A 3.5 km long themed loop trail leads through the woods and the picturesque Emmental village of Trubschachen. A treasure chest is waiting for kids at its end. However, to open the lock, they need to know the four-digit code. They can get it through fulfilling various interesting (and sometimes tricky) tasks.
Updated: 7.7.2023
The Kambly biscuit factory is a favorite place where we take almost all of our family and friends who come to visit us. But we always went to the shop, tasted new kinds of delicious biscuits, bought something (because what other souvenirs to bring from Emmental than the Kambly biscuits?), and then back to the car and hurry for another trip. This time, however, we had a lot of time with our friend and her son, the weather was perfect, and so we decided to try this trail for kids.
Practical information at the beginning
Although the Entdeckerpfad is accessible all year round, you have to wait until “Kambly Erlebnis” opens, because, in the glass atrium in front of the shop entrance, you will find the brochures you will need on the way. And there’s also the beginning and the end of the trail. Kambly shop is open from Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 18:30 and on weekends from 8:30 to 17:00 and can be found at Mühlestrasse 8, Trubschachen.
To start the Entdeckerpfad, you have to buy a booklet for 8 CHF at the cash desk.
In the meantime, there is also an easier version, the “Langnau – Trubschachen scavenger hunt“, where the way is shown with small signs, wooden animals, and a puzzle booklet.
3555 Trubschachen, Švýcarsko
Tasks are designed for children from 6 years of age, but even younger (if they can use the alphabet and count a little bit) can handle them. Unfortunately, the brochures are only available in German.
Entdeckerpfad
We started the trail walking along the sidewalk along the road toward the covered wooden bridge. On an unexpectedly hot day, a small refreshment hit the spot. Then we had to wait for a while for a train to pass (a pity that it was not a typical Kambly train) and then we started fulfilling the tasks.
At the “Steinbach” signpost we turned right in the direction to Trubschachen, and we hit the narrow footpath at the foot of the hill. In addition to being full of flowering primroses, there was also a heavy-duty machinery that was removing the effects of the windstorms that had swept over Emmental in the winter. Soon we reached the woods where we appreciated the pleasant shade.
In addition to the tasks, we had to overcome the obstacles along the path through the woods – to slip under a fallen tree, to climg over a fallen tree … but luckily the kids considered it a super adventurous thing.
After crossing the second covered wooden bridge we reached the village of Trubschachen. Immediately after a few dozen meters, we came across the local museum Heimatmuseum. It was closed, but we could see the historical tools and equipment exposed outside and get another digit into the secret code.
About halfway through the trail, we reached the playground.
At this point, the hitch came because the children refused to continue climbing up the hill. But we didn´t have anything against – they already climbed the steps to the tower of the Bern cathedral earlier that day and that’s a hard work. And so we have shortened our journey a bit (see the map). And we hoped we didn´t miss any important place to get a code digit. Luckily not. And as it is written in the brochure itself, smaller children can shorten the trail this way.
From the restaurant Gasthof zum Bären, we followed the main road towards the train station. Here we came across a beautiful statue of the “Traveling”. And from there back to Kambly factory, to find the last missing digit and the treasure chest.
I hope you do not expect me to tell you the secret code here, and what can you find in the chest, right? 😉
My insights
Even though I knew about the existence of Entdeckerpfad from Instagram and Facebook, on the day of our visit to Kambly I had no idea that we were going through the trail, it was a sudden idea. Unfortunately, I did not have a pencil or pen with us to write numbers and letters to the brochure. Which does not usually happen to me, but you know, just when you need something, you do not have it with you. So I would appreciate it if there were a pencil cup near the stand with brochures. We have solved this little shortcoming by asking for a pencil at the cash desk. Fortunately, the lady was very kind and willingly explained everything about the trail (even where we can find the treasure chest, but fortunately the children did not overhear it :))
As I wrote in the introduction, some tasks were interesting, some tricky. Sometimes we were not entirely sure whether we are in the right place where we have to fulfill the certain task (observing, listening, discovering). I would appreciate if there were, for example, labels with a symbol (maybe a picture of the three squirrels accompanying through the brochure).
Along the trail, we discovered a lot of interesting places that I did not even know about. The picturesque houses in the village are really postcard-places and the view of the surrounding green hills of Emmental is a balm to the one´s soul.
Overall, we spent about 2 hours on our way. The trail is definitely not suitable for strollers, I recommend carrying small children in the baby carrier.
Where in the neighborhoods
If this easy trail is not enough for you, you can take a more strident hike. And this can be to Napf, which is the highest peak between the areas of Emmental and Entlebuch. If you are not interested in hiking, I recommend driving to the next Emmental symbol, to Schaukäserei (cheese factory) in the village of Affoltern im Emmental where you can see how the famous local cheese is made.
I have also mentioned the covered wooden bridges that are typical of this area. Only between the villages of Trub and Signau, you will find 18 of them along the Holzbrücken-Weg. I have found several of them during my last year´s biking trip – my route, when I crossed 4 bridges over the Emme river, you will find in this post.
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