Saturday 28 May 2022 • Promotional Content Jungfrau region
Switzerland’s mountainous heart is a magnet for adrenaline- seekers, who flock to its soaring peaks and misty waterfalls for some of Europe’s most thrilling outdoor adventures. Words: Kerry Walker
F
or many, the vision of paradise is a river running through a valley, leading to lush pastures and jewel-
like lakes, backed by forests, peaks and glistening glaciers. Nowhere does this better than Switzerland’s Jungfrau Region in the Bernese Alps, where Mother Nature seems to have drawn the landscape with a clean and confident hand — just take the region’s mythical mountain trio, the Eiger (the Ogre), Mönch (the Monk) and Jungfrau (the Virgin), for example. Here, farmers still bring their
bell-swinging cattle down to graze in summer meadows, and dark- timber villages are dwarfed by their backdrop. Where some will take one look at these savagely lovely mountains and shrug in defeat because they appear so impenetrable, the Swiss have harnessed them with zeal. Top-notch restaurants perched in the peaks are putting new spins on classic alpine fare, and hydro- powered trains and futuristic cable- cars glide up to lookouts pinned to mountaintops. But perhaps best of all, this is a
true alpine adventure playground, whether it’s hiking the hills, skydiving in front of the Eiger or racing through the landscape on a zip-line. Come for a weekend and you’ll get a taster, but you’ll wish you’d stayed the whole week.
DAY ONE: Gondolas & glaciers Morning: Hitch a lift on Grindelwald’s Eiger Express. Launched in December 2020, the new tri-cable gondola breezes past the Eiger’s gnarly north face and within 15 minutes you’re at Eiger Glacier station for a switch to the Jungfraubahn. Since 1912, this little red train has been curling up to Jungfraujoch, Europe’s highest train station at 11,362ft. Jungfraujoch is the crowning glory of the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site; stop at the Sphinx observation terrace for views across the 14-mile swirl of the Aletsch Glacier. You’ll need warm layers and boots, particularly if you fancy the 45-minute stomp to Mönchsjochhütte, Switzerland’s highest serviced mountain hut.
Afternoon: With cowbells jangling, marmots whistling and purple gentian in bloom, summer in the Bernese Alps is pure Heidi stuff. Hiking is the way to go here: Eiger Glacier is the start of the Eiger Trail, which draws close to the mountain’s north face. Largely downhill, the moderately challenging four-mile ramble pulls back the curtain on the waterfall-streaked Lauterbrunnen Valley and a host of glacier-frosted peaks; bring binoculars to spot climbers on the Eiger. Te trail picks its way over green meadows, gurgling streams and scree slopes to Alpiglen, where a gorgeous mountain hut delivers uplifting views and drinks on its terrace in the golden light of late afternoon.
Evening: If you’re lucky enough to snag a room at Hotel Glacier in Grindelwald, you’re in for a treat. Of all the glacier-themed, silver-hued rooms, the ones with whirlpools on the deck and views of the Eiger are the best. Te 28-room boutique hotel has impeccable eco credentials, too, sourcing sustainably, minimising waste and drawing energy from the local biomass plant. Even if you’re not staying the night, try to get a table in the restaurant; local, seasonal ingredients are cooked with flair in dishes like smoked sturgeon with Swiss caviar and kohlrabi, and braised Swiss wagyu with black truffle and egg-yolk praline.
DAY TWO: Waterfalls & wellness Morning: Grab a coffee and a cinnamon bun or a bowl of home- roasted granola at laid-back Airtime cafe in Lauterbrunnen. Te Lauterbrunnen Valley itself is extraordinary, with cliffs soaring over 3,000ft above the valley and scores of waterfalls spilling down them. If you only have time for one, walk in the spray of the 974ft Staubbach Falls, which stirred the souls of Lord Byron and Goethe, the latter of whom wrote a poem, Song of the Spirits over the Waters, extolling the torrent’s beauty. To make a morning of it, stroll along the valley to the glacier-fed Trummelbach Falls, which rage and froth into a boulder-strewn gorge, accessed via a series of galleries, tunnels and platforms.
Afternoon: From Lauterbrunnen, a cable-car whisks you up to Grütschalp, where you can take the train along the ridge to Mürren, a storybook Swiss village with log chalets on steep hillsides and views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Weaving through green pastures and spruce forest, the four-mile North Face Trail via Schiltalp is a beauty. Bring a picnic and enjoy incredible views of the Lauterbrunnen Valley and the Bernese Alps. For more of a challenge, clip onto Mürren’s via ferrata. As it navigates a suspension bridge, zip-line and tightrope, the route has heart-quickening views of peaks punching above the valley. Hire gear from a local Intersport and go it alone or enlist a guide.
Evening: Evenings in Mürren are as mellow as you might expect in a town rocked to sleep by the sound of cowbells. Sundown is peak-gazing time from the terrace of Hotel Eiger, where the drink to try is an alpine glow cocktail (local red Crystal Gin with tonic and orange) as the last sun hits the summits. Linger for dinner al fresco or in the wood-panelled Eiger Stübli, with dishes including Zurich-style veal with mushrooms, onions and rösti, and grilled elk with Armagnac-cranberry sauce and tagliatelle. Tere’s a spa, too, where you can rest up on a sleigh lounger and get a rubdown with birch oil.
First published in the June 2022 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Train driver at Schynige Platte PHOTOGRAPH: SEBASTIAN STAUB Harder Kulm PHOTOGRAPH: DAVID BIRRI
Te Travel Guide 5
View of the Staubbach waterfall in the Lauterbrunnen valley in Switzerland. PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY
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