The sound of bells emanating from the cows and goats that graze in the lower parts of the picturesque valley below Mount Pilatus can’t be heard at its peak, which sits at 7,000 feet. But as I take in the view of the bright-green fields and the snowcapped Alps and breathe in the crisp high Alpine air, my mind keeps playing the soundtrack from the movie The Sound of Music. It’s almost too good to be true.
It takes about five hours for an average hiker to climb from the valley floor southwest of Lucerne, Switzerland, to Pilatus’ peak. My time in Switzerland was limited, so I jumped on the train in Alpnachstad, the steepest cogwheel train in the world, which takes tourists on a relaxing 30-minute climb. The scenic peak can also be reached through a combination gondola-cable-car trip from Kriens, on the opposite side of the mountain, also a 30-minute ride.
