Home » Switzerland » Interlaken
Interlaken is well placed for visiting several of Europe's most famous resorts, notably Gstaad or Zermatt, a possible day trip. Closer still are major international resorts like Adelboden, Kandersteg and Andermatt. However most skiers head up in to the spectacular Jungfrau Region using the 'Top Ski' lift ticket which covers 45 lifts around Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren. It's a virtually unique skiing experience with, arguably, the most dramatic mountain scenery in Europe all around you - the Eiger, the Mönch, the Wetterhorn and Mürren's Schilthorn as well as the Jungfrau itself all rising up to heights peaking at 4158 metres (13642 feet) from your Interlaken base of only 567 metres (1860 feet). And what a way to see it all too, with a 100 year old mountain railway always running on time from Interlaken right the way up to the Jungfraujoch. It is Europe's highest railway station at 3454 metres (11,333 feet) and site of a tiny summer skiing area on the glacier, where there's a single drag lift. It is also one of the 10 highest lift-served points in Europe. The train from Interlaken is included on the Pass are there is also an option to take a bus to Lauterbrunnen (beneath Wengen and Mürren) or to Grindelwald from Interlaken. The skiing of the Jungfrau region is of course legendary also, the annual Lauberhorn men's downhill race is the longest and one of the toughest FIS World Cup races, as well as one of the longest established. Indeed the reputation of Mürren and 'purpose-built' (in the mid-19th century) car-free Wengen in the history of competitive skiing, particularly with the early British pioneers of the sport, is well documented. It is home to the 'Downhill Only Club' (DHO) founded in the era after modern downhill skiing had been invented but before ski lifts had been. The 'new' mountain railway was then a wonderful way to reach the snow fields without walking and hence the Club was born, for people who didn't stand up to go uphill, just downhill only. I suppose most of us have since joined nominally, but you have to be the "right sort of chap" to be admitted in to Wengen's original, elite Club which still operates today. Across the valley at Mürren the Kandahar Club (see St Anton for Arlberg - Kandahar collaboration) was founded in 1924, a year before the DHO, and Sir Arnold Lunn pioneered slalom ski competition. Whilst Wengen has its legendary Lauberhorn, Mürren has the Inferno every January, probably the longest downhill race in the world and attracting over a thousand competitors. The run descends from the Schilthorn (3066 metres / 10,059 feet) to Lauterbrunnen in the valley above Interlaken, at 796 metres / 2,611 feet, an incredible 2,270 metre / 7,448 feet vertical descent. The record time for the full descent is 16 minutes although some skiers take over an hour, as they did in the 1920s. A shortened version operates when snow cover is inadequate at the bottom. For more general detail on the skiing of Mürren, Wengen and Grindelwald, which is generally described as an 'intermediates paradise', check the individual resort entries. There are three small ski areas within a few minutes of Interlaken at Wilderswil, first stop on the Jungfrau rail line out of the town, Beatenberg, and at Habkern. Wilderswil has only one surface lift but is well geared up for children and family skiing so should not be discounted as a starting point for beginners. Spread out on a sunny plateau above Lake Thun, with magnificent views of the Jungfrau's highest peaks, Beatenberg is a small, totally unspoilt settlement attracting visitors throughout the year. Habkern, further out, has about 8km (5 miles) of trails and a vertical of up to 963 metres (3160 feet). Neither Beatenberg nor Habkern are on the Jungfrau Top Ski pass however.
Country:
Switzerland
Resort height:
567m
Top lift:
2971m
Bottom lift:
-
Sorry, there are currently no reviews for Interlaken
Sorry, there are currently no photos for Interlaken
Sorry, there are currently no snow forecasts for Interlaken
Sorry, there are currently no websites listed for Interlaken
Sorry, there are currently no transfer prices for Interlaken
All of the resort information on this page about
Interlaken has been provided for information purposes only. We regularly
update our
Interlaken information, facts and figures but we recommend that you check
with the appropriate official
Interlaken websites before travelling.
These driving times are approximate and will depend upon traffic and road conditions
