Switzerland: Bernese Oberland walks from Grindelwald and Mürren

Zurich to Bern and Grindelwald

Zurich Airport to Bern, then Grindelwald

• Lunch in Bern and welcome dinner
• Nuit : Grindelwald
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

We stop for a sit-down lunch, then walk the arcaded streets to the Zytglogge clock tower and the terrace beside the Münster for a first look down at the green river. From Bern it is about another hour and a quarter, past Lake Thun and Interlaken, to Grindelwald at about 1,030 m, under the Eiger and the Wetterhorn. Your luggage goes to the room and stays there for three nights.

Soir

Before dinner your guide and hiking leader run through the week, check boots and layers, and explain how each day splits into an easier and a fuller walk. Welcome dinner together in the village.

Compris

• Meeting at Zurich Airport (ZRH)
• Sit-down lunch and a short guided walk in Bern's old town: the arcades, the Zytglogge and the Münster terrace
• Welcome briefing and kit check with your guide and hiking leader
• Welcome dinner in Grindelwald

First and the Bachalpsee

Grindelwald to First by gondola, walk to the Bachalpsee, then down to Bort

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Grindelwald
• En train

Matin

On a calm morning the Schreckhorn and the Finsteraarhorn reflect in the water, and marmots whistle from the slopes around it.

Après-midi

We walk back to First for a sit-down lunch at the mountain restaurant by the top station, with the Wetterhorn across the valley, and anyone with a head for heights can step out onto the First Cliff Walk, a metal walkway fixed to the rock face. The afternoon walk drops through alpine meadows to Waldspitz and on down to Bort, the gondola's middle station, where we ride the last section back to Grindelwald. You are back by mid-afternoon, with the rest of the day free.

Compris

• Grindelwald-First gondola, up to First and back down from Bort
• Walk from First to the Bachalpsee and back
• Sit-down lunch at First
• Afternoon walk from First via Waldspitz to Bort

Activités en option

• First Flyer zipline or a Trottibike scooter ride down from Bort (price shown at booking)

Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg

Grindelwald to Männlichen by gondola, walk to Kleine Scheidegg and down to Alpiglen, then train to Grindelwald

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Grindelwald
• En train

Matin

Your guide checks the summit webcams at breakfast; if the peaks are in cloud, we swap this day with yesterday's and walk it when they clear.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal at Kleine Scheidegg, the pass at 2,061 m where the Jungfrau railway starts, right below the Eiger's north face. After lunch we walk down through pasture to Alpiglen at 1,616 m, about an hour and a quarter, and take the Wengernalp railway back to Grindelwald. The late afternoon is free: a coffee on a terrace, a browse through the village, or the Gletscherschlucht gorge at the foot of the Lower Grindelwald Glacier.

Compris

• Männlichen gondola from Grindelwald Terminal
• Panorama trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg
• Sit-down lunch at Kleine Scheidegg
• Walk down to Alpiglen and the Wengernalp railway back to Grindelwald

Activités en option

• The Jungfraujoch by the Jungfrau railway from Kleine Scheidegg after lunch, in place of the afternoon walk, if the weather and time allow: about 2.5 to 3 hours return plus time at the top, back in Grindelwald in the early evening (price shown at booking)

Up the Lauterbrunnen valley to Mürren

Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen, walk to Trümmelbach Falls and Stechelberg, cable car to Gimmelwald, walk to Mürren

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Mürren
• Environ 30 min de route

Après-midi

After a sit-down lunch in the valley we carry on for about half an hour to Stechelberg at the head of the valley and ride the cable car to Gimmelwald, a small farming village. The last stretch is an uphill walk of about 45 minutes on a quiet lane to car-free Mürren, on its ledge about 800 m above the valley floor, our home for three nights.

Compris

• Your luggage moved from Grindelwald to your Mürren hotel
• Staubbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen
• Walk up the Lauterbrunnen valley floor
• Trümmelbach Falls entry
• Sit-down lunch in the valley
• Cable car from Stechelberg to Gimmelwald and the walk up to Mürren

The Schilthorn and the Northface Trail

Mürren to the Schilthorn and Birg by cable car, then Allmendhubel and the Northface Trail

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Mürren
• En train

Matin

We ride one of the first cable cars of the day from Mürren to the Schilthorn, changing at Birg, because the summit at 2,970 m is usually clearest early and fills with day visitors by late morning. From the terrace of Piz Gloria, the revolving summit building that appeared in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the view runs across the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau and, on a clear day, far along the Bernese Alps. On the way down we stop at Birg for the Thrill Walk, a steel path along the cliff with glass floor sections, or a coffee on the terrace for anyone who prefers solid rock.

Après-midi

Back in Mürren we have a sit-down lunch, then ride the funicular up to Allmendhubel at 1,907 m. The afternoon walk is the Northface Trail, a waymarked path of about two and a half hours back towards Mürren, with panels telling the stories of the climbs on the Eiger face opposite. The late afternoon is free.

Compris

• Cable car from Mürren to the Schilthorn via Birg, and back
• The Schilthorn summit terrace at 2,970 m
• The Thrill Walk at Birg
• Sit-down lunch in Mürren
• Allmendhubel funicular and the Northface Trail

Rotstockhütte and the Sprütz waterfall

Mürren on foot to the Rotstockhütte, down to Gimmelwald, cable car to Mürren

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Mürren
• En train

Matin

We leave Mürren on foot after breakfast and climb gently through the Blumental, a valley of meadows and summer farms, then more steadily to the Rotstockhütte at 2,039 m, a mountain hut below the Schilthorn, in about two hours.

Après-midi

Lunch is a hot meal at the hut, eaten outside when the weather allows. The descent goes past Spielbodenalp to the Sprütz waterfall, where the path runs behind the falling water, and on down through forest and pasture to Gimmelwald, about an hour and a half and around 680 m lower than the hut. The cable car takes us back up to Mürren, or you can walk the lane in about 45 minutes. In July and August afternoon thunderstorms are common, which is why we start in the morning and are down before they build. If the morning is wet, your guide swaps this walk with yesterday's lift day.

Soir

The rest of the afternoon is yours, and dinner tonight is your choice.

Compris

• Walk from Mürren through the Blumental to the Rotstockhütte
• Lunch at the Rotstockhütte
• Descent past the Sprütz waterfall to Gimmelwald
• Cable car from Gimmelwald to Mürren

Grütschalp, Schynige Platte and Interlaken

Mürren to Grütschalp on foot, cableway to Lauterbrunnen, Schynige Platte railway from Wilderswil, then Interlaken

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Interlaken
• Environ 18 min de route

Après-midi

After a sit-down lunch at the top station we walk the panorama trail, about two hours along a ridge with the Bernese Alps on one side and Lake Thun and Lake Brienz below on the other.

Soir

We ride the train back down in the late afternoon and drive five minutes to Interlaken, our hotel for the last night. There is free time before a farewell dinner together.

Compris

• Mountain View Trail from Mürren to Grütschalp
• Cableway from Grütschalp to Lauterbrunnen
• Schynige Platte railway from Wilderswil, up and down
• The alpine garden and the panorama trail at Schynige Platte
• Sit-down lunch at Schynige Platte
• Farewell dinner in Interlaken

Interlaken to Zurich Airport

Interlaken to Zurich Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

A last breakfast in Interlaken, then time for a short walk across the Höhematte, the open meadow in the middle of town, with the Jungfrau framed at the end of the valley on a clear morning. We leave at about 9 am for the drive to Zurich Airport (ZRH), about two hours and 180 km on the motorway past Bern, arriving by about 11 am, so book a flight leaving after about 1:30 pm. Your guide sees you to the terminal and checks your flight before saying goodbye. If you are staying on in Switzerland, we can drop you at Interlaken Ost station instead, or in Bern or Zurich on the way, and the rail network takes you anywhere from there. If you want the country's other highlights, the Jungfraujoch, Lucerne and Zermatt, our Switzerland by Train trip pairs well before or after this one and does not repeat these walks.

Compris

• Drop-off at Zurich Airport (ZRH), or at Interlaken Ost station if you are staying on