A must-see attraction of Switzerland is located near Interlaken in the middle of the country. The Jungfrau (4158 m, 13642 feet; in German meaning “maiden/virgin”) is one of the major summits in the Bernese Alps. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the Jungfrau forms a massive wall overlooking the area. There is a height difference of approximately 3,600 m or 12,000 feet between the summit and the town of Interlaken where the photo below is taken from our hotel room. We covered that elevation in comfort in one day roundtrip.
To enjoy this trip, the local weather is critical. As seen above, it may just be good enough to go up to the mountain. An FAQ page by the official website is here. Let’s start our ascent with a tune by Paganini played by Itzhak Perlman.
We are calling this the Jungfrau circuit because we went by rail up to Jungfraujoch (3454 m, 11333 feet) via Lauterbrunnen and came down via another village – Grindelwald (it can also be done in the other direction).
There will be four more posts in this series. Click on the pictorial map of the area below for a full page image.
We did this tour in the summer of 2013. The train for Lauterbrunnen departed from the Interlaken Ost station. My Swiss annual train ticket (general abonnement) got me as far as Lauterbrunnen before I had to pay, and a discount for the rest of the train journey from that point up to Jungfraujoch. It was quite an expensive train ride but considering the elevation and the sights, it was well worth it.
The train snaked its way from Interlaken alongside a river up to Lauterbrunnen which is situated in a very impressive trough valley in the Alps, between gigantic rock faces and mountain peaks.
Lauterbrunnen
The name ‘Lauter Brunnen’ (‘many fountains’) came from the numerous waterfalls (apparently there are 72! ) in the valley, the most famous being the Staubbach Falls. As we did not stop here except to change train, we did not really visit the valley and have to come back in the future to do some hiking.
At the bottom of the valley (792m, 2608 feet) where the train started.
We changed to a different train and continued our climb. Looking back down the valley, you have to appreciate the gain in altitude, and how much the river eroded the rocks over the eons.
Given that the Swiss loves the outdoors, their government has provided many resources for mountain sports. Click on the 3D image below to play with their interactive topo maps. It is a delight.
The next stop was Wengen (1274m, 4180 feet).
Wengen is a car-free resort village. We imagine it to be very tranquil except when the train rolls in. It looked quite busy when the train arrived there.
Lots of hiking trails and cows, all over the mountain.
Wengen would be another good place to stay for hiking in the upper parts of the valley.
Looking back at Wengen.
The climb continued. The next stop is Kleine Scheidegg at 2061 m, 6762 feet.
There were fewer and fewer trees because of the altitude and climate. This is the genuine alpine landscape.
Kleine Scheidegg meaning “minor watershed” is a high mountain pass below the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks.
Kleine Scheidegg as a mountain pass connects the two villages Grindelwald with Lauterbrunnen. We changed to yet another rack railway train and continued our climb to Jungfraujoch.
Rack railway is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails (see third rail in the middle in photo above). The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels that mesh with this rack rail. This prevents the train from rolling back and is common among the mountain-climbing trains and funicular services in Switzerland.
The circuit is in our opinion a must-do for visitors of Switzerland as it brings many of the popular elements of this country together in a one-day trip. See our next post, #2 in the series – Kleine Scheidegg for the trip up to the top of Europe.
Originally posted on April 6, 2014. Last updated in November 2022.