Planken

Planken is the smallest municipality in Liechtenstein with around five hundred people, sitting on a terrace at around eight hundred metres above Schaan, founded by Walser settlers who came over the Alps in the fourteenth century. The village looks straight out over the Rhine valley to the Swiss mountains, and paths run up into the forest and on toward the Drei Schwestern ridge above. The Walser settlers were given land on the higher ground because the valley floor was already taken and prone to flooding.

What you actually see

• The terrace position - a village on a shelf at around eight hundred metres.
• The Walser origin - a settlement founded by Alpine migrants in the 1300s.
• The valley view - the Rhine and the Swiss mountains laid out below.
• The forest paths - the routes climbing toward the ridge above.

When to go

May to October is the walking season. Autumn colour is good in October. Winter brings snow and the paths need equipment.

Honest expectations

The village is very small with almost no facilities. The main draw is the view and the walking. The road up is narrow and winding.

Nearby

Schaan is below, and the Drei Schwestern ridge is above.