This spectacular hike visits five beautiful alpine lakes scattered along an impressive landscape shaped by glaciers. This popular trail is no secret; you definitely won't be alone on the trail, no matter when you go. But it's still one of our very favorite trails in Switzerland that we hike almost every summer. 

Pro tip: If you stay overnight at Berghotel Gaffia near the end of the hike, you can start the hike in the late afternoon and end it near sunset. Since everyone else has to take the chair lift down around 16:30, you'll get the lakes and mountains almost to yourself. We did this once and it was absolutely sublime. P.S. Wild camping is not allowed here and carries a large fine.

Trail info

From Wangs, you ride a gondola, then two chair lifts to reach the trailhead at Pizolhütte at 2227m. The trail leads higher into the mountains, with three steep ascents and descents over rocky terrain. Eventually, you loop down to the Gaffia chair lift station, where you can ride back down to the valley.

Trail: Challenging • 4h30 • 10 km loop • 430m up, 760m down
See trail map

Tip: Most people hike this clockwise. So if you start at Gaffia and hike counterclockwise, you may find less people at the first and last lake.

Although the trail is not extremely long or particularly dangerous, it does require endurance and steady footing to manage the rocky terrain. Best for experienced hikers with good fitness and hiking shoes with good tread.

That said, our first time on this trail, our son was only 8 years old and he managed better than I did. It's definitely not unusual to see younger Swiss kids on this trail.

How to get there

Pizol is an easy day trip from Zurich, with the gondola quite near a freeway exit and train station.

Location: Pizol Wangs gondola - Letzistrasse 7323 Vilters-Wangs

When purchasing your gondola ticket, ask for the 5-Lake Trail ticket. See current prices. You get a discount with the Swiss Travel Pass, SBB GA and Half-fare cards. Dogs are welcome but need their own gondola ticket for CHF 5.

Tip: Make sure to start early and note the closing times of the lifts, usually 16:30, which is earlier than you might expect on long summer days.

Mountain Go-carts

Where the hike ends at the Gaffia station, you can rent mountain go-carts to ride down to the Furt station. They are super fun and well worth the rental fee. However, if you arrive in the late afternoon with everyone else finishing the hike, they may be sold out already. So don't make any promises just in case.

More info: see our Pizol 5 Lakes Hike article.

Conditions: trail status • webcams • weather