Many of us love the idea of hiking around Switzerland. The stunning views from the mountains, the dazzling lakes and the winding rivers make every keen hiker excited at just the thought of it! But it can take just a few wrong steps for a dream hiking trip to turn into a nightmare: statistics from the Tages-Anzeiger show that some hiking regions in Switzerland might be best left to the professionals. 

Alpstein, Pilatus and Mythen regions are the most dangerous for hikers

Three popular hiking regions in Switzerland are particularly dangerous, according to the Tages-Anzeiger. The Alpstein, Pilatus and Mythen regions have seen the most deaths in recent years. On Pilatus for example, 11 people have died along the same 20-kilometre stretch since 2012. 

Mythen is also particularly risky - the Mythenweg was recently named the deadliest hiking trail in Switzerland. Over recent years, 16 people have died along a 10-kilometre section of the trail. Alpstein has also seen 33 hikers die in the region over the past 10 years. Most of the hikers involved in these fatal accidents were hiking alone.

Experts say Swiss hikers don’t take the risks seriously

When the weather is good, many more people in Switzerland head out into nature to enjoy a hike, but this leads to more accidents, Bruno Hasler from the Alpen-Club SAC told the Tages-Anzeiger. "If it's going to be an extremely beautiful, long autumn, it's possible that we'll have a record number of fatal accidents", he warned. 

Swiss experts have also criticised casual hikers for not taking the risks of mountain walking more seriously. Hasler noted that lots of hikers go up into the mountains without taking proper precautions such as wearing the right clothes and equipment or not teaming up with experienced hikers when trying to scale particularly challenging routes.