For over a thousand years, Irish, Scots and other islanders have dug up peatlands as material to burn for heat and cooking. But now, these largely unloved regions are finally getting the attention they deserve, as Justine Costigan finds out in Switzerland’s Entlebuch region.
Like soldiers navigating a minefield, we’re under strict instructions to follow in the exact steps of our guide. In a tight single file, we walk slowly, making sure we place each foot in the mark of the shoe that landed before us. But unlike the people who risk their lives to de-mine land, we’re not in any danger.
The purpose of our careful navigation is to protect the ground under our feet. We’re exploring the peatlands of Switzerland’s UNESCO-listed Biosphere in Entlebuch, an hour or so from Lucerne, and walking with the lightest possible touch is the only way to approach them.
Peatlands are wetlands that include bogs—depressions in the earth filled with water—and fens, which are fed by groundwater. They are delicate ecosystems. I grew up associating them with Ireland, where I have historic family connections. Although my relatives arrived in Australia generations ago, the stories of Irish people drying out the boggy soil to create bricks of fuel for cooking and heating have long been part of family lore. On my first trip to Ireland, I remember seeing sharp cuts in the earth where peat was still being harvested on the Aran Isles—but I didn’t know then that I was looking at a marvel of nature.
Adrian Banz, a former teacher and now full-time guide at Naturwegs, a guiding company offering nature and hiking experiences in Entlebuch, is a passionate advocate for the Entlebuch peatlands. After a quick briefing to make sure we know to follow closely in his footsteps to minimize any contact with the ground, he leads our group into the field. As we walk, each footstep elicits a quiet squelch as water quickly pools around our shoes.
Banz cuts a small patch of peat moss from the ground, and we lean in to inspect the spongy clump of earth, learning how it supports a vast array of plants and animals including the carnivorous sundew plant, bog rosemary and dragonflies. “Dragonflies need peat moss to survive,” explains Banz. “They lay their eggs here, and it can be two to three years before they hatch, waiting for exactly the right conditions.”
With his help, we check the soil’s PH balance to see if it’s healthy and inspect the tiny flowers growing in the bog. Around us, rolling green hills present a bucolic picture. In the peak of summer, it will be even prettier, as the fens bloom with violet star gentians, pink marsh orchids and tufts of cotton grass. I never knew an environment I’ve long associated with gumboots and mud could be quite so beautiful.
The UN Environment program states that peatlands, “…store vast amounts of carbon—twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests.” Read that again: Peatlands store *twice as much carbon* as all the world’s forests. Banz shakes his head: “And yet so much focus is on planting trees and protecting forests.”
It’s not hard to draw attention to causes that support endangered animals and plants we know and love. In Australia, protecting koalas and the Great Barrier Reef are two campaigns that immediately spring to mind.
But like any endangered species or environment, it’s the ecosystem supporting it that is crucial to its survival. Peat is vital to so many plants and animals—but it grows very slowly. At just one to two millimeters per year in Europe, restoration programs can take decades to see results.
Crouching down closer to the earth, Banz encourages us to look for more insects and inspect the tiny flowers that will transform the meadow in summer. I can hear (but can’t see) the frogs that love this squelchy environment. This close, it’s the smell that really strikes me—rich, earthy, and pine-y, with just a hint of wet wool. Like the smell of a dog coming in out of the rain.
The Entlebuch Biosphere website claims that peatlands support a quarter of all endangered animal species—but worldwide they have struggled to garner attention as they fight the false perception they’re just featureless boggy land. Although this attitude has changed somewhat in the last 50 years, with a growing understanding of their ecological importance, there’s now another reason peatlands are in the news: Carbon emissions reduction. The UN Environment program states that peatlands, “…store vast amounts of carbon—twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests.”
Read that again: Peatlands store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests. Banz shakes his head: “And yet so much focus is on planting trees and protecting forests.”
It’s this statistic which has put the world’s peatlands in the spotlight, accelerating their recognition and protection. Nature tourism is also helping to build greater awareness. Scotland’s Flow Country—stretching across Caithness and Sutherland in the far north of Scotland and described as the world’s most intact and extensive blanket bog system—became the first peatland UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2024, sparking greater interest by visitors in its National Nature Reserves.
In Ireland, tourism body Fáilte Ireland has been awarded EUR€68 million to develop a Regenerative Tourism Scheme for its peatland areas, while the Indonesian island of Kalimantan has peatland tourism projects in Sebangau National Park and Muaro Dano.
Europe currently has around 600,000 square kilometers of peatlands, with most located in the Baltics. Finland has one third of Europe’s peat, and Sweden another quarter. But more than half of Europe’s peatlands have been lost, and many of those remaining are in a degraded condition.
The risk is not just from encroaching development or inappropriate agriculture. Banz points to the tall pine trees scattered across the slope behind us. If the fen isn’t monitored and cared for, the forest will eventually take over the peatland, he explains. Beyond the fenced area, cows are grazing. It’s a classic Swiss postcard scene, but if cows are allowed to enter, they’ll trample the delicate plants and pollute the water. If I hadn’t come on this tour, I’d never have guessed this beautiful area was so vulnerable—and that’s why Banz is so passionate about education. As we leave the peatlands area, we carefully step into the depressions left by our earlier footprints, conscious of the squelch of boots in mud—a sound which has a more significant meaning now.
Switzerland’s peatlands have been protected since 1987, and Entlebuch—where peatlands cover a quarter of the region’s surface area—was declared a biosphere in 2001. The recognition wasn’t without some angst: The protection of peatlands restricted farmers’ access to land and there were concerns about their livelihoods and the economic impact for the region.
But that’s changing. Over 20 years since it became a biosphere, the region has embraced the challenge. Farmers and landowners now receive government payments for protecting land where they once grazed cattle, and the biosphere label has allowed new businesses to flourish.
“We should definitely stick to ‘gentle’ tourism and avoid planning large events that attract massive crowds. Our wonderful landscape can only continue to exist if we treat it with care.”
- Denise Baumann, resident and accommodation owner
One of those new small businesses is run by local Denise Baumann, who has been living in Schüpfheim, Entlebuch’s largest town and 25 kilometers from Lucerne, for 21 years. I ask if she’s witnessed changes in the type of visitor heading here. Baumann started renting out her holiday cabin, Roorweidli, to visitors in 2020. “Our typical guest is someone who loves nature, wants to explore the region .. and is interested in our culture and landscape,” she says.
And Baumann herself adores the environment: “From the lush meadows in summer, the incredibly beautiful colors in autumn, the lovely winter landscape, the mountains, the sunsets, the moments when everything in the lowlands is shrouded in thick fog, the beautiful, the dark nights where we can see an incredible number of stars… we feel very connected to nature here.”
While many locals are now offering holiday homes to visitors, the local tourist board is also supporting agritourism initiatives. It has developed an agritourism map, with 31 farms now active. As well as promoting these experiences to visitors, they hope to encourage more famers to get involved long-term.
Local hotel and hospitality business are also banking on a bright future for the region. Bergwelten Salwideli on the Salwideli cross-country trail in Sörenberg, Flühli, one of eight municipalities in the Entlebuch region, is a cozy alpine spot with views over the forest and Alps. The hotel re-opened in late 2023 after an 18-month renovation. Sitting on its sun-drenched terrace, we’re surrounded by hikers enjoying a break from the trail. In Flühli village, the historic 1899 Hotel Kurhaus was renovated and reopened in 2021, offering a contemporary version of the 19th–century spa tourism the region was once famous for. The hotel has plans to open a contemporary wellness center soon.
There’s more to do in the Entlebuch region now too. As well as guided tours of the peatlands, you can hike the biosphere trails to experience bucolic farmland, alpine meadows, and forests where you might spot ibex, chamois or lynx, plus there are volunteer and research programs. We also hike through the dramatic karst landscape, where the Schratteflue, an extensive network of underground caves, lies beneath our feet. Peering down into a deep hole, it’s impossible to see how far it goes. It’s a playground for spelunkers, but one few tourists are aware of.
The cave system brings other benefits too. Flowing under the rock is icy cold water used in the Kneipp bath in Flühli, where hikers can refresh themselves in a series of open-air baths. Wading into the icy water, I can only stand the cold for a few minutes, but the effect of alternating between the ice-cold water and the warmth of the sun is invigorating.
Invented in the 19th century by Father Sebastian Kneipp, a Catholic priest and one of the forefathers of the naturopathic (complementary therapy) movement in Germany, cold-water bathing is believed to have great health benefits. In any case, it’s very relaxing. “Coming here after a long hike is my favorite thing to do,“ says Entlebuch local and our hiking guide for the day, Joshua Herzog.
“No-one was interested in this land before,” says Banz. “Now it’s becoming a modern tourism destination, but we still need to encourage people to stay longer.” Developing an agritourism program is a priority for the region. Having visited a dairy farm in Entlebuch as a day experience, the idea of waking up to the sound of cowbells, eating homemade butter and cheese, taking in the fresh mountain air, and staring at the stars in a clear dark sky, sounds like an irresistible prospect, for a longer stay.
As someone who has closely watched the gradual growth in tourism in the region, Baumann is one of many locals convinced its future development must be thoughtful. “We should definitely stick to ‘gentle’ tourism and avoid planning large events that attract massive crowds,” she says. “Our wonderful landscape can only continue to exist if we treat it with care.”
Having explored the biosphere for many years, Baumann says she’ll never stop being fascinated by it. It’s not hard to understand why. Underground or on the surface, with my shoes covered in mud from all that squelching and a few scrapes on my hands from scrabbling over rocks as my only souvenirs, this unusual, delicate alpine landscape has given me a new appreciation for the power of peat.
**
Justine Costigan was a guest of Switzerland Tourism.
****
Adventure.com strives to be a low-emissions travel publication. We are powered by, but editorially independent of, Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest travel B Corp, who help ensure Adventure.com maintains high standards of sustainability in our work and activities. You can visit our sustainability page or read our Contributor Impact Guidelines for more information.
Justine Costigan is an Australian writer, editor and podcaster focused on sustainable design, nature-based travel, and art and culture. Her work has been published in international and local publications, including The Guardian, National Parks Traveler, Explore, Escape, MindFood Magazine, Traveller and many more.
