Hi there,

I have a question about hiking in the Interlaken area. We are going to be based there for 3 days (then moving on to Lucerne or Weggis--still not sure...any suggestions?). We want to do some good hikes...we are both in good shape. Can anyone suggest something?

Thanks



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Use the SEARCH box and type in 'Berner Oberland hikes'. You'll find many tips.

Are you staying at Balmer's in Interlaken? If so, they work with local companies for outdoor activities. I went bike riding there and you can simply ask around that village for hiking trails. Odds are, the person you ask is probably going hiking themselves. Kayaking one of the lakes is really fun too as the water is absolutely serene.

If you are equal to it, the classic in the area is from Schynige Platte to a gondola station called First. You will need to take the train up early to start the hike because it is an all day affair.

You hike a glacial ridge with the giants of the Berner Oberland to the south the whole way.

Lots of good hikes around Weggis. You can hike up to Mt. Rigi (gorgeous views along the whole path) or do hikes on the Rigi. Lots of trails on the mountain, including the Felsenweg. Go to Unterstetten, located between Rigi Kaltbad and Rigi Scheidegg, for a wonderful and reasonably priced meal. Order meringue with whipped cream and ice cream for dessert for a real alpine treat.

What about Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen?

If I could remember the name of the book this post would be more helpful; nevertheless, I bought a book in English in Switzerland--probably Berne--that was all about hikes in the Berner Oberland. Perhaps you could look on Amazon or just Google.

Kev Reynolds published a book a few years ago entitled The Bernese Alps Switzerland - A Walking Guide. There now is a newer edition than the one I have. I recommend it as a good, general guide to the area.

Enzian is a real expert on hiking in Switzerland. She recommended a great book that we used recently.

"Swiss Bernese Oberland" by Philip & Loretta Alspach. I believe it is available from Amazon.

A good hike with wonderful views is from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. Get to Wengen, then take the gondola to Mannlichen. Hike over to Kleine Scheidegg. Then you can walk back to Wengen or take the train.

There are so many walks in that area that it is really beyond the scope of this board to describe them. A book is really going to help you narrow down what you are interested in. The Alspach book mentioned above is very good, I have recommended it many times on this board. This gives an overview of the BO and gives details on several walks. Another very helpful book is the Lonely Planet book "Walking in Switzerland". This rates walks by fitness level. It also gives directions for using public transport to get to and from walks. I find both accurate and very helpful.

There are two main Swiss walking clubs which also offer guided walks, you might try their websites (may be only in German, Italian or French, but you could tray babbelfish translations):

Swiss Hiking Federation at http://www.swisshiking.ch/
Swiss Alpine Club at http://www.alpen-journal.de/links.html

The local tourist offices in each town and village almost always has information (in English) on guided walks or solo walks as well, stop in at the tourist office in each village you visit.

I would NOT stay in the town of Interlaken itself if you want to hike. I would stay up in the Jungfrau valley itself. In addition to just being more beautiful, with smaller and much more charming villages, you will have access to walks right out your hotel door basically, or very short hop by cable car or train. Interlaken is a rather charmless city (hard to do in Switzerland) that sits down in the valley and looks up AT the mountains but is not in them. Unless you want to hike along the lake shore (and their side of the lake has a major highway running along it), you will have to take public transport for 30-40 minutes to get to the actual start of good trails, IMO. I would base myself in Wengen, Murren, Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen (in that order). Kandersteg is a possibility, but really is too small and the views are not as good, but they do have an excellent walk (to the Oeschinensee) so consider putting that in your itinerary. If you want to stay down on one of the lakes, consider Thun or Brienz, there are hikes up from that side of the lake as well (esp from Brienz), and those towns are a lot more charming, IMO.

thanks so much everyone for all the great info!

Here are some details on hikes I have posted about over the years.

1. The Männlichen crest to Kleine Scheidegg (as described above). This is an easy descent on a broad trail with views of the Eiger and Jungfrau all the way it seems. If you wish you can continue down hill to Wengen, but the hike gets a little boring after you pass the hotel in the middle of seemingly nowhere. You turn so that the mountains are behind you.

2. First (gondola station) to the Bachsee with chances to go many other places. This trail is up and down but never extreme. To reach First, take the Grindelwald - First gondola. (First is a Swiss-German word that means ridge.)
If you don't want to do the trek to Schynige Platte, hike above the Bachsee to the hotel on top of the Faulhorn.
The view from up there is second to none because you can see both lakes on either side of Interlaken as well as the giants of the Berner Oberland.

3. First to Grosse Scheidegg. This trail is fairly flat as alpine trails go. It crosses a meadow so you have excellent viewing as you walk. You can take the Post Bus from Grosse Scheidegg back to Grindelwald. There is a nice cafe on the crest of the pass.

4. Pfingstegg gondola station to Stieregg. This trail leads high along the glacier into the heart of the inner mountain world. Icefalls, glaciers and snowfields are all around as you walk along a gently rising trail. The gondola goes up from the downhill side of the church in Grindelwald.

From a rough pasture where the old restaurant was, you can cross a deep gully cut into the lateral moraine.
The trail goes all the way to a mountain hut. To get there, you must ascend the cliffs of the Rots Gufer. Believe me, that section of the trail may well give you more than you want; it did me, but I was 68 when I tried it and decided that I did not need that kind of stress and excitement.

5. Grutschalp to Mürren. Take the new cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp and walk to Mürren. The main ridge of the Berner Oberland dominates the view to the south. The Jungfrau is just to your left as you walk along.
There is a restaurant along the way.

6, Another one I like leads into a deep secluded and enclosed glacial cirque with water falls, high cliffs, and meadows. The trail originates in Gimmelwald, which is about the only reason I can think of go to go Gimmelwald, and leads along a glacial stream to its end against the towering walls of the Gspaltenhorn.

7. The Eiger Nordwand trail between the Eigergletscher station on the Jungfraubahn rail line and Alpiglen on the Grindelwald - Kleine Scheidegg line.
I suggest hiking the trail upwards from Alpiglen if your legs are in shape to do it because going down is dicey at times because the trail has a lot gritty scree on it that can be unstable downhill underfoot.

8. Drive or take the Post Bus from Meiringen to the Grimsel Hospiz on the flank of the Grimsel Pass. Walk across the dam of the lake, enter a tunnel, emerge on the other side and walk along the trail on a glacier to a mountain shelter hut. It is a long hike, but immensely rewarding. Traversing the glacier can be dicey, but the way is usually marked with cairns and a few ropes in key places.

9. If you go to the Jungfraujoch, take the walk to the shelter known as the Mönchsjochhütte. It is over a mile in length over a groomed snow track which you must follow or run the risk of sinking into snow up above your waist. This trek may not be open in August because there has been a tremendous amount of snowfall this summer at the Joch. Some 2 feet or more are expected this week. I do not know if the trail grooming machine has been able to keep up with night after night of new snow.

10. At the end of the Lauterbrunnen valley a trail goes up into the mountains to a shelter building on the flank of the Jungfrau. It is a steep climb, and quite a challenge to get there. The Oberhornsee may be as much as you want on this particular trip. The trail leads up from near the hotel in Stechelberg, where the paved road ends.

11. If you want a real hike, and make an overnighter out of it. Take off from Muerren and cross the Sefinenfurka to Griesalp. From there you can take the Post Bus down to the Kander Valley and ride the train back to Lauterbrunnen via Interlaken.

As an adjunct to this hike, you can fork off the trail and ascend the Höhturli and then descend to the Öeschinensee and then to Kandersteg.

12. From Kandersteg, you can take the route up to the Hotel Schwarenbach and follow along the flats of the Gemmi Pass to the Daubensee of Sherlock Holmes fame. If you wish you can descend on the gondola to Luekerbad. That would make a long day out of it.

If you take on any of these high altitude hikes that put you out on the trail for several hours, be sure to have rain gear, food and water with your. Some of those hikes can be stressful and you need fuel for energy. When I was at the Daubensee, we were eating lunch when sleet started falling. We walked back toward Kandersteg in a steady sleet fall. Fortunately I had my Goretex outfit in my pack, parka and pants.

The information I have given you here is more than you would do in 3 weeks probably, so I think it will hold your for a mere 3 days.

Not to toot my own horn, but I think I have hiked quite a few of those trails over a period of several years. Unfortunately, my hiking companion has come up lame which curtails my excursions these days. I do not like to tackle some of those more remote trails alone.

But come August 21 I hope to be on an easy trail somewhere up there. One thing about the Lauterbrunnen Valley this year: With all the rainfall there should be plenty of water coming over the falls. Trommelbach should be roaring full blast. It drains the glacier that flows off the Mönch and the Jungfrau. With as much fresh snow as has fallen this summer, the Weisse Lütschine should be full of water and Staubbach Falls, the trademark of Lauterbrunnen, should have more than an average flow of water this summer.

Well that about pumps my well dry.

Despite these descriptions, you would do well to get the new edition of Kev Reynolds book. It is comprehensive tohe area; the others are not by any means. They barely scratch the surface.

thank you bob brown...you are a fountain of knowledge!

tagging...

great replies

hi,

we just came back frm our 2 weeks swiss trips n this was some of the best scenic hikes we did.

1. take cable car to First and hike to lake bachalpsee and hike back to first. (2 hrs )

2. hike from mannlichen- kleine scheidegg ( extremely scenic and easy too ) (1 hr 30 min)

this are the best 2 hikes. make sure u get a hiking map at the train station in swiss for the interlaken area.

I just got back from a few days in the Jungfrau region. I have been there three times now and always stay in Kandersteg - a small village that never seems to be super-crowded but has some good hotels, restaurants, and shops.

I can definitely recommend the short (45 minute) hike from the Jungfraujoch to the Mönchsjochhütte (#9 on bob brown's list), especially if you have a clear day, but be sure to wear waterproof shoes since you hike through permanent snow. The scenery is unbeatable and you can get a tasty warm snack at the Mönchsjochhütte. This trail was open as of last week. Be aware that it may look easy, but at 11,000 feet we were huffing and puffing up that little hill!

If you are looking for an awesome strenuous hike, my new favorite is from Kandersteg: take the Sesselbahn up to Oeschinensee (a spectacular glacial lake ringed by waterfalls) and then hike around the right side of the lake up to the Früdenhütte, 1000 meters up. It takes about 2-1/2 hours so be sure to give yourself time to get back and catch the chairlift down (or you can walk all the way back to Kandersteg like we did, which is about an hour from Oeschinensee - but it's a killer on the knees!). This is not a hike for anyone afraid of heights. The trail is well-marked with some roped sections; the views over the lake and surrounding mountains are incredible.

A less strenuous option is to go around the left side of the lake to the opposite end, where there is another hütte offering hot meals. You don't get as high but the view of the lake is gorgeous.

One of my favourite hikes with great views is the Eiger trail (4 hours). Start from railway station "Eigergletscher" (one above Kleine Scheidegg and walk along the north face of the Eiger down to Alpiglen. Have a meal there and go down to Grindelwald by train.
Details in G: http://www.wandersite.ch/Tageswanderung/702%20Bern.html

There are several ways to do this excellent hike. You can do it as Eiger suggested and you will certainly see some glorious sights of the Jung Frau and the North face Eiger.

But my favorite was to do this hike is start at Wengenalp on the Wengen side of Kleine Scheidegg and walk up to the Eiger Glacier station. Then walk down to Alpligen. Now that is just me and how I enjoy doing this walk.

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