant
More info:  www.ebenalp.chwebcam

Gallery 

Location

The Berggasthaus Äescher is in eastern Switzerland, in the Appenzell region east of Zürich. You can reach this region by car or train.  See location on Google Maps.

The cliff restaurant is accessed from the cable car that runs from Wasserauen to Ebenalp. From the top of the cable car, it’s about a 25 min walk down to the restaurant.

We recommend that most people hike back to the cable car on the same path. See full hiking map for the Ebenalp area.

Hiking map

This trail map shows the trail from the top of the Wasserauen-Ebenalp cable car to the Gasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli. It’s about 700m, descending about 130m, about 25 mins. You can walk back the way you came.

View interactive trail map, download GPX and print map on Komoot 

Trail conditions

It is not a particularly difficult path. But it does have stairs and uneven terrain. So it is not suitable for strollers, wheelchairs or those with limited mobility that need assistance walking.

The path inside the cave is partially paved, but a bit steep and often wet and slippery. But there are handrails to help you walk more safely.

Part of the trail is on a wooden walkway built into the side of the cliff, which is quite safe with a fence on the cliff side. But those afraid of heights may prefer to skip this one.

Trail options

Optional loop for experienced hikers: If you are an experienced hiker and want to see something different on the way back, you can walk past the cliff restaurant and follow the loop trail up the cliffs back to the cable car station. It’s an interesting path but too dangerous for small children or inexperienced hikers. See trail map.

Longer hike: For experienced hikers comfortable with risk, you can hike from the cliff restaurant down to the Seealpsee lake. Learn more.

How to get there

Ebenalp is located near Appenzell in eastern Switzerland, easy to access by car or public transportation. It’s good day trip from Zürich, which is 90 mins by car or just over 2 hours by train.

By train

Take a train to Wasserauen, Bahnhof. The Ebenalp cable car station is directly across the street from the train station. 

From Appenzell, it’s a 12 min ride to Wasserauen. See train schedule on SBB.ch. You do not have to book train tickets in advance or reserve seats. Learn more about Swiss train travel

By car

Drive to Schwendetalstrasse 82, 9057 Wasserauen and park in one of the metered parking lots near the base station of the Ebenalp cable car.

Last time we were there it cost CHF 5/day. The parking meters take coins only or you can pay with a mobile parking app like EasyPark. On busy days, the local farmers open their fields for overflow parking, pay in cash to the attendant.

Planning your day

Ticket prices

At the cable car station, buy a round trip ticket. In 2022, a round trip cost CHF 34/adult and CHF 14/child 6-15. Children with SBB Junior Card or under age 6 ride free.

Discount with SBB GA, Half-fare, Swiss Travel Pass, and Swiss Flexi Pass. Free with Appenzell Holiday Card, Oskar Card, and Lake Constance Holiday Pass.

You can pay with cash or card. You can purchase cable car tickets online, which allows you to skip the ticket line and go directly to the cable car line. But you cannot reserve a specific time. Also, cable car tickets will never sell out for the day.

Operating hours

The cable car runs for hiking season starting end of April through the beginning of November. It runs every 15 mins from about 7:30 to 18:00, but check operating times before you go.

The cable car is small, so on very crowded days, you may have to wait in line to go up.

What to wear and bring

Since the path has uneven terrain, we suggest sturdy hiking shoes, though sneakers or other comfortable walking shoes should be fine. Some people may feel more comfortable with hiking sticks, but most won’t find them necessary.

This hike is located in the mountains where weather and temperatures can change quickly. Dress appropriate to the weather forecast, bringing layers like a fleece and windbreaker/rain jacket as needed. On sunny days, make sure to bring sunscreen, sun hat, and sunglasses. 

It’s a short trail so you don’t necessarily need to bring food or drinks if you are planning to eat the restaurant. 

Where to eat

We suggest eating at Gasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli, the destination of this hike. However, they don’t take reservations and there can be a very long line, especially on weekends and holidays. Alternatively, you can eat at Berggasthaus Ebenalp, which is near the cable car station.

Where to stay 

At the Seealpsee, you can stay overnight at Gasthaus Forelle and Berggasthaus Seealpsee. They do not offer luggage transfer, so you must carry your luggage  from Wasserauen as you hike to the hotel. Pack light.

If you prefer to stay in the valley, you can stay at Alpenrose Wasserauen, which is near the parking and train station. 

If you stay at any of these hotels for at least three nights, you get the Appenzell Holiday Card, which includes many free and discounted activities in the region.

Photo story of the trail

1. Riding up to Ebenalp

Arrival in Wasserauen is one of the prettiest sights you’ll see, especially in May with the yellow flowers.

As you ride up the cable car, you will see the caves and restaurant built on the side of the cliff. The cable car takes you above these caves and you will walk down to them.

Walk down to Wildkirchli and Cliff Restaurant

Here is the beginning of the trail. Don’t get fooled by the gravel path. It looks ok for strollers now but it gets lumpy in pretty soon. The trail is a little steep in parts, but not too difficult.

The sweeping views of Appenzellerland are fantastic.

After a couple minutes, the trail dips into a cave, where the trail can get a little slippery – use those hand rails! The picture below was in late June.

The picture below was in mid May, when there was still a bit of snow and the grass was still dead.

Wildkirchli, aka Wild Church

Inside the cave is a hermit’s hut.

Also a small chapel in a cave.

The walkway is built into the side of the cliff.

The railway is pretty safe, but I’d keep little kids close.

Cliff Restaurant

Here’s Gasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli, which is a restaurant and hotel.

A meal with a view. This restaurant can get really crowded on sunny weekends. We only ate there the very first time we visited way back in 2006. Every other time we hiked here, it was so full we didn’t want to wait for a table.

View directly across from the restaurant.

Here’s the view east and west from where we sat at the restaurant.

Hiking back to the cable car

For most visitors, I recommend walking back the way you came to the cable car station

For experienced hikers, you can walk past the restaurant and follow right fork to challenging switchback trail up the cliffs to the cable car station. The trail that forks to the left leads to Seealpsee, a pretty lake with stunning views. See Ebenalp-Seealpsee Hike for details.

The trail up the cliffs to Ebenalp skirts along the bottom of the rock cliff as shown here.

Then you head up the cliff in this area shown below.

The switchbacks look like this.

Final thoughts

I like the trail, but I overestimated my parents’ desire to hike. My first time there, I convinced my parents to hike the loop on the more difficult switchback trail. This was a big mistake.

First, the trail was steep, up narrow, rocky switchbacks with about a million steps, as shown above. My poor step-mom had expected a relaxing day out not an endurance challenge. Second, the threatening clouds rain suddenly turned to rain about 10 mins into the hike. So we were cold and wet and miserable. Lesson learned.

Ebenalp doesn’t have attractions especially for kids on this hike, except the cows. But I like this outing with kids because you can have a good meal with an amazing view without much work.

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5 Responses

  1. Hi. Thank you for this! This is really beautiful. Would it be possible to go up to Schafler from Ebenalp around mid-May? Thanks!

    1. The Appenzell site says this hut is open from June to October, so probably not open in mid-May. It’s at 1924m, so it’s possible there will still be snow there in mid-May. But it’s also possible it will have melted by then. I’d check their website next spring to see if they publish any news about opening times.

    1. Yes, these trails are usually possible until the middle of October. Hope you can do them then.

  2. Beautiful!

    Tanya, I just realized that now that we have a lot of content, some posts are being buried in the archives. Is there any (easy) way we can reference them permanently on the blog?

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Hi! I’m Tanya and our family has been living & hiking in Switzerland since 2005, collecting dozens of fun hikes and activities for all ages and abilities. More about us…

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