Top Recs for Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: The valley of 72 Waterfalls
Lauterbrunnen is the ideal location to go “chasing waterfalls” - just don’t let TLC know what you’re up to
When visiting Lauterbrunnen, you will end up chasing waterfalls, even if you’re actively trying to avoid them.
The valley feels as if thousands of years ago a giant swung a mighty ax and split the earth leaving behind a narrow space where the ax blade made its way into the rock of the earth.
What’s left when the giant moves on is a deep, narrow crevice where the earth starts to weep through many tear ducts at the surface where the earth was struck.
Lauterbrunnen Village sits at the bottom of lush green valley located a 30 minutes train ride south of Interlaken. The little town with nearly 2500 people who stare in two directions at nearly vertical cliffs reaching heights of 1000 meters, and in the other directions the view is no wider than the height of the mountains themselves.
Whether or not this valley was forged by the ax of a giant, it feels like a land invented especially for a fairy tale.
house in Lauterbrunnen village
The Weisse Lütschine river runs like an icy vein, flowing North through the heart of the valley dotted with houses in the central village which spread further apart as you make your way out of town.
There are a few small shops and restaurants in town, but you won’t find much in terms of indoor entertainment. Travelers visit Lauterbrunnen to spend time exploring the exceptionally great outdoors
Depending on the season, you’ll be able to enjoy sunny hikes or travel just south in the valley to hit the slopes at Schilthorn Mountain. In fact, when we visited in mid-April, we accidentally got the best of both worlds.
We set out just to walk along the valley and came upon a gondola headed up into the peak of the mountains. Without a defined plan and dressed in casual hiking gear, we decided to buy a ticket to the top.
The views on ascent were beautiful and as we reached the last stops on the gondola we found ourselves in a thick fog at the top of the mountain surrounded by skiers and snowboarders taking advantage of the snowy peaks.
view from the top of
Considering we had no ski gear and limited visibility into the fog, we went half way down the mountain on the lift to Birg and then to Mürren. Again, without a real plan started to walk down a trail to descend the mountain back in the general direction of Lauterbrunnen itself.
We sat at Alti Metzg in Mürren for a snack and drink before beginning our descent. It’s a cute little restaurant situated at the bend of the mountain road with an open view of the vast mountains across the valley. We snapped the picture above as we departed, these are the first houses down the road and I loved the green shutters and copper wood accents against the cool blue and whites of the mountains in the distance.
idyllic park bench on our descent from Mürren
The walk turned out to be slightly more snow covered than anticipated, but we discovered a cute little ski resort town with great drinks and a view as well as gorgeous fields of flowers as we got closer down to the valley!
Back down in the valley you will see the famous waterfalls.
Most of these are visible from the valley, a stream simply emerging from the top of the rock as you might expect. Many of them seem to partially disintegrate in the air, not leaving a deep pool at the bottom in the classic waterfall fashion.
Inside Trümmelbach Falls
Famous Trümmelbach Falls however, is a different experience altogether. The Trümmelbach Falls are 10 glacial falls within a mountain.
Ascending upward and inward you experience the strength of nature and the power of running water. It’s loud, dark, misty and really incredible!
In fact, "Trümmelbach" means a stream that sounds like a drum.
view of the valley from Trümmelbach Falls
Our Top Recommendations in Lauterbrunnen:
Where to stay?
The Hotel Oberland is a family run hotel located in the heart of the town. Great service and a cute, quaint environment, ask to have a room facing South to get a view of Staubbach Waterfall from your roomWhere to eat?
Head just across the valley to Wengen, a small town with a great selection of local restaurants
Taverne at Hotel Bernerhof for Swiss food
Sina’s for Italian and Swiss Cuisine
Head down the valley and up the mountain to check out the cute restaurants in the ski town of Mürren - some are closed during specific seasons, so always check ahead!
Favorite of ours for a snack and drink: Alti Metzg
Waterfalls to see?
Check out Trümmelback and Staubbach, but just enjoy your time hiking through the valley and capturing views and photos of the waterfalls along the way!Which Hikes to take?
We loved heading up to the top of the mountain to Schilthorn then taking the gondola back down to Birg and Mürren to then hike back down to Lauterbrunnen itself.
Find the gondola information here and plan ahead based on the season in which you visit!
It’s hard to find a favorite photo from this trip, but the one above captures so many elements of Lauterbrunnen. The rushing river, the lush green grass, the sun and the snow each reflecting off the intense incline of the intimidating mountain walls, the bold blue sky and the unending views of mountains in the distance.
I can’t wait to get back to Lauterbrunnen!
Have you booked your trip yet?
