The Bernese Alps is like no other. A ride on a cog railway through this majestic and adventure-ridden region will quite literally drop your jaw. At the start, the emerald waters of Lake Thune will dazzle you. Chugging through narrow stretches of valley, you’ll pass quaint villages dotted with charming swiss chalets that don vibrant, geranium-filled flower-boxes. Whether it’s Grindelwald or Wengen; the rolling green pastures are at times met by fragrant and dense forests; whose spindly trees point up. Up towards the most dramatic and arresting mountains I’ve ever laid my eyes on. They tower in utter greatness from bottom to snow-capped top. 

THE SKINNY:

• Save up! Switzerland is $$
• Visiting for 2+ days and plan on visiting/hiking the summits…get the Jungfrau pass!
• Stay in Grindelwald or Lauterbrannen, not Interlaken.
• The weather is FICKLE, check respective summit web cams before you venture up.
• There is a strong asian influence on many of the food options in the area.
• Aim to stay in a place with a kitchen! While meat is expensive at grocery stores,  cooking will save you 100s of dollars.

ARRIVE:

Unless you’re road-tripping, most people arrive here by Swiss Rail (SBB). We came from Zurich and left towards Geneva, so there are many different available starting points to your journey.

The stations are laid out in an organized fashion because…THE SWISS. Just but be sure that you know where you switch (Lausanne, Bern, etc) because that may be the destination point listed, without any indication of Interlaken.

Also, depending on where you are staying, you take the train to Interlaken Oest or Est. It’s a 2 minute ride difference, but saves time with luggage/backpacks.

The rail is modern and comfy, especially in First Class (Thanks Eurrail Pass for making us fancy!) Pre-pack your snacks and coffee, though…a SMALL cup of joe will set you back $5.

STAY:

We stayed in Interlaken in the most adorable Airbnb EVER. We had wi-fi issues, but the cuteness of our hosts completely outweighed this flaw. Ursula, her husband, and their “so ugly it’s cute” pooch Pablo left us home-made treats at our doorstep each day, labeled with our names like an elementary school brown bag lunch. She makes a mean apple cobbler. To top it all off, they had a nespresso machine which adds the + to the A hands down.

BUT and there’s a big one…I would recommend not staying in Interlaken if you are planning hikes closer to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. Not only are these two towns more charming and authentic, but they are much more convenient for accessing the mountains.

EXPLORE:

Bernese Oberland Overview

We were here during an odd time; before ski season started and right when summer season wrapped up. With that in mind, this itinerary would look vastly different in the winter-time and somewhat different in the summer (just add rafting). I didn’t see our timing as a limitation because during this time, the region is still transformed into a hikers paradise.

As you can see from the map below, there are countless areas and summits to explore via foot, cable car, and train. It is highly unlikely that visitors stay put in their home-base area. With that said, if you are staying for 2+ days, I highly recommend the Jungfrau pass. We missed out on cashing in on this opportunity and probably spent $200+ more dollars buying individual tickets.

The three highest summits of the region are Grindelwald First, Schilthorn, and the king…Jungfrau. Even if you arrive without knowing this, you’ll learn in a matter of 3 milli-billboards that the Oberland world revolves around this majestic triplet. Advertisements push these peaks everywhere you turn!

So, what’s the difference? Grindelwald is pushing it’s adventure activities; mountain cart, zip-line, scooter, while Schilthorn touts it’s connection to Double 07. And as for Jungfrau, this summit simply provides the facts; it’s the Top of Europe! The tallest. The majority of visitors take the coinciding cable cars to reach the tops (offered at STEEP individual prices). If you’re feeling VERY fit, it is possible to hike up Schilthorn (5 hours) or Grindelwald (4+ hours). However, there are so many other trails whose views you may want to explore instead!

Here are some of my favorite activities/spots that we tackled…

Grindelwald First

At the top of Grindelwald, they’ve built a cliff-walk that wraps around the side of a mountain and appears to hang in the air. I’ve jumped out of planes and this walk still pumped some adrenaline into me! If you like a rush, take the walk!

We heard amazing things about the Bachalpsee trail, so we wanted to experience it ourselves! After taking in the incredible views of the Cliff Walk area, we were off on our hike to Lake Bachalpsee. Simply follow the signs for Bachalpsee for 1:40 and you’ll arrive. This is a family friendly hike that is hardly strenuous. The ease doesn’t mean that the views are any less dramatic or incredible!

At first, rounding the corner and finally coming into view of Lake Bachalpsee simply matched the stunning artistry of the surrounding scenery…but the equality did not last long! At around 11am, the reflection goddesses arrived and granted us one of the most beautiful landscape I’ve EVER laid my eyes on.

HOW: Since we didn’t take advantage of the Jungfrau pass, we opted for Grindelwald First since it was only $60 round trip for the cable car instead of $120. Remember, depending on where your base is, you also have to pay for the train to Grindelwald and back as well. In sum, take the train to Grindelwald, follow signs to the cable car, take the cable car up to First.

Panorama Weg

Mannlichen –> Kleine Scheidegg

This trail DEFINES panorama at a high-Alpine level. Essentially, the trail whisks you along a mountaintop.  From start to finish, you are surrounded by snow-capped royalty that soar into the sky all around you. Below these jagged peaks are towering rock walls of every shade and sweeping green valleys. Although I hate jumping on the bandwagon, it is so very clear why this is a visitor favorite. By far, it is mine too! The views are seriously unforgettable.  If you go one one hike, make this the one!

HOW: To get to our starting point at Mannlichen, we took the Jungfrau rail to Wengen and the cable car up to the summit ($23 one way). The trails are clearly marked. Once at Kleine Scheidegg, we took the Jungfrau rail back to Grindelwald. You can do this either way :).

Harderkulm

At 1321 meters it may be the lowest of viewpoints that we visited in Berner Oberland, but the breathtaking views do not disappoint! Walk to the end of The Two Lakes Bridge platform and you’ll see the turquoise waters of Lake Thune to your right and the equally shimmering Lake Brienz to your left. These two beautiful bodies of water are separated by Interlaken and on a clear day, views of Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. It’s pretty spectacular!

HOW: To reach the top of Harderkulm, you can ride the Furnicular OR hike. In an effort to beat overcast, we rode up and hiked down. Some prior research led us to believe that it was a relatively easy and short hike, but it ended up being about 2.5 hours! I wouldn’t mind the surprise, but we were racing with moonrise. Thankfully, we won. The mostly forested hike was a neat backdrop, but I wouldn’t go running back for the views. However, if you want a glute work-out, climb UP! Also, if you have some time to kill before your furnicular, there’s a quirky wildlife center 3 minutes away from the station. You can steal a peak at cute little marmots and other mountain animals.

Paragliding Interlaken

You CANNOT leave this area without a serious birds-eye alpine view. My #1 adventure sport will always be hang-gliding (the hubs proposed to me post hang-glide). However, since I was on a budget, paragliding was the chosen one for this trip. Same goes for the jump location. If money is not an issue, go higher! Jump from Grindelwald First! Regardless of where you choose, any ride will provide the most stunning of views. My jump location was 1350m up on Beatenburg through Paragliding Interlaken. My tandem guide, Andi, was SO friendly, fun, and professional. The thrill of a swingset in the clouds paired with the majestic views makes this a must-do activity.

Sunset over Lake Thune

There are so many places to catch an incredible sunset in this area, but this one felt like a secret. I’m not sure if it was the season, but we were the only ones soaking in the absolute beauty in this spot. Basically, it’s a strip of land that juts out into Lake Thune. This angle gifts you a really stunning sunset because the light not only dances on the shimmering lake, but plays with the shadows made by the distant mountains soaring above the blue lake.

HOW: To get to this secret spot, a good starting point is Interlaken West train station. Cross over the one channel and head left through the neighborhoods towards Lake Thune. Basically, you are in between the two channels. You’ll find a trail that parallels the water…follow it. The unassuming trail is a little under 1 mile. Bring some cover because this is the kingdom of little gnats.