Sunset Fondue & Roaring Stags - Interlaken

Red deer rutting in the Justistal, the few weeks a year it happens Fondue on Daniela's terrace, a 15-seat farm restaurant at 1370 m The sun leaving the ridge at half past six, from your table 40 minutes of easy walking up, and nothing to carry Max 8 guests, and no minimum, so small groups still run

You came to Interlaken for the mountains. You will do the Jungfraujoch, and you should. But in late September the red deer move into the Justistal to rut, 35 minutes from your hotel, and the stags start calling. The valley has a wall of rock on either side, the Sigriswiler and the Güggis ridges, so the sound travels. If you know elk bugling from the Rockies, this is its European cousin, deeper and rougher. The evening, as the light goes, is the best time to be up there. The sun leaves the ridge around half past six. The valley turns cold and blue within minutes, and you are outside at a farmer's table with a fondue in front of you. Daniela farms at 1370 metres above Sigriswil. She has been up there since May, making cheese every single day of it. We eat on her terrace, a small farm restaurant with 15 seats, outside and facing the valley. You share it with a few other guests, and the woman who works the alp is the one who runs it.

Included Return transport from Interlaken West Your guide for the evening Fondue on Daniela's terrace One drink, white wine or tea Binoculars to share Not included Anything else you drink Warm clothing

A proper warm jacket. You will be warm walking and cold the second the sun goes. Shoes with grip. A head torch on departures from 1 October, when the walk down finishes in the dark.

For you if you have already done the classics and want the Switzerland behind them, if you like being outside as the light goes, or if you photograph wildlife and landscape. Not for you if you would rather not walk for 40 minutes, if you feel the cold badly, or if you are travelling on a tight schedule.

I walked this one on 22 September with Tim, before selling it to anyone. We parked halfway up the valley, walked up, and heard them the whole way. We saw them too, some far off and some a lot closer. Then we sat at Daniela's table outside while the sun went behind the ridge, and the valley got loud again on the way down. That is the whole tour. I did not add anything to it. Pierre, Swiss Local Adventures

Will we actually hear them? On 22 September we heard them from the walk up all the way back down to the van, and we saw several. No guide can order a wild animal to perform. What we can tell you is that you will be in the valley they move into, in the weeks they are there, at the hour they call. If they stay quiet, you still get the walk, the ridge at sunset and Daniela's fondue. How close do the deer get? Not close, and that is the honest answer. They stay on the slopes across the valley, and you watch them through the binoculars we bring. The first picture on this page is an illustration of the evening, not a promise of distance. Is 40 minutes of walking a lot? No. It is a path at an easy pace, with no scrambling and no exposure. You walk up in daylight, carrying nothing, and come back down the same way. How cold does it get? Warm while you move, cold the second the sun goes. Bring a proper warm jacket and shoes with grip, and that covers it. Why only these dates? The rut runs from early September to early October, and red deer hunting opens in canton Bern on 10 October. We run from 28 September to 9 October, before the hunt opens.