As we complete the challenging ascent into Gimmelwald –– a tiny and trafficless village hanging on the edge of a cliff high above Switzerland’s Lauterbrunnen Valley where the cows outnumber people and time stands still –– I feel an emotional concoction of gratitude, relief, and a tinge of sadness.
The view from the peak of Faulhorn sweeps over Switzerland’s famous triumvirate of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Photo by Mauri Elbel
My husband and I have spent the past week hiking beneath the soaring Swiss mountains of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, soaking in the sights and sounds of Switzerland’s breathtaking Bernese Oberland: snow-capped peaks, green-velvet valleys sprinkled in colorful wildflowers, rushing waterfalls, serene alpine lakes, storybook Swiss villages, and clinking cowbells. Each day brought with it a humbling reminder that true tranquility still exists in this world –– and for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.
Immediate relief accompanied my overwhelming gratitude. After spending the better part of the day hiking 12 grueling up-and-down miles, our water bottles were empty and our legs were burning when we stumbled upon a pint-sized biergarten and refueled with locally brewed black Swiss lager and homemade sausages and bread.
Sadness lingered nonchalantly in the background. It was at this point in our journey when I realized that only one steep, switch-backed mile separated us from our final destination of Mürren, where our idyllic week of hiking through the Swiss Alps would come to an end.
I’ve always said the best way to experience a new place is on foot. But my trusted travel mantra took on a deeper, and more elevated (pun intended), meaning on our recent self-guided hiking trip through Switzerland’s breathtaking Bernese Oberland this past July.
Writer Mauri Elbel and husband completed their first self-guided hiking trip with Macs Adventure through the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Photo by Travis Albrecht
Each day, we awoke in one charming Swiss Alpine village and fell asleep in another, relying solely on our own two feet to get us to and from each destination. Covering a total of 50 miles and 23,185 feet of elevation (including all of the ups and downs), our self-guided hiking trip began in Interlaken, led us up to the peak of Faulhorn, and then down into Grindelwald, Wengen, through Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald, and to our final destination of Mürren.
We couldn’t have done this trip without Macs Adventure which meticulously planned every step of our journey, allowing us the freedom to travel at our own pace and completely on foot. With more than two decades of experience operating self-guided hiking and biking vacations across Europe, Japan and New Zealand, Macs Adventure’s “you put in the miles, we’ll handle the logistics” philosophy lets adventurers of all levels set their own pace by equipping them with an award-winning navigation app featuring maps, route notes, expertly curated daily itineraries, and 24/7 support.
Each day, we hiked completely alone, without a group or guide, and on our own timeline. Macs Adventure handled everything else, from booking our lodging each night to transferring our luggage from village to village so we only needed to hike with a light backpack.
The Swiss chalet-style homes throughout the quaint mountain villages in Switzerland look as if they’ve popped straight out of the pages of a storybook. Photo by Mauri Elbel
During a time when the world has felt heavy, our self-guided hiking trip through Switzerland’s stunning Bernese Oberland provided the therapy we didn’t know we needed. Below are four treks through one of the most unbelievably beautiful places in the world that left our legs and feet sore and our minds and spirits lighter.
From Interlaken to Faulhorn via Schynige Platte
Following a dreamy first day in Interlaken, Switzerland’s bustling tourist town sandwiched between the turquoise waters of Lake Briez and Lake Thun, we checked out of the conveniently-located Hotel Derby where we left our bags behind and embarked on the first leg of our hiking adventure.
Under a flawless blue sky filled with more paragliders than clouds, my husband and I made our way to the train station. We piled into a crowded vintage cogwheel train, with a sweet coal-black mountain dog resting beneath our legs, and began an hour-long, slow and scenic straight-up chug to the top of Schynige Platte.
Our 7-mile hike leading up to the peak of Faulhorn offered an introductory crash course to the surreal beauty we’d be encountering for the next week as well as the challenging hikes we were in for. Seven miles on paper? No problem. Seven miles straight up a mountain? Well, that’s a different story.
The path to Faulhorn crosses velvet-green valleys strewn with wildflowers cradling Alpine lakes. Photo by Mauri Elbel
But almost four hours and 3,000 feet of elevation later –– after trekking across green mountainsides strewn with wildflowers, past emerald valleys cradling Alpine lakes, and scrambling up a mile-long vertical scree trail to the top of Faulhorn –– we arrived at our destination for the night: Berghotel Faulhorn.
The famed mountain hotel perched at the top of a 2,600-meter-high peak is one of the oldest mountain hotels in the Swiss Alps built specifically for tourism –– and it’s remained largely untouched since it was built in 1830. It’s only accessible by foot, and all supplies are delivered to and waste is transported from the high mountain hut via helicopter, which requires as many as four flights per week during peak season.
With no running water, no private bathrooms, and no heat or air conditioning, this was by far the most rustic accommodation on our entire itinerary, but staying here felt like stepping back in time and offered everything we needed to be comfortable for a night. What the mountain hotel lacks in modern amenities, it makes up for in million-dollar, 360-degree views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountains, and dozens of hikers seek refuge here nightly.
My husband and I made it to the historic mountain hut in time to sip a cold beer and witness a spectacular sunset cast a sherbert glow over the surrounding mountains. Inside the hotel, we swapped our hiking boots for the required communal “warming shoes” (Crocs) and settled into our assigned seats for dinner where we enjoyed a hearty Swiss meal of barley stew, homemade bread, and beef stroganoff served family-style in the hotel’s communal dining room. Dinner gave us the chance to mingle with other hikers from all around the world, swapping stories and adventures as we ate.
The rooms at the mountaintop hotel are lovingly furnished and preserved in their original condition, including Biedermeier beds from the hotel’s founding period and antique wash basins and jugs in lieu of running water. Photo by Mauri Elbel
By the time we retired to our room for the night –– a cozy narrow wood-wrapped space featuring two twin beds, an antique water jug and basin for washing, and a small window framing majestic mountain views –– the temperatures had dropped down into the 30s. I spent the night huddled beneath both me and my husband’s red-and-white checkered duvets (it’s mandatory for hygiene reasons to bring your own sleeping bag liner), and tried to keep warm with a few hot water bottles provided to guests upon request.
From the peak of Faulhorn down into Grindelwald
We woke to pale blue skies and a Swiss breakfast spread of hot coffee, cheeses, cold cuts, and breads, and we were on our way by the time the sun started to warm up the chilly air. Twelve up-and-down miles of breathtaking beauty separated us from Grindelwald, where we’d end up later that day.
We came upon Lake Bachsee (also known as Bachalpsee) –– a postcard-worthy Alpine lake that reflects the clouds and surrounding snow-capped peaks in its still, cerulean waters. Here, we soaked in a breathtaking backdrop of the Wetterhorn peak, as I jotted down reflections in a journal intended for passing travelers. As I tucked the journal safely back inside its protective metal canteen and placed it back under the wooden bench we were resting on, an older Swiss man sat down next to me. I’ve forgotten his name, but something he said during our brief conversation resonated with me then and has stuck with me ever since: “There’s no space for stress here in these mountains.”
Bachalpsee is a picturesque mountain lake that captures the clouds and surrounding peaks in its crystal clear waters. Photo by Mauri Elbel
During a time when the world, and our lives, have felt heartbreakingly heavy, it was a gift to be able to slip out of the stress and into the healing tranquility that permeates high in the Swiss Alps. Up here, the resounding silence is only interrupted by intermittent chirping birds, babbling creeks, rushing waterfalls, and of course, Switzerland’s signature soundtrack of clanking cowbells playing in distance.
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A few miles later, a herd of Swiss cattle had claimed their space on the narrow trail. We summoned the courage to swiftly tiptoe past the massive brown-and-white coated dairy cows donning oversized bells that continued grazing, unbothered, on their endless feast of mountain grass.
Sharing the trail with the massive cows that graze on Alpine pastures throughout Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland throughout the summer months. Photo by Mauri Elbel
Along the Grindelwald trail, we encountered only two signs of civilization, both of which came into view with impeccable timing. At the mountaintop destination of Grindelwald-First, we ducked into a tiny shop in the hopes I’d find what I was looking for –– hiking poles. The fact that we were among the few hikers without them was a telltale sign that we weren’t exactly prepared for hiking in the Swiss Alps, and the purchase would prove to be a game-changer for my sore muscles and aching joints in the days ahead.
Several miles later, just as a rainstorm began to roll in over the village of Grindelwald, which from our elevated vantage point looked like a cluster of tiny toy houses below, the second building came into view. As rain drops hammered down on us, we darted inside the Berghotel Grosse Scheidegg, where we took a seat in the window-wrapped restaurant and ordered warm schnitzels and cold pilsners while we waited for the storm to blow over. When we walked outside, a rainbow arched across the gray sky, forming a bridge above our winding 6-mile descent into Grindelwald –– a quaint ski town dotted with traditional chalet-style Swiss homes and lined with restaurants, bars and souvenir shops selling everything from Swiss army knives to cuckoo clocks.
Grindelwald is a popular Alpine mountain village and holiday destination in Switzerland, known for its stunning landscapes and year-round outdoor adventures like skiing and hiking.
In Grindelwald, we popped into the Swiss Chocolate Chalet where we nibbled decadent Swiss chocolates and truffles. Then we traipsed down to the Sunstar Hotel where we sipped cocktails while enjoying a spectacular sunset backdrop of Eiger before heading to dinner at Ristorante-Pizzeria Da Salvi. We rested up for the next day’s adventure at Hotel Residence –– a cozy, timber-framed chalet-style hotel with red and white bougainvillea spilling out from wooden balconies that frame magnificent mountain vistas.
The uphill climb from Grindelwald to Wengen
I began to question how we’d fare on today’s steep 11-mile hike to Wengen when we both realized that our legs were so stiff and sore we could barely emerge from bed and hobble down the hotel stairs to eat breakfast. But after another hearty Swiss breakfast of local cheeses, home baked breads, cold cuts, hardboiled eggs and fresh-squeezed juice, we stopped at the local pharmacy for some pain relievers and were on our way.
Burning quads and calves aside, we soon discovered that half of the route to Wengen was a steep, straight-up climb –– according to my Apple watch before the battery died, the first 6.43 miles we hiked had an elevation gain of 3,544-feet.
Looking down on the village of Wengen from the summit of the Männlichen. Photo by Mauri Elbel
But with nowhere to go but up, and without any agenda other than our own, we were able to take it slow, stop often and soak in the striking views across the Eiger, reveling in the enchanting summer landscape where snowmelt waterfalls meet newly sprung wildflowers.
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It was also on this day of hiking when we finally took notice that the trail markers in Switzerland are color-coded for difficulty. Yellow trail markings signify an average walking path suitable for beginners and all fitness levels. The red-and-white markings painted on trees and rocks that we’d been following, however, indicate more challenging mountain trails that are often steep, have significant elevation changes and are best suited for experienced hikers with superior fitness levels, surefootedness and proper preparation. Let’s just say that we never saw a yellow sign throughout the duration of our hiking trip –– and we had the sore muscles to prove it.
The stunning views of the Jungfrau and Lauterbrunnen Valley from the rooms in the beloved Hotel Bellevue Wengen. Photo by Travis Albrecht
When we finally arrived into Wengen –– a charming, sun-drenched, car-free mountain town that’s only accessible by train or on foot –– we made a beeline for Hotel Bellevue. The hotel was built in 1890 on a mountain terrace high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, and the balcony of our corner suite captured unparalleled panoramic views of the Jungfrau and verdant valley below. Our legs and feet felt like they’d been to battle so we decided to stay put and eat dinner at Judy’s Restaurant inside the hotel where we shared an unexpectedly delicious meal of Swiss cheese soup and a beef fillet smothered in porcini mushrooms and cognac sauce.
We had a rest day in Wengen the next day, but rather than spend it resting, we actually opted for more hiking. Unfortunately for my sore muscles, this area of the world is just too beautiful not to take advantage of every second. We took a gondola from the village to the summit of the Männlichen mountain, which captures a sweeping aerial view of the iconic “Big Three” (Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau) and the Lauterbrunnen Valley down below. From there, we walked the picturesque 6-mile round trip Panorama Trail to Kleine Scheidegg and back. That evening, we rewarded ourselves with a memorable private traditional Swiss fondue dinner –– inside of an antique gondola –– at Braunbär Hotel.
Writer Mauri Elbel and husband enjoy a delicious and scenic traditional Swiss fondue dinner in a private antique gondola.
Walking from Wengen to Mürren via Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald
Our last day of hiking was not our steepest, but it turned out to be our most challenging. While my husband consistently trailed behind me on the ascents, it was the exact opposite on the descents, and more than once I lost my footing on rain-slick rocks and fell on my rear.
Despite the rain and slippery descents, this 12-mile trek weaves through some of the most enchanting landscapes we’ve ever laid eyes on: thick Alpine forests, raging waterfalls, snowy peaks stretching into clouds, valleys so green they look like field turf, bucolic in-the-middle-of-nowhere farms, and Swiss chalets blooming with lush gardens.
Waterfalls are plentiful in this stunning corner of Switzerland. Photo by Travis Albrecht
Just outside of Lauterbrunnen before the ascent up to Mürren, it’s a popular detour to visit the highest waterfall of the region. But we opted to skip the touristy crowds and long lines, instead appreciating the plentiful cascading waterfalls decorating our route.
After 11 miles –– 4,475 feet going up and another 3,195 feet going down –– we climbed into Gimmelwald, a sleepy little village consisting of a handful of chalets and hostels that feels like you’ve stepped back in time a few hundred years. We settled into an outdoor table in the vine-covered biergarten of Hotel Pension Gimmelwald to rest our legs and refuel our empty tanks with their famous homebrewed Schwarz Mönch schwarzbier (dark Swiss lager) paired with delicious homemade sausage and bread. Then we headed uphill to complete the last mile to Mürren.
In Gimmelwald, the cows outnumber residents and time stands still. Photo by Mauri Elbel
Mürren, like Wengen and Gimmelwald, is completely car-free, and the only way to reach it is by cable car (gondola), train, or on foot. It’s about a five-minute walk to get from one end to the other of this bustling village lined with sun-kissed wooden chalets and timber-framed hotels and shops, each Swiss storybook structure meticulously landscaped and adorned with vibrant flowers.
We checked into the Hotel Alpenblick, a quaint, three-story hotel sitting at the end of the village across from the railway line from Grutschalp to Mürren. We walked our sore legs up to our top-floor room, plopped down on our balcony, and shared a cold beer while absorbing the jaw-dropping views of the Swiss Alps. We were too tired to venture out for dinner, so we took a seat at the modest dining room tucked in the hotel, not expecting anything extraordinary. Instead, we were blown away by the mouthwatering traditional Swiss dishes we devoured: a flavorful Gulaschsuppe (goulash-style soup) for me, and the schweins mit rösti und zwiebelsauce und sauerkraut (pork sausage with onion sauce, hash brown and sauerkraut) for my husband.
In Mürren, lunch is served with awe-inspiring mountain views.
It’s worth spending an extra day in Mürren, where you can climb to the Schilthorn summit, a world-famous site where the James Bond Film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was filmed. Check out the James Bond exhibit, enjoy lunch at the Piz Gloria Revolving Restaurant boasting awe-inspiring 360-degree mountain views, and take a cable car back down to Mürren.
The next morning, we boarded the train to start our long journey home, returning with sore legs but leaving behind our stresses and a piece of our hearts high up in the Swiss Alps.
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