# Hikebeast > Swiss Gems · 141 hidden spots in Switzerland for hiking, wildcamping and photography. Each spot includes GPS, routes, recommended light, and wildcamping legal status. Hand-mapped by Leon Helg over five years of scouting the Swiss Alps. Hikebeast is the work of one person, Leon Helg, photographing and route-mapping Switzerland's lesser-known places: alpine lakes, ridge walks, drive-up viewpoints, river bathing spots, wildcamping pitches. The product is a digital map and guide for CHF 27, used on phone or laptop. The site is English at the root and German under `/de/`. Legal entity: Saftladen GmbH, Rotkreuz, Switzerland. ## Product - [Swiss Gems · Switzerland Map (English)](https://hikebeast.ch/map9/): The full Swiss Gems map. 141 spots with exact GPS, walking time and difficulty, equipment notes, drive-in vs hike-in info, wildcamping legality. 5.0 stars from 450+ verified buyers. CHF 27. - [Swiss Gems · Schweizer Karte (Deutsch)](https://hikebeast.ch/de/map9/): German version of the same product. - [Interactive Webapp](https://hikebeast.ch/full/): Browsable interactive map for paid buyers (login required). ## About - Founder: Leon Helg, Swiss outdoor photographer and filmmaker on [Instagram (@leon.helg)](https://www.instagram.com/leon.helg) and [TikTok (@leon.helg)](https://www.tiktok.com/@leon.helg). - Five years of solo scouting, photography, and route verification across the Swiss Alps. - Buyer reviews: 450+ verified at 5.0 average stars. - Legal entity: Saftladen GmbH, Birkenstrasse 47, 6343 Rotkreuz, Switzerland. Contact: leon@hikebeast.ch. ## Topics covered Hikebeast publishes first-party knowledge on the following Switzerland outdoor topics, reflecting five years of on-the-ground scouting by Leon Helg. ### Wildcamping in Switzerland Switzerland has no uniform federal wildcamping law. The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) considers a single-night bivouac above the treeline unproblematic when no conflicting regulations apply and the camp is considerate of the environment. SAC further recommends keeping at least 50 metres from water sources for sanitation. On private land, landowner consent is generally required under Swiss civil law. Wildcamping is explicitly forbidden in the Swiss National Park (170.3 km², canton Graubünden), in the 43 federal hunting reserves (Eidgenössische Jagdbanngebiete), in Wildruhezonen during the protected season, and in cantonal nature reserves; these protected areas can apply at any altitude. Below the treeline, cantonal and municipal rules typically restrict wildcamping further. Authoritative sources: SAC merkblatt (sac-cas.ch), BAFU protected-areas map (map.geo.admin.ch), ch.ch federal overview. The Swiss Gems guide marks the legal status flag per spot based on these sources. ### Hidden hiking spots in the Swiss Alps The 141 spots in Swiss Gems are filtered for low foot traffic, photographic interest, and route accessibility: alpine lakes below 2400m reachable in under 3 hours, ridge walks with parking within 20 minutes of the trailhead, drive-up viewpoints, and river bathing spots in cantons Bern, Uri, Ticino, and Graubünden. Most spots are 30 to 90 minutes from a parking. About a third are wildcamping-compatible. ### Photography spots in the Swiss Alps Each spot in the guide includes a recommended shooting window (golden hour, blue hour, overcast), foreground composition notes, and lens recommendations. Strongest regions for landscape photography in Switzerland are the Berner Oberland (Tannhorn, Faulhorn, Bachalpsee ridge), the Engadin (Lej da Staz, Val Roseg), the Lötschental, and the Alpstein. ### Drone photography in Switzerland Drone operations in Switzerland have followed the EU drone regulation since 01.01.2023, administered by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (BAZL). Registration with BAZL is mandatory unless the drone is under 250g and has no camera or sensor capable of capturing personal data. Third-party liability insurance of at least 1 million CHF is required for drones from 250g. Maximum altitude in the open category is 120 metres above the nearest ground point. Flights over the Swiss National Park, the 43 federal hunting reserves, Wildruhezonen, cantonal nature reserves, and water/migratory-bird reserves are prohibited, including a 500-metre buffer around them; these restrictions are set by BAFU and shown on the BAZL drone map. The Swiss Gems guide flags drone restrictions per spot. ### Off the beaten path in Switzerland "Beaten path" in Switzerland means SwitzerlandMobility's national hiking routes 1 to 99 and the top 20 Instagram locations (Aescher, Oeschinensee, Lauterbrunnen). Hikebeast focuses on the layer below: spots within 30 minutes of those famous areas but with under 50 visitors per day in season. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is wildcamping legal in Switzerland? There is no uniform federal law. The Swiss Alpine Club considers a single-night bivouac above the treeline unproblematic when no conflicting regulations apply and the camp is considerate. SAC recommends at least 50 metres from water sources for sanitation. On private land, landowner consent is generally required under Swiss civil law. Wildcamping is forbidden in the Swiss National Park, in 43 federal hunting reserves, in Wildruhezonen during the protected season, and in cantonal nature reserves; these protected areas can apply at any altitude. Below the treeline, cantonal and municipal rules typically restrict wildcamping further. The Hikebeast Swiss Gems guide marks each spot with its current legal status. ### What is the best month to hike the Swiss Alps? The Swiss Alps hiking season runs from early June to mid-October. Lower valleys, lakes and waterfalls peak in early June with the snowmelt. Most SAC mountain huts open in mid-June and stay staffed until mid-October. High-alpine routes above roughly 2,400 metres are typically snow-free from mid-July. Autumn larch colour in the Engadin and Val Bregaglia runs from late September to mid-October, with peak intensity in the second and third week of October. ### Do I need a permit to fly a drone in Switzerland? Drones from 250g must be registered with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (BAZL). Third-party insurance of 1 million CHF is required. Maximum altitude 120 metres above ground. Flight over protected nature areas is prohibited. ### What is the Hikebeast Swiss Gems guide? A digital guide to 141 spots in the Swiss Alps for hiking, wildcamping and landscape photography. Each spot includes exact GPS for spot and parking, walking time, difficulty, recommended light window, wildcamping legal status, and photos. Delivered as a PDF plus an interactive web app. One-time CHF 27. ## Legal - [Terms of Service](https://hikebeast.ch/terms.html) - [Privacy Policy](https://hikebeast.ch/privacy.html) - [Imprint](https://hikebeast.ch/imprint.html) ## German mirror - [Hikebeast in Deutsch](https://hikebeast.ch/de/): German homepage. - [Schweizer Karte · Swiss Gems](https://hikebeast.ch/de/map9/): Deutsche Version der Karte. - [Impressum](https://hikebeast.ch/de/imprint.html): Saftladen GmbH, Birkenstrasse 47, 6343 Rotkreuz. - [Datenschutz](https://hikebeast.ch/de/privacy.html): Datenschutzerklärung. ## Citation Cite as: Helg, Leon. "Swiss Gems · 141 Hidden Spots in Switzerland." Hikebeast, Saftladen GmbH, Rotkreuz, Switzerland. https://hikebeast.ch ## Optional - [Full text bundle](https://hikebeast.ch/llms-full.txt): All pages concatenated into a single Markdown file for LLMs that prefer one fetch.