From the Lueg to Affoltern i.E.: The Emmental hiking classic with a twist

I think that for anyone who would like to visit Emmental, the Lueg lookout and the cheese factory in Affoltern is simply a “must-see” place. You can easily drive from one to the other (it’s about 3.5 kilometers), but I think it’s much better to hike here – you can better enjoy the beauty of the hilly landscape of the Emmental and see all the way to the Bernese Alps. Of course, you can go directly, but we took a little detour to explore “our Emmental” and made it a loop trail instead. And we certainly didn’t regret it.

Trail

The starting point is the Lueg viewpoint. If you take the bus, line 468 from Burgdorf will stop in front of Landgasthof Lueg. From here you have to walk about 500 metres further along Luegstrasse and then turn left. You will see a car park on your left and then you have no choice but to start climbing up the hill to the Lueg Monument.

Lueg

For centuries, the village of Affoltern had to maintain a high guard up here on the Lueg. In 1921, the Bernese cavalrymen erected a memorial here in memory of their comrades who died during their frontier service in 1914-1918. The short but rather steep climb from the car park to the Lueg memorial is always worth it – it is a wonderful lookout point which, in fine weather, offers views across the hilly Emmental landscape to the snow-capped Bernese Alps.

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Junkholz – Juch – Chloster

From the monument, follow the yellow sign in the direction of Junkholz. The path leads first through the forest, then past the Hornussen playground and along the asphalt path to the Junkholz farm. The farm serves, among other things, as a “retirement home” for horses and you can buy organic products from the farm in the self-service shop. Past the farm, turn left in the direction of the Juch farm (follow Via Jacobi sign). Beyond this, the road turns into the woods and begins a steeper descent into the stream valley. You cross this and start climbing again until the path leads you to the Chloster signpost. From here, turn right in the direction of Affoltern im Emmental.

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Affoltern im Emmental

After 1.5 kilometres you will reach the village of Affoltern im Emmental. Yes, it is here that the world famous Emmentaler AOP cheese (known here simply as Emmental) is produced, which is an absolute premium product thanks to its tradition and excellent quality. Every year, 18 000 tonnes are produced in around 120 carefully selected dairy factories. One kilogram of cheese requires 12 litres of milk. Since December 2018, you will find a new tourist attraction in the Schaukäserei in Affoltern, the Königsweg, which is not just for children. Read more in this article:

Tried out! The latest attraction in Emmental: Königsweg

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Hiking back to the Lueg

On the return journey, you will head in the same direction from which you came. But above the village of Affoltern you will not continue in the direction of Chloster, but turn left in the direction of Junkholz (yes, this is the more direct route you would have come if you had not taken a detour like we did 🙂 ). One section (about 250 metres) is on the busy road connecting Lueg with Affoltern, so be careful here. From the Junkholz farm, turn left in the direction “Lueg – Unterer Weg“. The route goes past pastures, then through a short stretch of sparse forest and finally back to the car park or bus stop a short distance below the Lueg monument.

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Summary

• The trail is 7.7 kilometers long and not very suitable for a stroller. However, with a good all-terrain buggy it could be manageable, if you don’t mind pushing it up the steeper hill to the Lueg Monument and out of the stream valley towards Chloster. And then on the way back you wouldn’t take the Unterer Weg, but the upper path past the Hornussen playground.
• The show-dairy has a lovely playground, homemade ice cream and other local and cheese specialties. Of course you can also buy local cheese and souvenirs here.