The Talalpsee lies at around 1'405 metres in the Glarus Alps near Elm in the canton of Glarus and is a quiet, turquoise mountain lake surrounded by steep cliff faces. The lake is little known outside the Glarus region and belongs to those natural gems of eastern Switzerland that remain largely undeveloped for tourism – which gives them a particular atmosphere.

The approach to the Talalpsee starts in Elm and takes around 1.5 to 2 hours on foot. The path passes through a quiet side valley of the Sernf plain and offers increasingly impressive views of the Glarus mountain world. Those walking further can reach high-level trails from the Talalp area and the Martinsloch rock window – a geological wonder through which the sun shines twice a year.

Elm lies in the Sernftal in the canton of Glarus and is reachable by PostBus from Schwanden. Schwanden is accessible by train from Zurich in around 1 hour. By car, drive from Zurich via Glarus through the Sernftal to Elm.