I watch the landscape turn unmistakably alpine as the train glides into Engelberg station. The rooftops are blanketed in snow, icicles cling to eaves, and the air carries a bracing chill. I am seeing snow after decades and can’t stop looking around in unadulterated joy. Beyond the village, Mount Titlis rises, a glacier-capped sentinel standing guard over this winter playground.
At over 3,000 metres above sea level, Mount Titlis dominates central Switzerland, delivering one of the country’s longest winter seasons and one of its most accessible high-altitude experiences. The best part? The mountain welcomes everyone: skiers, non-skiers, families, and first-time snow travellers.
The journey up is half the experience. From Engelberg, the village at the foot of the mountain, a chain of cable cars carries me higher and higher, the landscape quietly changing along the way. Trees thin out, snow takes over, clouds slide past the windows, and the valley below starts to feel very far away. The last leg, five minutes on the Titlis Rotair, the world’s first revolving cable car, is dramatic. As the cabin slowly turns, I can see the Alps in every direction: large glaciers, sharp ridgelines, and skiers tracing lines across a vast, white expanse.
When I step out at the summit, the air is thin but reeks of adventure. For skiers and snowboarders, Titlis offers more than 25 kilometres of pistes stretching from the summit to the village, a rare vertical journey that blends scenic cruising with technical descents. The famed Rotegg run, now renamed the Marco Odermatt Slope Rotegg, is one of the steepest in the region and draws advanced skiers. Gentler slopes allow beginners to find their rhythm against a dramatic alpine backdrop.
Non-skiers, however, are far from spectators. The Titlis Cliff Walk, Europe’s highest suspension bridge, delivers a visceral thrill without a single turn of a ski. Suspended over a dizzying drop, my daughter and I navigate the narrow walkway as it sways slightly underfoot; our reward is a panoramic view that seems unreal. Nearby, the Glacier Cave, a passage carved deep into ancient ice, glows blue and is a reminder of the mountain’s age and power.
Not far from the viewing platforms, I catch sight of a cutout of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, in their Mehndi laga ke rakhna finery, a nod to how Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge immortalised Engelberg and Titlis in Bollywood memory. I meet a traveller from Mumbai pausing for photos. “I watched this film as a teenager,” he says, adjusting his scarf. “I didn’t think I’d ever actually stand here. It feels like walking into a scene I’ve carried for years.”
Lower down, at Trübsee, the mountain loosens its grip. The mid-station plateau is a playful pause, offering snowshoe trails, tubing slopes, and electric snowmobile rides at SnowXPark. Families linger longer here, and it’s where Titlis reveals its versatility: thrilling at the top, welcoming in the middle, and restorative by the time you descend.
Food plays its own role in Mount Titlis’s rhythm, matching altitude with appetite. The Panorama Restaurant Titlis, set at 3,020 metres, offers Swiss regional cuisine with international favourites. Not far, the Panorama Self-Service serves Swiss staples alongside pizza and pasta.
The Trübsee mid-station has Lago Torbido, with Italian offerings, while the Trübsee Self-Service offers casual dining in a modern, industrial-style space. I stop at the Stand Ski Hut, which draws me with its cosy, traditional atmosphere and hearty alpine fare. Seated at a wooden table, steam rising from my bowl of soup, I listen to the sounds of happy skiers tucking into their food.
As the day draws to a close, I descend to Engelberg, and decide to look around. The compact village has chalet-lined streets, a number of cafés, bakeries, and restaurants, and winter trails that invite slow morning meanders and evening walks. The Benedictine monastery, which dates back 900 years, is the heart – and anchor – of Engelberg.
I walk to Hotel Terrace, one of Engelberg’s oldest landmarks and now owned by Titlis Bergbahnen. The hotel, along with sweeping views of the valley, offers unusually smooth access to Mount Titlis as it’s already halfway to the mountain. After a day out on the snow, I decide to spend some time in the Panorama Sauna, followed by a drink at Porticos Bar, the largest gin bar in Central Switzerland with a selection of over 1,700 varieties.
The next morning, I step out into the balcony to look at the village and the mountain. In a country celebrated for precision, Mount Titlis offers something elemental: height, stillness, and the quiet pleasure of breathing mountain air above the world.
