Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger; the better way

Every day, tons of tourists pay a good amount of money to take the train up to the Jungfrau, self proclaimed “Top of Europe”. By no means the highest mountain top in Europe, it is the highest railway station of the continent and a marvel of engineering. However, being Switzerland, it is very expensive to get there. A normal return ticket without any reductions from Interlaken costs a whopping 210 CHF. So if you are relatively fit, want to save some money and spend an entire day in the Jungfrau region, we have just the hike for you. Not to the top of Jungfrau, but with great views on the entire massive and avoiding the huge number of people on the train.

The hike

We took the train from Luzern to Interlaken East, which is a treat in itself, on a nice Saterday in October. Mists were swirling in the valley and the train, going steeply up from Sachseln, climbed above the clouds. In Interlaken we switched to the cog train to Lauterbrunnen, the little valley town known from Instagram and the gateway to the Jungfrau region. The train was filled to capacity and every language known to man was spoken. We left the station at the back, while most people switched to the connecting train to Kleine Scheidegg and ultimately to Jungfraujoch. Suddenly we were alone on an easy (although steep) path out of town, with a view on the famous waterfalls surrounding the town. We followed the signs to Kleine Scheidegg and passed through the town of Wengen. The path follows the railway closely, and every 15 minutes or so, we could wave to our fellow tourists. Slowly but surely we climbed up and got our first glimpse of the majestic mountain trio; Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (from left to right). Then a lefthand turn and we would walk parallel to the range, until we reached the station of Kleine Scheidegg. It is possible here to continue down to the town of Grindelwald, for a shorter and easier way. We however would recommend to hike up to the Eigerglacier Station, where the railway vanished into the mountain, only to reappear at the top. From the Eigerglacier you can follow the Eigertrail, which runs just under the famous (at least for climbers) Eiger Noth Face. The forbidding cliff towers on your right side, while you follow the rocky, but gently decending path. At the end of the Eiger Trail, you can walk down to either Alpligen and then down to Grindelwald, but if you want to hike a bit longer and are up for suprise, we suggest to continue and follow the signs to the Gletscherschlucht (Glacier Gorge). After a walk through woods and crossing streams, where the water carved artistic formations in the stone, a cliff doomed ahead, which turned out to be the eastern wall of the gorge. Through the trees we saw glimpses of the gorge until we reached a clearing and could see the entire massive gorge with the Zäsenberg and its glaciers in the back. Absolutely stunning. From here we walked through the forest to the entrance to the Gletscherschlucht, where you can opt for a walk through the narrow part of the gorge (after getting tickets). We were slowly getting tired and walked the last 30 minutes to the station in Grindelwald, and took the train back home.

How long, how far and when to hike

We started the hike around 9.30 in the morning and got on the train back in Grindelwald around 5 in the afternoon; it is a full day hike. Of course we had plently of breaks and enjoyed our sandwiches, although there are plenty of opportunities to get food along the way; in Wengen, at kleine Scheidegg, at the Eigerglacier and of course in Grindelwald there are restaurants. The hike is 25 km long, with a total of 1700 high meters. We did the hike in October, which was perfect. In the spring there might still be snow and the Eiger Trail can be closed (check here) between September and June (we got lucky). Normal hiking gear is sufficient, but as always pack for every weather condition. There are springs between Lauterbrunnen and kleine Scheidegg, afterwards we have found none (but there are streams coming of the glacier). The hike can also easily be done the other way around. And if you feel not quite up to the challenge or have limited time, you can easily shorten the hike (take the train up to Kleine Scheidegg), or take a gondola from Grindelwald to the Eigerglacier.