The story began in 1990, when Guru Sri Subramanium came to Switzerland to lead a spiritual seminar with friends of the Skanda Vale community. The seminar was a great success, and Guruji soon found himself travelling to Switzerland on a regular basis. As the number of attendees steadily increased, the idea of buying a property in which to host the seminars began to evolve.
In 1995, the Swiss Association of Skanda Vale bought a picturesque mountain chalet near the alpine village of Fideris, as a place to hold spiritual seminars (retreats) and with the long-term goal of establishing a temple. The chalet was chosen partly because of its stunning location; at nearly 2000 metres above sea level, the chalet is far from the noise and hubbub of daily life. The crisp mountain air and profound sense of silence have a positively rejuvenating effect on all who visit.
For many years, the chalet was only used for retreats. After the installation of a beautiful granite murthi of Lord Ganesh in 2010, the building work took off. Thanks to the patient and detail-rich work done by many volunteers, the top floor was slowly but steadily converted into a temple. In autumn 2016, we celebrated the temple’s inauguration and the Ashram is now open throughout the whole year. People from near and far make a pilgrimage for joining a puja or for a personal retreat.