Best 3 mountain peaks in Switzerland in late April 2010- Help

We just did Zermatt and Gornergrat with three kids. They loved them. Don't miss the last gondola down like we did. It's a long and at times dangerous hike in fading light.

Actually in April you probably couldn't hike down.

Hi Paragkash,

The Jungfraujoch and the Schilthorn will be just about out your backdoor at Interlaken. The Jungfraujoch is above Wengen, and the Schilthorn is above Mürren.

Have fun!

s

Thanks.
I am also quite close to Chamonix-Mont Blanc and Zermatt from Aigle, where I am based for 7 days.
Should I go to Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn or Titlis after that?
If yes, which one?

The highlight of Switzerland IMO is the Jungfrau region up in the hills just south of Interlaken - if possible i'd add in a day or two more there and you have all kinds of transports that you wish - like the Jungfraujoch train, the highest train station in Europe where there is lots to do for kids - hike to a glacier, dog sled rides, a huge ice tunnel, etc. for loads of info on Swiss trains and for ideas to questions you pose: www.swisstravelsystem.ch; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html; www.seat61.com. And with the Family Pass your kids travel free on everything - the free Family Pass comes with your Swiss Pass for kids under 16 (i think 16) - so they not only get a free pass but they never pay anything on any transport - even the Jungfraujoch train where Swiss Passes give a discount but not 100% covered fare - kids always go free with the Family Pass

Hi Palenque,

Thanks a lot for the reply.
I am using your threads on Scenic rail trips in Switzerland and Eurail travel, as bible. They are so useful.
I am planning this trip this year only to take advantage of the family pass, as one of my daughter will be above 16 next year.
Can you please help me solve my question.
I have to consume a time share week at a hill resort Torgon, 40 min. by bus from Aigle. This is on Montreux- Martigny rail line.
I am thinking of doing day trips to Chamonix-Mont Blanc, Zermatt, Broc Chocolate factory or Gruyeres, Chillon Castle.

Which place do I see after these 2 peaks?
Are the other peaks similar?
Do you think I can see something else after 2 peaks, rather than another peak?
I just feel that all of them may look quite similar in the end.
I (not my kids and wife) have been to Pilatus, a few years back.
plesae help.

Hi Palenque,
One more question.

Is train journey from Visp to Zermatt, free with Swiss Rail Pass?
If not, where do I buy this ticket?
Thanks

Chamonix makes a nice daytrip from Aigle, and your Swiss pass will cover the trip to Chamonix (but not the Aiguille du Midi lift). The train journey up and over the border will take you on a narrow-gauge railway---I think it is a cogwheel
train. It is very scenic. Make sure you take the route via Martigny; the shortest journey is just over 2 hours each way.

http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/pages/excursion_schedules.html

Zermatt is a bit farther (2.5 hours each way), but still makes a nice daytrip. The Gornergrat railway is one of my favorites--gorgeous views from the windows as you climb, and at the top, you look DOWN upon the glacier below.

If you are looking to maximize your varied transport experiences, you could also take the Sunnega lift, an underground funicular. This departs from the area near the Gornergrat railway. No views, but the funicular itself is interesting.

From Interlaken, the Jungfraujoch probably offers the most interesting experience, for the reasons listed by Palenque---there are lots of activities at the top. It is also easily reached. If you make a loop---going up via Wengen and down via Grindelwald, you will be able to see lots of different views. And this would give you a chance to ride a gondola---which you haven't done to this point (the Chamonix lifts are cablecars). At Grindelwald, you could walk through town and ride the 6-passenger gondola up to First for great views over the valley, and a late lunch or just a cup of hot chocolate at the restaurant there.

Just remember that the train up the Jungfraujoch spends about 40 minutes in a dark tunnel, inside the Eiger. It does make one stop at the "windows", but otherwise there is no view for this part of the trip.

If you decide you would rather do another cablecar instead of the Jungfrau train, Titlis offers some interesting experiences at the top, such as the Ice Grotto and the Ice Flyer chairlift. However, the journey to Engelberg from Interlaken is 3 hours each way, which doesn't leave you much time to spend there. On the other hand, you would get a variety of rides on that trip, as I believe you reach the Rotair cablecar up Titlis by gondola from the village. And the rotating cablecar is pretty unique.

The Schilthorn offers an exciting alternative, readily accessible from Interlaken. You are suspended high above the ground in the last leg of the cablecar ride. the trip down from Gimmelwald to Stechelberg is also spectacular, as the cablecar swings out over a cliff and you find yourself some 2,000 feet above the valley below. Howver, this one offers the least to do at the top.

Thanks a lot Enzian for your detailed reply.
This actually gives a very clear picture of all these rides.
Makes it easy for me to make a choice and also gives me enough information to even change my plan according to mood, after my first two day trips.
People like you and Palenque make Fodors, the most unique travel site to give exact first hand information, which is far better than even the best travel guide.
Thanks again.

Hi Palenque,
One more question.

Is train journey from Visp to Zermatt, free with Swiss Rail Pass?
If not, where do I buy this ticket?
Thanks

Yup it is included in the Swiss Pass - 100% covered. But if you want to ride the official Glacier Express trains that run a few times daily over this route then, to sit in the domed cars you would need a seat reservation/surcharge, which can be pricey just for that portion. But the hourly or so regular trains you can just hop on - actually even on the official Glacier Express trains my info has it that there are a couple of regular cars attached to them that you can just hop on - of course you will not be in an observation car and get recorded commentary or be able to swill wine from the ballyhooed Glacier Express tilting wine glasses but the scenery will be exactly the same.

Question for coluphere regarding...

"We just did Zermatt and Gornergrat with three kids. They loved them. Don't miss the last gondola down like we did. It's a long and at times dangerous hike in fading light."

Did you miss the last train down from the Gornergrat, or are you referring to something else? I'm just curious because we walked from Rotenboden to Riffelberg (on the Gornergrat line) back in April.

Hi - Melnq8. The Gornergrat trip was fine. We hiked in the same area you did. It was the next day when we missed the last gondola down from Trockener Steg (one stop down from the Klein Matterhorn) and had to walk back to Furi. We were descending from about 10,000 feet. I am guessing there would still be snow at that elevation in April. There was a ton of snow at the Klein Matterhorn (12,500 feet) in August.

I see now my wording wasn't precise on my first post. I was repeating the words used by the OP.

Gotcha..bet that was a steep hike. Yikes.

Is Gornergrat and Matterhorn the same.
Does the gondola or cogwheel take you close to Matterhorn?

Can someone help?

thanks

http://www.gornergrat.ch/home/

this explains that the Gornergrat Railway goes to a ridge called the Gornergrat, where there are fab views of dozens of high peaks, including the Matterhorn.

The Gornergrat train takes you up to a high point, from which you can see the Matterhorn in one direction, and lots of other peaks in the opposite direction, as well as the glacier below you. You are actually traveling away from the matterhorn, but there are views of it most of the way (as long as it is not obscured by clouds).

At the top, a short walk from the railway station, is the Gornergrat Kulm Hotel. It is an amazing building.

http://www.matterhorn-group.ch/de/gornergrat/index.php

You can go inside to warm up. look out the windows all around, and maybe have lunch. there is a self-service restaurant and a more expensive one with table service. There are also some shops with high-end merchandise (watches, jewelry, etc.)

Or you could stop on the way up or down at Riffelalp:

http://www.riffelalp.com/

The train makes a stop there and a small tram conveys you to the resort.

One caution: you say you are going in April. Is this early April, or late April? Many of these places close for a short between-seasons break the last 2 weeks of April. Gornergrat Kulm closes beginning April 19; riffelalp just says "mid-April". I hope you are going before that.

Paragkash -

Several trains/gondolas/funiculars in Zermatt will get you to vantage points where you can view the Matterhorn, but no, none of them actually gets you close to it.

The Matterhorn can be viewed from the top of the Gornergrat as well as from stops in between, such as at Riffelalp Resort, which directly faces the Matterhorn. It can also be viewed from Sunnegga and the cableway stops/restaurants above Sunnegga at Tuftern, Flualp and Blauherd.

It can also be seen from the Kleine Matterhorn and the stops in between (Furi and Trocknersteg).

The Matterhorn can also be seen quite easily from town on a clear day.

Looks like I was typing the same time as Enzian.

As for visiting in April, we spent two weeks in Switzerland in April last year. Zermatt was really busy, as it was over Easter, but after Easter things do slow down considerably, so you'll want to plan well.

A sight I will never forget was waking up in Zug and looking across the lake. There was a magnificent snow covered mountain reflected in the water.

Mont Blanc can sometimes be seen from Geneva. It is more impressive if you fly in from the south. It's a hellofa big block of ice. I went through the tunnel also. The approach from Italy up the Valle d'Aosta is spectacular.

I have been to the Lake Geneva area many times and only on a handful of days have i been able to see Mont Blanc, in all its glacier-girdled majesty - often seems to be a fog, smog or haze over the lake IME

So much of detailed, first hand information is flowing in.
No guide book will tell you "what to do if you miss the last Gondola" or "the place closes for two weeks".
That is why Fodors is the best guide, because of you all sharing your personal experiences generously.

Palenque, may be you can tell me .

In 8 days of Switzerland trip, if I am visiting Zermatt and Mont Blanc; do you think it will be "deja vu" effect or is it worth visiting Titlis or Jungfraujoch even after that.

I can not take a call, please help me.

Paragkash - for mountain tops the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc are every bit as awesome as the Jungfraujoch - but IMO the Jungfrau Region and not just the Jungfraujoch is my favorite place to go - so so many varied things to do there besides climbing Alpine peaks. And even in the Jungfrau Region i would not necessarily put the Jungfraujoch train at the top of my list - i do think the Lauterbrunnen-Grutschalp-Murren-Schilthorn-Gimmelwald-Stechelberg-Lauterbrunnen loop is my favorite jaunt not only in this region but in all of Switzerland.
For a first-time visitor to Switzerland i would recommend the Interlaken-Jungfrau Region over Zermatt and Lake Geneva if you have to chose. Others may of course disagree.

Cheers

Dear Palenque,
I have been studying your threads on Switzerland.
I do want to visit the Jungfrau region, after reading your comments in all the posts.
Can I go to Wengen, Lauterbrunnen by train/ bus and skip Schilthorn or Jungfaujch peaks.
OR is it that I have to climb one of them and then reach the other side for the other town?
I could not figure it out in the map.
Is the day trip worth without the peaks.
Please suggest a route without having to reach the peaks. We are not into hiking and walking etc.
I want to see a nice waterfall ( which one in this region is the best in April) and the Ballenberg folk museum.
We are going in the 3rd week of April 10.


I have posted a general itinerary question separately for comments.

Fodorites, please help.

Hi Paragkash,

The train will take you easily to all of these villages, and yes you can visit all the towns without ascending the tops of the peaks. Just use the Swiss rail site at

www.rail.ch

to get the connections.

You haven't said where you'll be leaving from, but your destination will obviously be either "Wengen" or "Murren." The route should be clear.

I find the map at

www.myjungfrau.ch

to be absolutely easy to understand. Take a look.

Have fun!

s

Thanks.
I will be at Interlaken.
Can someone tell me what route should I take.
How can I cover Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen ( & waterfalls) & Wngen in a day.
I gathered that the trains go till Gridelwald and Lauterbrunnen, but do not know if they are interconnected by bus.
Where can I sea Alpine museum and experience a "Zero Gravity" situation

Use the rail site and a map, and it will be clear and obvious.

Trains will take you all the way.

s

Error in the earlier post!!
Where can I SEE the Alpine museum and experience a "Zero Gravity" situation

Paragkash -

Alpine Museum? You mean Ballenberg, in an idyllic setting overlooking Lake Brienz- you can take a lake boat from Interlaken-Ost station to Brienz and then go by bus to the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum of traditional Alpine ways

Wengen-i see no reason to go to Wengen unless you are staying there- it's a nice base but otherwise nothing special to do there- you take a train there from Lauterbrunnen

Yes you can easily enough cover Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the same day if pressed for time and each is splendid in its own way - two different valleys with awesome views- i prefer Grindelwald's amphitheatre setting a tad over Lauterbrunnen, whose valley is deep and narrow - but for waterfalls there is Staubbach Falls on the edge of town and this is i believe the premier waterfalls in the area - really high but at times of summer just a trickle.

Trummelbach Falls are also on the edge of Lauterbrunnen and this is a unique water cascade inside of a mountain-really impressive and always a lot of water- said to be the sole drain of the Jungfrau Massif facing north.

Zero Gravity means nothing to me in Jungfrau Region context -please elaborate for my info?

Hi
Thanks for the info.
Am planning to increase one day in my Itinerary, which will enable me to see most of the things mentioned here.

I surely want to visit Ballenburg and the Sherlock Holms waterfalls in the same day if possible.

I read in some travelogue in a news paper about some Alpine museum in Junfrau region and the writer exerienced "Zero gravity" state similar to a space ship. I only know so much about it. Is there a place like that?

Can someone plan an ideal day in Jungfrau region.

I may not go to the peaks of Jungfrauch or Schilthorn.
I know that "Ideal" is different for each person.
Would like to start from Interlaken- Should I go to Lauterbrunnen- See waterfalls-?
How do I go to Grindelwald from there?
I think there is a train from Grindelwald- back to Interlaken.

Is Gimmelwald visit possible in this loop? Is it worth?

Please help.

I surely want to visit Ballenburg and the Sherlock Holms waterfalls in the same day if possible.>

Easily done IME - Take a train to Brienz (or better yet IMO a lake boat) from Interlaken-Ost train station (boats leave from the back of the station) and then hop the postal bus to Ballenberg and then a bus down to Meiringen (think possible - if not bus back to Brienz and take the train to Meiringen - visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum in a tiny church in the town center and then for Reichenbach Falls (sp?) - where Sherlock and Prof Moriarity tangled it's about a mile or so out of town - i assume buses go there but it's a flat walk (or taxi ride) to a funicular that goes up to the midpoint of the falls and the ledge where the fictional duo Holmes and Moriarity fought to the death.

Go somehwre that isn't a fascist state.

I sympathise with people who have so much of hatred burried inside them. Off course they have their own strong reasons for it.
Life is so short. Hardly any time for love.
Where do people find time for hate???

Can someone plan a one day itinerary for me in Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald area, starting from Interlaken at 8 am and coming back at 18.30-19.00 hrs. I don't wish to go to the peaks. Want to see waterfalls, may be one short and easy walk for about 1.30 hrs.
What I found out from the SBB website was that, I can go from Interlaken (Ost) to
a. Lauterbrunnen by train-
b. Wengen _ Don't know how- what is LB?
c. Mannlichen- Dont know how- what is GB?
d. Grindelwald Grund CGM- 10 min walk to Grindelwald
e. Train to Interlaken
Can I add Murren and Kl S on this.

Any suggestions about the add-ons/ walks/ special things?
Please let me know what is not free on the Swiss railpass.

Lauterbrunnen to Wengen is by train - Wengen up to Mannlichen, which hovers hundreds of feet about Wengen is by aerial cablecar

If going to Mannlichen from Wengen then do your easy walk over to Kleine Scheidegg and take the train from there down to Grindelwald.

See either of the two waterfalls just outside Lauterbrunnen first - Trummelbach, inside the mountain, ot Staubbach (sp?) a really high waterfall - both short walk from Lauterbrunnen or bus from the train station.

No i do not think you'd have time to include Murren, a big detour off your circle route Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen-Wengen-Mannlichen-Kleine Scheidegg-Grindelwald-Interlaken

Free on Swiss Pass - Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and Wengen

50% off lift to Mannlichen (kids go free with Family Pass) - 50% off train Kleine Scheidegg to Grindelwald - train from there to Interlaken 100% covered (free is you have it) - pass i think also gets free admission to Trummelbach Falls, though i am not positive of this.

Thanks a lot Palenque. Great advice.
Actually I have realised that I have become dependent on you all, and do not freeze my itinerary till I get your nod.
With your advice I think I am very close to finalising all the finer details of my daily itinerary.

Just bought my Swiss Rail Pass for 2persons, with a free family card, today. It is valid for 6 months, so will probably beat the 2010 price hike.

Which is the better waterfall of the two?

I think I can skip the Sherlock waterfall, if I don't get time after Ballenberg.

On which website do I get the info. about what is free on Swiss Rail Pass?

One curious question, how many times have you been to Switzerland? I have answer to every question.

Sorry, It is YOU have answer to every question....

You can find informatin about coverage of the pass on the Swiss Travel System website:

http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/

Click on "Synoptic map" on the right side, under "Service" and you will get a color-coded map showing all the routes covered at 100%, 50%, and 25% by the Swiss Pass.

You will receive a paper copy of this map withn you get your pass. You should also get a list of the covered museums--that may be on the website as well, but I didn't find a link.

The nice thing about the online map is that you can enlarge it to take a close look at a particular area.

On your daytrip from Interlaken, one has several choices for going between Grindelwald and Wengen, going over Kleine Scheidegg. If you enlarge the map so you can look closely at the area around Grindelwald/Kleine Scheidegg/Wengen, you will see going up from Grindelwald a black dotted line up to Mannlichen (the Gondolbahn) and a red dotted line up to Kleine Scheidegg (the train). The dots indicate 50% discount with your pass.

Then, you have a choice of two routes down to Wengen---either the black dotted line Luftseilbahn (cablecar) down from Mannlichen (very steep and exciting), or the red dotted line train down from Kleine Scheidegg.

However, the cablecar and gondola up to Mannlichen only run until 11 April, so if you are there later you will be limited to using the train up and over Kleine Scheidegg.

I would suggest you do this loop clockwise, starting with the train to Grindelwald, then up and over the ridge to Wengen, and down by train to Lauterbrunnen. You can take your walk in the valley there, heading to Trummelbach Falls. This one is very unique as it tumbles down inside the mountain, and you view it from engineered paths and tunnels they have built there for close (but safe) viewing.

Then you can walk back to Lauterbrunnen, with a short detour to get close to Staubbach Falls if you like (although you can see it from town as well as from the main path for a more distant view). From Lauterbrunnen catch the train back to Interlaken.