Gantrisch Nature Park

The Gantrisch park covers about four hundred square kilometres of the pre-Alps between the Bernese Mittelland and the high mountains, and its character is forest, gorge and rounded limestone ridge rather than glacier and rock. The Gantrisch itself reaches 2,175 metres. What has given it a second identity is darkness: the ridge sits far enough from the light of Bern and Fribourg that it has been developed as a stargazing area, with marked observation points, an annual dark-sky event and a certified Sternenpark designation. By day the Schwarzwasser gorge, the Gurnigel ridge road and a long-distance path network are the draws, and a canopy walkway near Rueggisberg gives a view over the treetops.

What you actually see

• A certified dark-sky park - marked observation points on the ridge.
• Forested pre-Alps - gorges and limestone ridges rather than glaciers.
• The Schwarzwasser gorge - the cut through the northern part of the park.
• A canopy walkway - treetop-level path near Rueggisberg.

When to go

May to October for walking; moonless winter nights for the sky. A day.

Honest expectations

Public transport reaches the edges, not the ridge - a car helps considerably. The Gurnigel road closes in winter. Stargazing means cold nights and a long wait for full dark in summer. Cloud off the Alps is frequent.

Nearby

Bern is north; Thun and Lake Thun are east.