Situated at the southern end of the valley road and rail line from Stans in an enclave of Canton Obwalden, the modest ski resort of ENGELBERG boasts an excursion to the highest point in central Switzerland – a station at 3028m, just below the distinctive crest-of-a-wave summit of the Titlis mountain (3239m). This, along with the village’s huge Benedictine Kloster (monastery) and the faded grandeur of its hotel architecture, make Engelberg well worth a visit.

Arrival, orientation and information

After a picturesque valley-floor ride, the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg (LSE) train pulls into the station in the middle of the village. Turn left on Bahnhofstrasse, and right onto the main central Dorfstrasse for the tourist office, in a sports complex at Klosterstrasse 3 (mid-June to mid-Oct & mid-Dec to Easter Mon–Sat 8am–6.30pm, Sun 4–7pm; rest of year Mon–Fri 8am–noon & 2–6.30pm, Sat 8am–6.30pm; 041/637 37 37, www.engelberg.ch). Some 200m east of the tourist office rise the onion domes of the monastery, while the base station for the Titlis is 500m southwest of the station, well signposted on the south bank of the Engelberger-Aa stream. The guest card gives discounts on winter lift passes, which are otherwise Fr.48/55 per day (weekday/weekend), or Fr.123 for three days. Village ski buses are free. Plenty of places rent ski equipment all over the village, and most also have mountain bikes during the summer (also available to rent from the train station). Adventure Engelberg in the sports complex (041/637 20 30, www.adventure-engelberg.ch) organize extreme sports such as bungee jumping, abseiling and canyoning, mostly under the auspices of Stans-based Outventure.