Hiking through the year - Lady's Slipper in the Gasterental

The Yellow Lady's Slipper is a wild-growing orchid that is now very rare in the wild. Therefore, the plant is protected and must neither be picked nor dug up. In Switzerland, there are only a few known places where the lady's slipper grows. One of them is the Gasteretal near Kandersteg. Here the plant usually blooms only for a short time, from mid to late June, and only at a few hidden spots. One of these is located not far from the well-known "Gasteregesicht". You can best reach this spot on foot via the impressive Chlus, which roars with meltwater in the spring, and through the wonderful Gasteretal. On the way at Waldhus, the Geltenbachfall impresses with its meltwater fountain, which plunges 70 meters down from a cave in the rock. Shortly before Selde, the hiking trail zigzags through a forest section up to the road. After about 100 meters on the road, keep left and follow the forest road. Here, near the path edge, you encounter the rare lady's slipper. In the first bend of the forest road, with a little imagination, you can also recognize the "Gasteregesicht" in the nearby rock. Back on the Gasteretal road, follow the hiking trail valley inward to Selde.