Mount Pilatus Travel Guide

If you are planning a trip to the ecstatic land of Switzerland, you must visit the mystical and beautiful Mount Pilatus. The summit of the Pilatus is at about 7000 feet above the sea level and offers a panoramic view of the Swiss Alps. Mount Pilatus is situated in Lucerne in Central Switzerland and is a wonderful day excursion to go for.

The best way to reach Mount Pilatus is by the Pilatus Railway which takes you on the world's steepest cogwheel train. An enthralling train ride which starts at Alpnachstad and takes you to the top of Mount Pilatus. The train ride offers some unique glimpses of snow covered mountain peaks and beautiful lakes. The train runs only in the summer months, usually from May to November depending on the snow conditions.

In the summers, one should take the Golden Round Trip from Lucerne which will take you on a boat across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad and then up to Mount Pilatus on the cogwheel train. On the way down you will take the aerial cableways and panorama gondolas to Kriens and then a bus back to Lucerne. This is a wonderful day excursion which gives you the best of the travel and the place.

The summit of Mount Pilatus also has lots to offer. The patio on the top has a few restaurants and many paths for walking around the many mountain faces. The Fräkmuntegg Restaurant next to the gondola station has a large terrace from where you can enjoy the view of Mount Pilatus while eating delicious food. You can also try the Roesti, a Swiss speciality at the Bellevue Restaurant. The tables at this restaurant are at the rim on the viewing platform and from here you can even catch a glimpse of Switzerland's highest mountain, the Jungfrau.

For travellers interested in a bit of exercise, you can indulge in some hiking on Mount Pilatus. There are many hiking tracks at Pilatus offering different views of the mountains. At Pilatus, you must try the longest summer toboggan run in Switzerland which will have you racing down the 1350 metre long chrome steel channel along twists, turns and tunnels and is an enthralling experience. You can also have some fun at the Seilpark Pilatus which is Central Switzerland's largest suspension rope park.

Though you can easily spend more than a day at Mount Pilatus, if you're tight on schedule the Golden Round Trip from Lucerne is perfect to experience Pilatus in the best possible way. Lucerne is situated in Central Switzerland and the closest airport is Zurich which is only 34 miles away and takes about 45 minutes by both road and train. Lucerne is about 152 miles from Geneva and about 57 miles from the country capital Berne. After reaching Lucerne you can travel to Mount Pilatus by the many unique modes of transportation available from there.