The butterfly trail above Lake Brienz (article by Dale Bechtel
in swissinfo)
In a rare display of cooperation, environmentalists and tourist officials have joined forces to create Switzerland’s
first butterfly trail. The idea took wing when the people of Lungern in canton Obwalden discovered that about
100 butterfly varieties make their home in the mountain meadows above the town.
It is best to set out on the
trail on the morning of a promising summer’s day when the alpine meadows on the eastward facing slope are bathed in
sunlight.
This is the ideal time to watch the clouded yellows, red admirals and tortoiseshells (pictured) flirt among the
wild flowers. There are about 200 butterfly species native to Switzerland and half of them are drawn to the rich flora found
here.
But the butterflies are simply a by-product of a successful project to conserve the alpine meadows above Lungern,
which local farmers had abandoned.
About ten years ago, members of various interest groups in the region got together and
worked out an environmental action plan to cultivate the unused meadows. Their idea received financial backing from
the Swiss Landscape Fund whose aim is to “conserve, care and restore endangered cultivated landscapes and semi-natural
habitats”. The fund believes that traditional farming methods ensure the land is cultivated ecologically, with
the end result being greater biodiversity.
Since the farmers returned to graze their cattle on the meadows and reap
the hay, more than 70 different wildflowers have been counted in a single 100 square metre area – yellow milkwort, golden
hawksbird, pink orchids and violet lilies among them. With the wildflowers come bees, grasshoppers, spiders –
and of course - butterflies. The area also has both dry- and wet eco-systems, including moors, which also account for
the biodiversity.
When the project leaders discovered that they had contributed to the area becoming the richest habitat
for butterflies in Switzerland, the idea for the trail was born. The local cable car company, which does most of its
business in the ski season, was only too happy to get involved since the theme trail promised to become a sorely needed summer
attraction. When it opened a year ago, the company took on a leading role to promote it.
Hikers can purchase
an informative guide (German only) and map, and the trail is well marked with information boards set up along the way. The
trail starts near the upper cable car station at nearly 1,800 metres above sea level, then criss-crosses the mountainside
while slowly descending to the valley floor.
Stunning views across to the Bernese Alps can be had from the upper reaches
before the trail passes through a patchwork of forests and meadows. The slope is so steep in parts that the fields of
wildflowers rise vertically above the path. The difficult terrain presents no obstacle for the brightly coloured butterflies
though, which dart in and out of the flowers, often descending like paragliders to reach the meadows further below. Swarms
of common blues are drawn like bees to honey to parts of the track muddied by cattle.
The tiny butterflies suck the minerals
out of the mud, which give their wings a bright blue colouring.
A disused farmer’s hut located half way down
the trail is in the process of being converted into a butterfly information centre. This is also where hikers can also
fill up their water bottles at a fountain, before continuing their journey of discovery.
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