Engelberg

Engelberg Overview

Engelberg is a small resort town (and also a municipality) in the Obwalden canton in Switzerland. Outside of the town of Engelberg, the municipality also comprises the settlements of Scwand, Obermatt, and Grafenort.

The Engelberg municipality is an Obwalden exclave, and it is surrounded by the cantons of Uri, Nidwalden, and Bern. Engelberg has a population of roughly 4,000. Over 20% of the population was composed of foreign nationals.

Engelberg is the most visited mountain resort in the central part of Switzerland. In medieval times, Engelberg was famous for the scholarly achievements of the Engelberg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery there. The school was well known throughout Switzerland. From the 1800s, Engelberg became known around the world as a spa and health resort, but it is visited as much for skiing as it is for the health environment. With its sports facilities and prime alpine environment, Engelberg is visited heavily in both the winter and summer. The closest big cities are Zurich and Lucerne.

Tourism

The skiing environment is more suited to advanced skiers, and even though there are some easier places to ski, beginners should probably not try to ski on the more difficult pistes. It is a wintertime ski resort, with a very long season, usually opening for skiing at the beginning of October and staying open until the end of May. Many tourists come to ski in April and May and then stay on longer in the area for tourism.

Engelberg is a highly regarded summer resort, with a lot of activities both in town and on the mountain. The lift system is in operation throughout the year, and there are a wide range of cycling and walking trails available for even the least fit visitor.

In more modern times, Engelberg has become a kind of off-piste mecca, with a lot of winter visitors, especially from the Scandinavian countries, coming mostly for its several challenging descents. A lot of these are accessible from the ski areas of Joch Pass or Titlis, on the North-facing slopes mostly.

On the other side of the valley, the Brunni ski area is a lot more suitable for beginners and basic intermediate skiers, but it doesn’t have the length of season and reliability of snow because it is south-facing.

Some of the big sights of Engelberg include Mount Titlis, Engelberg Abby, the meum of the valley, and several old chapels.