Albis is the actual name for house mountain of Zurich, but most people refer to it as the more common Uetliberg. Uetliberg is the peak of Albis with the Uto Kulm Hotel, the Uto Staffel Bergrestaurant and the start of the Albis Planetenwag, the Planetary hiking trail.
Begin the trip up Uetliberg from downtown Zurich by taking trams 14 or 9 to the Triemlispital station or the S10 train to Triemli station. Purchase a ZVV Albis Day Pass – this is good for all of Zurich as well as the extra zones for Uetliberg, Felsenegg and Adliswil.
The hike up to the top of Uetliberg Kulm takes about an hour along well kept, easily identifiable trails, see my post on Uetliberg Hiking Trails. The ascent to the Uetliberg peak is 1350ft or about 400meters. This trail will bring you past the upper Uetliberg S10 train station. You can take the train up if you’d like or take the train down, usually every 30 minutes. There are a number of paths to the top and back down.
After the upper S10 train station, you will see a giant model of the Sun which is the beginning of the Albis Planetenwag. At a scale of 1:1 billion, each planet is memorialized on a stone pedestal with a write-up and scale model. As you hike, your pace will be the equivalent to twice the speed of light.
After the Sun you’ll have a choice of paths. The faster, lower path goes along the Planetenwag. The upper path heads to the Uetliberg peak and the Uto Kulm hotel and cafeteria. If you’ve never been to the top of Uetliberg, you’ll want to head up for views and photos. Unfortunately, Earth is on the lower path under the panorama views at the top of Uetliberg. You can double back after you get some photos but maybe a return hike is in order if you want to see the earth model.
From the peak, there are two sets of stairs which both lead down to the Planetenweg and the Uto Staffel. This is a great hike to combine with a sit-down lunch at Uto Staffel.
After lunch, the longer walk along the Albis Planetenwag is about an hour. At the end, you’ll be at another radio tower which is visible from the top of Uetliberg. Just past this tower is another restaurant and an area known as Felsenegg. At Felsenegg, there is a cable car down to Adliswil which, after a short walk, connects up with the S-Bahn trains back to Zurich HB.
During the hike, there are pretty great views of the Alps. You’ll also pass a few farms and get a feel for rural Swiss life at lower altitudes. I have hiked all along Albis and I always get my “I’m outside and free” feeling. This is why I hike and this mountain always delivers.
