Hi friends, welcome back to my Switzerland series! Our first full day in Wengen started slow enjoying our coffee on the balcony and taking in the stunning views. Jon felt a bit under the weather so we decided to have a less strenuous day exploring the Lauterbrunnen Valley. This picturesque village is home to seventy-two waterfalls making it a popular spot for a day trip. From Wengen we took the quick, twelve-minute train to the valley and gazed at the stunning views along the way. The ride was included with our half fare card and BO passes. The conductors are efficient at scanning passes, so make sure you have yours readily available.
After disembarking, we walked by Staubbach Falls but didn’t take the path up to go next to the waterfall. There was a long line to take pictures in front of it and it was too hot for a long line. This waterfall is 297m tall and the tallest free-falling waterfall in Switzerland. It had a relatively good stream for late August.
Jon and I continued on towards Trümmelbach falls and it was a pretty long, forty-minute walk with temperatures in the mid 80s. We followed the river and relieved ourselves of the heat by dipping our toes in the frigid water. You can also catch a bus from the train station, but we underestimated the heat and thought the walk would be preferable.
If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, the beauty of Lauterbrunnen inspired J.R.R. Tolkien while he was writing the series. This field is where I would land after my upcoming paragliding excursion.
At last we made it to Trümmelbach Falls and this was a neat spot to visit. This waterfall is unique because you go inside the mountain to view ten of the most powerful waterfalls I’ve ever seen. The falls get their water from the glacial walls of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau Mountains. At peak times, water can gush through at a rate of 20,000 liters a second. Unfortunately, I have not mastered the settings on my camera to do these waterfalls justice.
After paying our 14CHFs admission each, we walked into the mountain funicular that took us near the top of the ten waterfalls. Upon exiting there are signs that will direct you to each waterfall. It was a bit chilly inside but so refreshing after the sweltering trek over! If you visit on a cooler day, you’ll probably want to bring a jacket.
Trümmelbach was named after “Trommelbach” which means a stream that sounds like a drum. I can attest that it’s true to it’s name and extremely loud inside from the powerful rush of water.
After exiting Trümmelbach, we opted to take the quick bus ride back to the Lauterbrunnen train station and caught the train back up to Wengen.
Lauterbrunnen is an option for where to stay in the Berner Oberland area, but I’m happy we didn’t stay there. The main reason is that we wanted the scenic mountain views, but that’s not possible if you’re staying in the valley. I think we also would’ve struggled with the heat even more. A benefit for staying here is that it’s possibly the most accessible village to stay, but that also means more crowds during the day. We enjoyed our time in Lauterbrunnen, but for us it just didn’t compare to our time in the mountains. Especially when we could enjoy these beautiful sunset views!
Stay tuned for our excursion to First Mountain!
Fabulous scenery, beautifully captured Lyssy
Thank you! Switzerland sure makes it easy to take nice pictures.
Still takes skill to capture
Yay! More Switzerland. What a great place to enjoy a coffee. Looks like you chose well where to stay Lyssy. The hike through the rocks looks interesting. I also struggle with camera settings for waterfalls, but am getting better with practice, not being as afraid of manual settings anymore. Thanks for sharing. Happy Monday. Allan
I think I have five more Switzerland posts after this. We are usually too busy to enjoy our balcony, but not here. I know there are tons of Youtube videos that would explain all the settings, would be a good investment of my time. It’s funny I bought my camera not knowing if I would use it much. Six years later I’ve definitely gotten my moneys worth!
Beautiful! That collection of waterfalls is super neat.
Such a beautiful village, and I’d never seen anything like that waterfall!
It’s such a scenic area and a great way to explore the waterfalls. The amount of tourists though makes me want to visit in the off-season. Love the last alpenglow picture. Maggie
It is so beautiful and definitely a tourist hotspot. We went in high season, but it didn’t really feel too overrun with tourists. Maybe because there is so much room to spread out as opposed to being in Rome and having to wait in lines for sights.
I agree, Wengen seems a good choice, in summer it’s better to be higher up than in the valleys. The path along the canyon is a good attraction.
We really thought Wengen was the perfect spot to stay. It was a neat path to walk along and see all the waterfalls.
Those views are incredible! I bet those waterfalls sound so loud inside the caves like that.
It was so loud, but so cool!
From the clearly-delineated mountains to pristine greenery and blue, this part of Switzerland is nothing short of stunning; I can see how J.R.R Tolkein was inspired by this place! Can’t wait to read more about your time in Switzerland!
It really feels too beautiful to be real! It was hard for me to stop taking pictures of everything.
I marveled at Staubbach Falls coming back from the Jungfraujoch, but your photos of those waterfalls inside the mountain are something else. Storybook scenery everywhere.
We never made it up there, although we had perfect weather for it. I bet the views of the journey were just stunning! I’d never seen anything like the waterfall inside the mountain, nature really shows off in Switzerland!
That’s a lot of waterfalls for a village! The scenery is simply stunning. I didn’t know that Tolkien drew some inspiration from Lauterbrunnen.
They hit the waterfall lottery haha. It is such a scenic village, very inspiring!
This is gorgeous! You make me want to go to Switzerland so bad!
The country is just so stunning, take me with you hah!
I’m guessing I’d get the pronunciation of all of these places horribly wrong (not that it would keep me from seeing them). Europeans seem to favor very long names. I enjoyed your comment about “…the field where I would land after my upcoming paraglide…” because your very next photo was a cemetery ha. But then you show us the promised field and I picture Julie Andrews singing about those alive hills. Seriously though, I’m very much looking forward to the paragliding post!
I have no idea how to say a lot of the names, but the trains all say the name so I eventually caught on. Your cemetery comment gave me a good laugh! I can assure you I am alive and well. The hike we did after paragliding looked just like out of the Sound of Music and I did run through the field 🙂 Paragliding will be here Monday!
All gorgeous – we’ve spent very little time in Switzerland and I really don’t know why… that’s a lot of waterfalls in one spot isn’t it!!
It’s the prettiest country I’ve been too, just a bit pricey. So many waterfalls!!
Beautiful waterfalls, and that is awesome that you walked inside of the mountain!!!
Going inside the mountain was such a neat experience!
It’s just so breathtakingly beautiful!
It really is! Hard to believe it’s real!!
Switzerland is always so beautiful
Lauterbrunnen is one of my favorite places on earth. Sharing my journey with you: https://thedumalady.wordpress.com/
You had one the best coffee spots that morning, and an incredible day to follow. I am speechless at this beauty, that last photo is enough of an incentive for me to travel and stay in this area. No wonder Tolkien was inspired in and by Lauterbrunnen to write his epic trilogy.
Hey, how are you? Amazing photos.
A little question:
if you remember, approximately where you took photos 4 (that’s exactly where I want to go in lauterbrunnen), 11 and 12? Any reference will be helpful, whether it’s under a waterfall, or the name of the route. Thank you very much, I will be able to fulfill my dream thanks to you.
Hi! We saw that when we walked from town towards Trümmelbach Falls. There is a big open field along the way and I believe I just stood in the middle to capture those shots