Two Gondola Rides to the Pilatus Summit

There are several ways you can reach the summit of Mount Pilatus, Lucerne’s home mountain, which sits 2,128 meters above sea level. If you’re fit and looking for an adventure, be our guest and scale the mountain by foot! But if you’re like us, there are other options. We opted to ride the two gondolas to the summit, starting from the town of Kriens.

We had originally wanted to ride up the world steepest cogwheel railway, which leaves from Alpnachstad, but it was too early in the season and the train wasn’t running yet. This was a minor disappointment, but the idea of taking two gondolas up the hill was a worthy consolation! If you’re a long-time reader of our blog, you probably know that we love unique methods of transportation, so we were in great moods before our adventure even started.

To board the first gondola you need to get to Kriens first. There, you’ll find the valley station of the recently updated Pilatus Panorama Gondola, which takes you to Fräkmüntegg in 30 minutes. It’s a beautiful ride with changing scenic views of Lucerne with its lake, forests, small little huts, and cows.

Once you arrive at Fräkmüntegg you can either go for a hike, ride the summer toboggan or continue to the summit straight away, which is what we did. The second gondola is found at the Dragon Ride Cableway station, just a minute away from where you arrived.

The Dragon Ride is quite a lot different compared to the little four seater cabins of the first gondola. It runs every 15 minutes, and features a much larger cabin which holds up to 55 people. The final stretch to the summit takes just three and a half minutes on a very steep incline, but thanks to the amazing Austrian engineering, it feels like you’re floating.

Once you arrive at the summit, you might notice a not-so-subtle temperature difference. If you can manage to visit the summit of Pilatus on a sunny day, you’ll be glad. Not just for the warmth of the sun, but also to ensure that your views aren’t blocked by clouds.

We were early in the season, so many of the hiking trails were still closed but there is plenty else to do at the summit. For example, you can take a walk through tunnels with rock windows caved out. Then you can walk up to the actual summit cross, but take it easy — because of the high altitude we found ourselves out of breath more quickly than expected! And of course you should have a beer and something to eat at the Hotel Pilatus-Kulm, where you can sit in the sun and take in unmatched views over the alps.

Perhaps one day, we’ll find ourselves with enough cash to splash out on a room at the hotel. It’d be fun to wave goodbye to the last gondola, which leaves at 5:30pm, and enjoy the sunset from the summit without any people.

From our Travel Blog.

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