Bernese Oberland

Interlaken

The town of Interlaken is located between two lakes, Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. The lakes are beautiful and provide access to a variety of activities including swimming, cycling, running, walking, kayaking and more.

Within Interlaken, one can check out a nice viewpoint over the lakes at Harder Kulm. Catch the funicular up to the top and walk over to the viewpoint to observe the mountains and both lakes in Interlaken. One can also hike up, but not necessarily worth the hike as the hike does not have many “viewpoints” and there are many better hikes in the area.

Lake Brienz & Lake Thun

Cycling the lakes

Both these lakes provide gorgeous view and mainly flat terrain on their perimeter. Follow the road and enjoy a scenic bike ride along part of either of these lakes.

Swimming

These two lakes are separated by the town of Interlaken, and show-off a gorgeous blue/green color. On a warm day, the water calls your name to take a swim.

Lauterbrunnen Valley

Lauterbrunnen

Larger town located at the bottom of the mountains to walk around and enjoy the scenic surroundings

Murren

Small town on the side of the mountain. Somewhere great to stay, but not necessary to visit if you are not staying here.

Wengen

Small town, comparable to Murren, but on the opposite side of the Lauterbrunnen valley.

Gimmelwald

Tiny town close to Murren

Trummelbach Falls

Group of waterfalls fed by glaciers in Lauterbrunnen. These falls collect the water from Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau alone. Thus, they are very powerful. There are 10 viewpoints here (but you must pay a few dollars to get in). There is an elevator that allows you to skip about 4-5 of the viewpoints. I would only recommend the elevator if you are immobile OR if you do not want to walk up and CAN walk down. However, it’s worth seeing all 10 viewpoints. The sheer power the falls is very impressive and cool

Getting to Trummelbach Falls:

You can walk there from the town pretty easily (45 minute walk) or take a bus. We first went to the Staubbach falls and then walked to Trummelbach falls. We spent about 1 hour here. The walk is easy and nice to do one way, but not necessary to do both directions. The bus is included in the Swiss Pass if you have it and only takes 5-10 minutes to get back to the center of Lauterbrunnen.

Staubbach Falls

Falls visible from Lauterbrunnen. If considering seeing Trummelbach falls, start with Staubbach Falls as Trummelbach is far more impressive. These are nice falls that you can walk up “behind” after about a 10 minute walk up some stairs and ramps. It is a nice, quick stop and can be done on the way to Trummelbach Falls. The base of the falls are about a 10 minute walk from the center of town.

Lütschine Valley

Grindelwald

Comparable to Lauterbrunnen, just in a different valley, this town is larger and at the bottom of the mountains. It is an area that has been growing in popularity, and therefore the town has grown in size and also responds to the growing tourism in the area. With this in mind, during the day, it can feel busy with tourists and day-trippers, but is in a great location to base yourself for a few days when looking to explore the mountains further whether it’s on foot, climbing, cycling, paragliding or another adventurous activity

Grindelwald First

Another summit in the Bernese Alps that many visitors travel to the top of to enjoy the views and check out the activities. First can be accessed by taking a cable car from Grindelwald to the summit (lasting about 25 minutes). At the top, there are a variety of activities to check out including mountain car riding, a thrill walk, and zip lining.

Hike from Bussalp to Gasthaus Waldspitz to Bachalpsee to First

• Difficulty: Moderate
• Distance: 6.5 miles / 14 km
• Elevation change: 3000 feet / 900m
• Estimated time: 5 – 7 hours (including breaks)
• Rating: 10 / 10
• Type of trail: Loop

• Take the bus from Grindelwald town up to Bussalp. This bus does not run frequently, and therefore it is important to time your departure accordingly. The bus takes a road up above Grindelwald that is only open to locals and the bus. As you journey on the bus, you will understand why it is not open to all.
• Start by hiking through alpine fields with views right in front of you
• Continue onwards towards Gasthaus Waldspitz which is a perfect place to enjoy lunch after about 5 miles of hiking. The rosti here is delicious and pairs nicely with a beer in the sunshine
• Next you’ll start climbing again to gain some more elevation and head to Lake Bachalpsee, a stunning lake in the Swiss Alps. With a backdrop of the mountains, on low wind days, there’s a beautiful mountains reflection in the lake. This is an absolutely incredible view
• From Lake Bachalpsee, it’ll be a moderate descent towards First where there’s a gondola to take down the mountain. This part of the hike is often busier as many tourists will take the gondola up from Grindelwald to First and either check out the cliff walk in First, make the walk out to Lake Bachalpsee, or try some of the other activities like ziplining available up here.

Kander Valley

Kandersteg

The small charming town of Kandersteg is quieter, and is a great place to be based for a few days when exploring the mountains. A highlight in this area is getting out to hike to one of Switzerland’s many beautiful lakes – Oeschiensee.

Hike to Oeschinensee

• Difficulty: Moderate
• Distance: 6 miles / 9.5 km
• Elevation change: 1700 feet / 520m
• Estimated time: 3.5 – 4.5 hours (including breaks)
• Rating: 10 / 10
• Type of trail: Loop

Directions:

• Take Kandersteg – Oeschinensee gondola up to start the hike
• Walk towards Oeschiensee (approx. 25 minutes) on a reasonably flat path
• Stop at Arva – Chalet am Oeschinensee where you’ll have the first views of the stunning alpine lake for a snack or coffee before continuing onward
• Continue onward with a flat path along the lake and then begin to climb as you ascend towards Unterbargli Hut
• Pass by the Unterbargli Hut and continue on your ascent until the path starts to flatten out
• Once you approach Oberbarli, you’ll veer left back towards the lake and then traverse the along the side of the mountain with views overlooking Oeschinensee
• There will be a very nice viewpoint over the water, and you’ll continue onward past the lake and back towards the starting point
• Take the gondola back down the mountain to close out the hike

Route map:

Jungfraujoch

Known as the Top of Europe as it connects the highest peaks and provides a beautiful viewpoint. This is a spectacular spot if it is clear at the top, but if not clear, it is not worth the expensive price per person. Snow covers the mountain tops year-round. We spent 3 hours up here (largely because we had to due to the train availability), but was a perfect amount of time to explore all the top had to offer.

Keep in mind that there are limited spots on the final train traveling from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch. Thus, this requires a seat reservation (not assigned seat, but just assigns you a specific train time). Some would recommend buying this in advance. However, we purchased tickets the day of with no problem in mid July. We had to wait a bit as the earlier to midday trains were already filled up, but we decided to walk around Wengen.

I would recommend getting up early and purchasing tickets if the day looks nice. There are live cameras up at the viewpoints to observe what the current climate is so look this up before you go. For us, it was very cloudy in the valley, but was great up top. However, the next day was the opposite.

The food options are limited, expensive and not great at the top so consider bringing snacks or working up an appetite.

Getting To Jungfraujoch:

The route to get to Jungfraujoch depends largely on where you are staying. If you have the Swiss Pass, you will pay for everything after Wengen. Plan to get yourself to Wengen (whether you are staying there or in a nearby town). Then, take the train (or continue on the train past Wengen if you get on it at Lauterbrunnen) up to Kleine Scheidegg. Once at Kleine Scheidegg you will have to get off and transfer to the train that takes you to Jungfraujoch. This is the train you need a seat reservation for. It is a long red train that runs every 30 minutes and takes about 30 minutes to get to the top (the highest train station in Europe).

There are two stops along the way. The first stop is still outside the mountain so some people choose to hike to this point and then take the train. Then the train enters the mountain where about 60% of the train ride takes place. Here there is also one stop at Eismeer. It stops here for 5 minutes on the way up for individuals to get off the train and look out at the beautiful mountains through the window. Passengers then get back in the train and finish the journey to the top.

The trip takes about 1.5 hours from Wengen plus any additional time it takes you to get to Wengen. (Some may think that this would provide a good reason to stay in Wengen, which is true. However, keep in mind that there are a few other high altitude lifts (especially Schilthorn) that are easily accessible from other side. Thus, wherever you stay – aside from Interlaken—will likely help you save time on some journeys and add time on others.

Allow at least ¾ of the day for this trip

Jungfraujoch Highlights:

• Eismeer Station – Underground railroad station on the train trip from Kleine Scheidegg up to the Top of Europe, also called the Sea of Ice. The train stops here for five minutes for passengers to get out and look out at the view on the way to Jungfraujoch

• The Sphinx observation deck – Elevator out of mountain to observation deck

• Alpine Sensation – A giant snow globe and then some history about the train and train station creation

• Ice Palace – Ice cave with many ice sculptures

• Lindt Swiss Chocolate Heaven – Small Lindt store but discounted prices

• Outside Snow Area – One of the stops allows you to go outside and walk around on the snow with more nice views

• Snow Fun – An opportunity to go sledding, tubing, snowboarding/skiing, or ziplining up high. This is pretty expensive, but can be good entertainment especially for children. Regardless, it is worth going outside here and checking it out as we liked walking the beginning portion of the Monchsjoch Hutte path.

• Monchsjoch Hutte – Highest altitude hut in Switzerland. This is about a 45-minute walk from the main area. The walk is completely through the snow so if not dressed in proper boots (or even if you are), then it is a slow walk. We did not do this, but we did walk about ¼ mile up from the “Snow Fun” area. There are beautiful views without the crowds and without the barriers. You must be careful and should stay on the path as there are many places near the path that may be very deep cracks simply covered by snow.

Schilthorn

Summit in Bernese Alps that one can hike up to or take a series of cable cars up to reach the top. If you are up for the challenge, you can take the hike up and use the cable car to get down so you get the rewarding views, but can save some time

Allow approximately 2-3 hours for this trip (of course this also depends on where you are staying) and more time if you plan on hiking. If starting at base level, there are three different lifts to take you to the top. First from Stechelberg to Murren, then Murren to Birg, and finally from Birg to Schilthorn (Piz Gloria).

Birg

If starting at base level, this is the 2nd stop on the Cable car. The cable car rides are quick, only a few minutes, and run about every 20 minutes. This stop has a few specific items to hit before going to the top.

• Skyline Walk – View over the mountains, on a platform that allows you to see what’s below

• Thrill Walk – Cliff side walk where you can always see below you due to the criss-cross floor. One portion is transparent so you have a clear view of what is beneath you. On this thrill walk, there is also a tight rope (over a safety net of course so very safe), a tunnel, and a few other unique pathways. This was pretty cool, but anyone with a fear of heights will not enjoy the Thrill Walk.

Piz Gloria – The peak and final cable car stop, taking just a few minutes to reach from Birg and runs every 20-30 minutes.

• Panoramic View – There is a gorgeous 360 panoramic view at the top

• Bond World 007 – James Bond “museum” created as some scenes for a Bond movie were shot on Schilthorn

• Schilthorn – Piz Gloria 360° – Restaurant at the top of the peak with beautiful views

Mannlichen

Summit that can be reached from lift in Wengen or from lift in Grindelwald. From the cable car station, it then takes about 15 minutes to walk to the summit

Paragliding

Paragliders can be seen in many different areas of Switzerland, enjoying a true bird’s eye view of the mountains and small towns. Many different companies take visitors out for tandem paragliding trips. We used Airtime Paragliding which had an office location in Lauterbrunnen.