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Capital Walkers- Trip to Wengen, Switzerland – Tuesday 27th August 2019 to Sunday 1st September
2019
Wengen
The Bernese Oberland is a great place for walking. Wengen is a car-free village perched on a terrace
in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, reached by mountain railway and with spectacular views to the high Alps.
The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains make a splendid backdrop to the area.
Walkers are spoilt for choice for excellent walking trails in the area with stunning scenery.
The walks will range in difficulty from easy to moderate/strenuous.
You might wish to extend your trip to Switzerland by either coming earlier or staying on afterwards.
Wengen
Accommodation
I propose staying at the Hotel Bellevue, where I have previously stayed a number of times, at the
edge of the village on a ‘half board basis’, as this offers good value.
The hotel has 3 stars. The rooms are simple but comfortable with en-suite facilities. The evening
meal included on the half board basis is five-course. It is a set menu but the hotel, will accommodate
dietary requirements if advised in advance. The hotel also has a small a-la-carte menu.
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The owner of Hotel Bellevue has offered the following discounted rates to Capital Walkers if you
would like to stay there.
Price per person per night in single rooms (1 person) or in twin rooms (2 persons per room)
Bed and breakfast with half-board:
North-facing (facing road) CHF 96.- (approx. £81)
South-facing (with view) CHF 116.- (approx. £98)
Bed and breakfast only:
North facing CHF 80.- (approx. £68)
South facing CHF 92.- (approx.£78)
(The hotel may be willing to consider single use of a double/twin room depending upon availability if
all single rooms booked)
Website: www.bellevue-wengen.com
Email: [email protected]
If you book this hotel, please advise them you are from ‘Capital Walkers’. Booking details are on
the hotel’s website. Payment is on departure.
If you wish to extend your stay in Wengen, by a couple of days or more either before or after the
Capital Walkers trip dates the hotel is offering ‘Capital Walkers’ 7 nights for the price of 6 nights.
You can cancel your accommodation up to 7 days before your date of arrival at no cost. If you cancel
your booking within 6 days of your booked arrival date you will be liable to pay for it.
Hotel Bellevue is open to external guests should you wish to eat there but stay elsewhere.
In line with Capital Walker trips you are of course free to book your own accommodation and make
your own meal arrangements.
If you would like hotel accommodation and travel booked and organised for you, then you might
wish to consider booking a package through a specialist travel company such as The Swiss Holiday
Company. (www.swissholidaysco.com)
Travel
I personally will be flying to Zurich Airport and on arrival taking direct trains via Bern to Wengen. On
the way back, I will return to Zurich Airport by train by a longer but more scenic route via Lucerne.
Alternatively, you could fly to Geneva or Basel and travel by train to Wengen.
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Swiss train and cable-car fares are expensive, I would therefore recommend the purchase in advance
of the trip of a Half Price Travel Pass (currently £96).These are available from the Swiss Travel
Centre: (www.switzerlandtravelcentre.co.uk).
Alternatively, if you book through a tour company the package may include a Half Price Travel Pass
together with train tickets between the airport and Wengen.
The Hotel Bellevue, Wengen
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View towards Wengenalp down the Lauterbrunnen Valley
Proposed walks
The walks detailed below are an indication of the walks that we hope to undertake. However, they
could be subject to change dependent upon factors such as the weather. As we will be in an alpine
area the ascents and descents will be more extended than a normal Capital Walkers walk.
Tuesday 27th August 2019
Late afternoon stroll in in the Wengen locality - Wengen – Bergrestaurant Allmend – Staubbach
Bänkli- Wengen (Easy) (5km) – Leader: Gary
An easy local walk to ease us in. Refreshments available at the Bergrestaurant Allmend. Seats to rest
and admire the view at Staubbach Bänkli.
Wednesday 28th August 2019
Grutschalp to Murren- funicular railway to Allmendhubel- return to Murren (via Suppenalp) and then descend down to Stechelberg, (via Gimmelwald) (Easy/moderate) (12km)- Leader: Gary We will take the train down to Lauterbrunnen and then the cablecar up to Grutschalp. We Start with
an easy walk on a good path with magnificent views that takes in the Jungfrau, Ebnefluh,
Mittaghorn, Breithorn, Eiger, Monch and Gspaltenhorn to Murren. From Allmendhubel we traverse
the green pastures of the Blumental with the Schilthorn in the background then descend back to
Murren. Following which we descend to Stechelberg via the small village of Gimmelwald and then
we follow quite a steep pictuesque forested path to the end of the walk. Post bus to Lauterbrunnen
and then train to Wengen.
(Estimated local travel costs with Half Price Travel Pass, approx. £17)
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Chalet flower boxes in Murren
Allmendhubel
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Gimmelwald
Thursday 29th August 2019
Mannlichen - Kleine Scheidigg- Eigergletscher- Alpiglen - Brandegg (Moderate) (15km)- Leader:
Gary
We will take the cable-car from Wengen up to Mannlichen. From there we will along the Kleine
Scheidigg Panorama Trail, which in terms of views is a lot of gain for little pain. After a coffee stop at
Kleine Scheidigg we will then walk up to Eigergletscher Station and have spectacular views of the
Jungfrau From Eigergletscher Station we will take the ‘Eiger Trail’ which will take us underneath the
famous north wall of the Eiger to Alpiglen. . Shortly after starting on this route, we will find ourselves
right in front of the famous rock face itself, We will have beautiful views looking over the Wetterhorn
and the Grosse Scheidegg. From Alpiglen We will then take an easy but spectacular path down to
Brandegg. We will then return to Wengen by train via Grindelwald,
(Estimated local travel costs with Half Price Travel Pass, approx. £21)
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Wengen -Mannlichen Cable-car
Mannlichen
Kleine Scheidegg Panorama Trail
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Kleine Scheidegg
Jungfrau Eiger Walk
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Alpiglen
Friday 30th August 2019
Schynige Platte to First (Moderate/Strenuous) (15km)- Leader: Mike O
We will get trains from Wengen to the Schynige Platte. This walk starts at the Schynige Platte
summit station, leads past the mountain huts at Oberberg on its way to the western slope of the
Loucherhorn. Continue over the Egg in a gentle ascent along the slope of the Sägissa; below we
should see the shimmering Sägistalsee mountain lake. We will continue over the Egg in a gentle
ascent along the slope of the Sägissa, below we will see the shimmering Lake Sägistalsee. The trail
continues to the Männdlenen mountain lodge, ascending continuously to Fulegg and from there
along the mountain's southern flank to the Faulhorn summit. The steep yet well-maintained trail
descends via Gassenboden to Lake Bachalpsee, which then leads, on a more or less level path, to the
Grindelwald-First aerial cableway summit station. We will return to Wengen via cable-car to
Grindelwald and trains. To ensure we do not miss the cable-car down from First before it closes for
the evening the walk will be at a reasonably steady pace.
(Estimated local travel costs with Half Price Travel Pass, approx. £34)
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Bachalpsee
Grindelwald First
Saturday 31st August 2019
Stechelberg – Obersteinberg – Oberhornsee- Obersteinberg – Stechelberg (Moderate/Strenuous)
(14km)- Leader: Gary
The route to Obersteinberg begins in the village Stechelberg at the head of the Lauterbrunnen Valley. From the final PostBus stop at Stechelberg take the paved footpath upvalley on the left bank of the
already-raging Weisse Lütschine. Crossing the river, you'll continue uphill following signs to
Trachsellauenen, a small guesthouse and restaurant near a 300-year-old mining site. Continuing on,
the path narrows and steepens considerably, becoming a series of over fifty shaded switchbacks.
Arriving at the Hotel Tschingelhorn, views to the valley open up and signal that we are nearing
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Obersteinberg. Obersteinberg is a traditional-style candle lit hotel dating to the 1880s and sits at an
elevation of 5833 feet, a full 2850 feet of vertical ascent from our Stechelberg starting point.
Path to Obersteinberg Hotel
Gazing across the valley from the hotel we will have spectacular views of hanging glaciers perched
above waterfalls that cascade down the valley walls. Of all the waterfalls, Schmadribachfall is the
showstopper with a height of nearly one thousand feet.
Obersteinberg is set within a UNESCO protected area, where many alpine species that were once
hunted to near extinction are now making a welcome comeback, such as ibex, chamois, and red
deer. Sheep and cows graze the rich alpine grasses in summer, as they have for hundreds of years.
From Obersteinberg we will walk to the upper glacial basin in about an hour, where Oberhornsee, a
deep-blue tarn rests in the shadows of snowcapped Grosshorn, Breithorn, and Tschingelhorn. Sitting
in this upper basin, we will be remote and removed from the Lauterbrunnen valley bustle. We will
then walk back down to Stechelberg.
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Obersteinberg Hotel
Schmadribachfall
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Oberhornsee
(Estimated local travel costs with Half Price Travel Pass, approx. £10)
Sunday 1st September 2019
No walk planned
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Insurance
You will need to ensure that you have adequate travel insurance covering alpine walking, mountain
rescue and medical emergencies.
Possible activities to consider if you are considering extending your stay in Wengen
- More walks!
- Visiting the Trümmelbach Falls
- The train journey to the Jungfraujoch and hike on the Aletsch Glacier to the Mönchsjoch Hut
- Cable-car up the Schilthorn to Piz Gloria (of James Bond fame)
- Taking a boat trip on either Lake Brienz or Lake Thun
- Visiting a city such as Bern, Freibourg or Thun
- Chilling out!
BOOKING YOUR PLACE ON THIS TRIP
If you would like to sign up, please contact: [email protected]
Please note your place on the trip will not be confirmed until you have sent the information below:
- Your name, email address and contact phone number
- Your Ramblers membership number
- The name of the place you are staying (we won't pass this on to anyone)
More information will follow for those who sign up for the trip.
If you have any queries, please email Gary: [email protected]
