Berner Oberland
Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau · Bernese Alps, Switzerland
Village to village under the most famous skyline in the Alps, with one night high on a summit for the sunrise. Every single day has a train or a cable car on it, which means nobody is ever trapped — and it means the walking is the good part, not the slog. It is the most expensive option and the easiest to say yes to.
- Nights
- 1 night on a summit + 3 in villages
- Total distance
- 36 km / 22 mi
- Total ascent
- 1,050 m / 3,450 ft
- Highest point
- 2,681 m — Faulhorn
What you'd be looking at
Day by day
Schynige Platte → Berghotel Faulhorn
The long ridgeA hundred-year-old cogwheel train hauls you from the valley to a ridge at 1,967 m, so the day starts with the climbing already done. Then a high traverse north of the Eiger with the whole Jungfrau wall across the valley. You sleep at 2,681 m in an inn that has been up there since 1830 — this is the rustic night, and it buys you sunrise on the Eiger with nobody else awake.
- Distance
- 11 km
- Ascent
- +700 m
- Descent
- −250 m
- On foot
- 4½ h
Faulhorn → Bachalpsee → First → Grindelwald
Easy, mostly downDownhill all morning past Bachalpsee, the lake that mirrors the entire Schreckhorn range on a still day. Gondola down to Grindelwald by lunchtime, which leaves the whole afternoon for the cliff walk, the mountain carts and the scooter descent — the day the kids will vote for.
- Distance
- 6 km
- Ascent
- +50 m
- Descent
- −620 m
- On foot
- 2½ h
The Eiger Trail → Kleine Scheidegg → Wengen
ModerateTrain up to Eigergletscher, then walk the Eiger Trail — a path that runs directly along the base of the north face. You are close enough to hear rockfall. It drops to Alpiglen, climbs gently to Kleine Scheidegg for the classic view, and a cog railway carries you down to Wengen, a car-free village on a shelf above the valley.
- Distance
- 10 km
- Ascent
- +150 m
- Descent
- −900 m
- On foot
- 4 h
Wengen → Lauterbrunnen → Mürren
GentleDown into Lauterbrunnen, a valley floor with vertical walls on both sides and seventy-two waterfalls coming off them, including the Staubbach falling almost 300 m in one drop. Cable car up the far side, then a level panorama path to Mürren. Last night with the Eiger directly opposite the dinner table.
- Distance
- 9 km
- Ascent
- +150 m
- Descent
- −400 m
- On foot
- 3½ h
Optional: Schilthorn
Add-onA cable car to 2,970 m and a revolving restaurant that was a Bond villain's lair in 1969. Forty peaks visible on a clear day. Walk down as far as you feel like and ride the rest.
- Distance
- cable car
- Ascent
- +1,300 m
- Descent
- —
- On foot
- half day
The honest part
The hardest bit
Day 1, and only because it is long rather than steep — about 4½ hours on a ridge at altitude. The full Schynige Platte to First traverse is rated strenuous as a single 16 km day; splitting it over the Faulhorn night is what turns it into a family walk.
If someone's had enough
Better than any other route here. A bus runs from Bussalp, below the Faulhorn, if day 1 goes wrong. Days 2, 3 and 4 all end at a lift or a station, and any of them can be shortened to almost nothing by riding instead of walking.
Where you sleep
Berghotel Faulhorn (2,681 m) — the one rough night, and rough is the word: nine Biedermeier-furnished rooms and a dormitory, a washroom with cold running water and no showers. Half board is included at about CHF 80 per person in the dorm, CHF 115 in a room. Then three nights in proper village hotels in Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren, all with private bathrooms, showers and dinner.
Fitting twenty-one people
The three village nights are the easiest booking on this page — Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren are real resort towns with hotels that take parties of twenty without blinking. The Faulhorn is the exception: it has nine rooms and a dormitory in total, so twenty-one of us would essentially be taking the whole inn. That is either a wonderful thing or a booking risk, depending on how early we move.
Getting there
Zurich (ZRH) — 2h by direct train to Interlaken
When to book
Swiss village hotels for peak July want 9–12 months' notice for a block of rooms; the Faulhorn needs the same. Decide by autumn 2027. A regional travel pass covering the trains and lifts is worth pricing as a group.
Days either side
Interlaken at the start is made for this — lake steamers, paragliding, and easy day trips. Lucerne is 2 hours away and worth two nights.
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