Giswil is located at the foot of the Brünig and Glaubenbielen passes and is characterised by the lovely lake of Sarnen, dominated by the Giswilerstöcke peaks and crossed by the Lauibach stream. An economic upswing came to the village with the Brünig road in 1868 and the Brünig railway in 1889. Since 2004, a bypass tunnel on the A8 has relieved the Obwalden village of heavy transit traffic.

After leaving the village, you follow the course of the small stream Melchaa to the lake of Sarnen at the Giswil customs station. The hike to Sachseln takes about an hour and runs between the lake and the railway. Did you know that the municipality also includes the Älggi-Alp, which is the geographical centre of Switzerland? However, if you follow the small Melchaa and the Älggibach streams, it is still about five hours away.

The lovely path with splendid views now leads through the village, past Brother Klaus' burial chapel by the old Sachseln church tower, and continues uphill towards Flüeli-Ranft. The place of birth and work of the influential hermit is reached through lush meadows, pastures and a few short forest sections. Niklaus von Flüe was born into a peasant family in 1417. At the age of 50, he retired to the nearby Ranft, a hillside terrace a little further down the gorge. Here the hermit worked as a man of God, visionary, admonisher and counsellor. To this day, the Ranft is a well-known place of pilgrimage.