Lauterbrunnen

Lauterbrunnen village church… …and chalets in the picturesque valley surrounded by the Bernese Alps

Dates visited: April 18, 2001

Lauterbrunnen is a cute little village in the Lauterbrunnen valley. Here is where all Wengen-bound tourists with cars have to park their cars as four-wheelers (except for goods vehicles and emergency vehicles) are not allowed in Wengen. Wengen is only 15 minutes away by Wengernalpbahn (WAB) railway.

Lauterbrunnen is famous for its two waterfalls—Staubbach Falls and Trümmelbach Falls. We decided to walk to both these waterfalls because the weather was nice and the village was very pretty. There were beautiful chalets, nice churches, crystal-clear creek, and colorful alpine meadows with cows and sheep, all of which looked wonderful amidst the imposing valley walls and towering snow-clad mountains of the Bernese Alps. Staubbach Falls was a fifteen minutes walk from the Lauterbrunnen railway station but can be seen from everywhere—it drops nearly 300 m (984 ft) from the rocky walls of the valley. They plunge from such a height, the water actually ends up turning into a mist even before it reaches the base.

Trümmelbach Falls was a longer walk (even longer as we strolled at half our regular speed), but the crisp air and the beautiful scenery reenergized us with every breath. These falls (series of ten falls) inside a mountain (Black Monk Mountain) are the world’s only glacier waterfalls that are accessible by elevators and walking pathways. These waterfalls drain the glacial flows of the three giants (Eiger (3970 m), Mönch (4099 m) and Jungfrau (4158 m)) of the Bernese Alps with such force that they have carved rocky gorges and tunnels. The huge force of these falls creates a thunderous sound inside the mountain as the water churns and flows with beauty and vigor. Initially, we had to scream at the top of our voices to be heard, but pretty soon, we were left speechless by the sheer splendor of nature.

Unfortunately, I lost the pictures and videos of Trümmelbach Falls so all I’m left with is memories.

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