Original cheese from the Entlebuch biosphere

Explore the Swiss cheese landscape with cheezy . Our Tour de Suisse cheese box leads through Lucerne in June. A hiking report by Jürg Studer:

In the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch, two of the many wonderful cheese dairies can be ideally combined with a longer hike. The tour in the canton of Lucerne leads from Marbach to Schüpfheim.

Getting to Marbach - Bergkäserei Marbach AG
You can travel comfortably to Marbach by train and then by post bus. Here, hikers can fortify themselves for the tour ahead in the store at Bergkäserei Marbach AG. Every year, 1,500 tons of cheese leave the dairy, where managing director and master cheesemaker Michael Jaun and his team produce numerous specialities in addition to Emmentaler. For example, the first Swiss (water) buffalo mozzarella. You can guess how it got its name or why it is called Heukäse, Ämmechäsli or Marbacher Dorfkäse. But what is Wild West cheese all about? Find out for yourself on the spot.

Start of the hike
The hike begins almost at the south-western edge of the UNESCO-labeled Entlebuch Biosphere from the Postbus station Post, with "cheese refuelling". Through the valley, all along the Schonbach stream and thus slightly downhill, it takes a good hour to reach Wiggen. Then the Äschlisbach becomes a murmuring companion. The path is good, allowing the view to wander over the hills, Flühen and Lucerne farmhouses. The names of the children of these farmers are displayed almost everywhere on colorful birth plaques with their dates of birth. Cows and their calves graze on the pastures everywhere, but horses with their foals, sheep, goats and chickens are also kept on the numerous farms along the way.

Continue towards the Oberberg mountain cheese dairy
At the edge of the village of Escholzmatt at the level crossing, the path climbs uphill to turn left on the ridge through the forest back to the railroad line. Along the edge of the forest you reach the open valley floor again. The field names are always surprising. You can guess where Rothaus, Eggli or Eschengraben come from. But where Luchtern, Xanderheim or Joderten come from remains unclear. Right here you follow the Wiss Emme for a few hundred meters until the path changes sides of the valley and climbs up the edge of a ravine into the Tällemooswald, one of the many moorland areas in the region. Above the forest, the trail climbs again to the Oberberg. Mountain cheese comes from the mountains and top products are at the very top. I feel like a lucky person, as I am able to purchase the lucky cheese from the Oberberg mountain cheese dairy. It comes from the Renggli family business, which offers a dozen or so specialties here - seasonal ones such as the wild garlic cheese in spring or the pumpkin cheese in autumn.

Last stage to Schüpfheim
The path climbs a little further, now on a tarmac access road, to the chapel of St. Joseph, which stands in the middle of a cow pasture. The baroque church, which dates back to 1680, has been rebuilt and extended several times. But it still welcomes hikers and cyclists on the Herzroute around the Napf with the bright sound of its bells. The highest point is reached at an altitude of 950 meters, and it's down to Schüpfheim railroad station. The trail follows the Kleine Emme for just a short distance and leads over a bridge back to the station on the southern side of the river. Connoisseurs can also stage the tour and spend the night in Escholzmatt - even with 2 to 3 extra days to discover the other sights such as the barefoot path through the moor, the Schrattenfluh or the secrets of the Bärgmandli, or to take a photo at the sulphur spring in the Chessiloch or, with luck, a selfie with an ibex. 

The most important facts in brief
24.02 km, 6:26 h, 612 m up and 761 m down. Slightly modified, this tour could also be done by bike, as appropriate cycle routes are signposted.

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