Exploring the Base of Switzerland's Famous Jungfrau

Männlichen to Wengen

There is almost no question, Jungfraujoch, the self-proclaimed ‘Top of Europe’ (actually Europe’s highest train station at 3,454 meters or about 11,000 ft), is the most touristy place in all of Switzerland.

The funny thing is though, while Jungfraujoch seems to be at the top of almost every foreign visitor’s Swiss bucket list (both physically and metaphorically), most Swiss I know have never even been there... Perhaps that’s because of the insane crowds, but more likely, the mind-boggling price tag.

Honestly, I can’t really pass judgment on the quality of the experience at Jungfraujoch, I have never been there either. According to Corinne (one of the few Swiss I know who has indeed paid up), the experience was, and I quote, ‘pretty ok.’ With that resounding review, I am going to keep an open mind but, until I get the urge to take out a mortgage on the house, you are going to have to wait for my review. It's up to you to decide if Switzerland's #1 Attraction is really for you.

Alternatively, I offer you an amazing loop walk that takes in the stunning beauty of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau without the crushing altitude or the insane price tag. We start our easy 11 km (7 mile) walk in the popular town of Wengen, take the gondola up to Männlichen, and return to Wengen on foot via Kleine Scheidegg.

With a GA or Swiss Travel pass, the total transportation cost for the trip is around 15 CHF, a far cry from the hundreds you spend for the trip up to Jungfraujoch. The best part, while your compatriots continuing up to Jungfraujoch will not find a meter of space to themselves, on many days, you are likely to have long stretches of this path mostly to yourself!

If you are keen, keep following along but be sure to check the webcam and weather forecast at Kleine Scheidegg before you leave on this trip. It would be an absolute shame to get all the way up to Männlichen only to discover that there is zero visibility! On a day like that, you are better off checking out our walk in the Lauterbrunnen Valley or one of our several walks along the shores of Lake Brienz.

Thanks for joining!

You can follow along with our walk using the interactive map above

A Train to Paradise

When I reported on our walk in Lauterbrunnen a few months back, I told you about the fantastic Berner Oberland Bahn from Interlaken Ost up to the Lauterbrunnen valley. This week, we join the many floppy-hatted tourists waiting just across the platform at Lauterbrunnen to continue the ride up on the cogwheel Wengneralpbahn train from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen.

From Lauterbrunnen station, the Wengneralpbahn quickly gains elevation offering unbelievable views before summiting the lip of the ‘U’ shaped, glacially carved valley about 10 minutes after leaving Lauterbrunnen. Not much later, the train stops in the mountain town of Wengen before continuing to its terminus at Kleine Scheidegg. Wengen is the last stop covered by the GA and Swiss Travel Pass and, if you intend to join our walk, it is where you will want to get off to start your journey.

While the views in the town of Wengen are stunning, to be honest, we find the town itself to be a bit of a bore. It is quite commercialized and doesn’t offer the same Swiss charm as Lauterbrunnen down below or Mürren on the other side of the valley.

That said, Wengen’s good transportation connections do offer a nice base for this walk. If you are traveling on a GA pass or Swiss Travel Pass, the trip to Wengen is completely covered but you will need to purchase a gondola ticket from Wengen up to the start of the walk at Männlichen (about 15 CHF one-way).

Looking up at Jungfrau from the Wengen Train Station

A typical view in the town of Wengen

Sweeping Views from Männlichen

If you have followed along with the blog to date, you already know that Corinne and I are less than thrilled by heights. As a result, we usually try to avoid gondolas where we can but, in this case, it was a bit unavoidable (as we were also not keen on the very steep and strenuous trail straight up to Männlichen).

While the gondola cables heading high up to the ridge above Wengen suggest a terrifying trip, the fairly new and large gondola from Wengen to Männlichen was actually one of the smoothest and least terrifying rides we have been on here in Switzerland.

Views from the Männlichen Gondola

The trip takes about 6 minutes and offers spectacular views down on the Lauterbrunnen Valley below as well as up at the high mountains. When we went on a Friday, the gondola was not too packed, but I imagine it can get a bit busy at some times during the weekend, so just be aware.

For an extra 5 CHF you can climb a small spiral staircase inside the gondola and ride to Männlichen in the open on top of the gondola… Not my idea of a good time but, if you are into that sort of thing, it isn’t going to break the bank. If that is your intention, you may want to arrive a few minutes early as it seemed to be quite popular and had its own queue when we were last there.

From Männlichen, you have the option to head up the ridge to the royal walk, with its iconic crown-shaped viewing platform, but we found that the intense crowds heading this direction seemed hardly worth the effort to get the same view that you have from the Gondola station where there is a nice photo spot.

Our walk heads in the opposite direction of the crown, to the start of the popular Panorama trail to Kleine Scheidegg. To get to the trailhead, you follow the path from the gondola station slightly downhill along the ridge towards the many ski lifts near Spielplatz Männlichen, or the Männlichen Playground, with its giant cow play structure.

From the Spielplatz you continue along the ridge following the green “Panorama trail” placards on the yellow signs pointing to Kleine Scheidegg. The Panorama trail is quite popular and can be a bit busy at times but for good reason, it follows a gentle downhill grade that parallels some craggy cliffs high above and offers spectacular views down on Grindelwald and the Grosse Scheidegg, the pass just beyond Grindelwald.

The Männlichen Spielplatz

Views from either side of Männlichen

From Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg and all the way to Wengneralp (c. ¾ of the way through our journey) walking in the downhill direction offers you some of the most spectacular mountain vistas on earth, which only get better as you get closer and closer to Jungfrau.

The start of the Panorama Trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg

A Picture Perfect Landscape

From Männlichen, our walk is almost entirely downhill. While I am generally in favor of doing these types of walks on the uphill then taking the train back down to save the knees, we were looking for a more relaxed journey on our past visit and the views in the clockwise direction are unquestionably better as you face the mountains for the majority of the walk. Of course, you can do this walk in reverse for a bit more of a workout, but you will have to turn around to get many of the nicer views.

Just before and at Kleine Scheidegg, there are a number of restaurants if you need to grab some food. There are lovely views of Eiger from Kleine Scheidegg and you have access to trains back down to both Grindelwald and Wengen as well as up to Eigergletscher and Jungfraujoch.

Assuming you want to continue the loop walk with us back down to Wengen, cross the train tracks towards Jungfrau, and follow the path below the rail line to the right. The rest of the walk generally parallels the stretch of the Wengneralpbahn from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen.

To Wengneralp, the views of Jungfrau are up close and unimpinged. Between the train whistles and cowbells, you can even hear the glaciers cracking high up of the peaks above as crevasses open up in the ice. Sadly, the glaciers of the Alps are almost all rapidly shrinking and retreating, primarily a result of human induced climate change. On warm days, you can witness this loss first hand as massive waterfalls tumble from the rock faces down into the valley far below, eventually flowing to form some of the 72 waterfalls in the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Views from the Panorama Trail between Männlichen and Kleine Scheidegg

View from the path between Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen

The path is lined with green pastures and, at the right time of year, fields full of wildflowers which make for a postcard-perfect landscape. In the winter this landscape becomes a skier’s paradise as evidenced by many ski lifts and gondolas and I can only imagine how incredible the skiing must be here on a bluebird day.

Postcard views of the Jungfrau from Wengneralp

If you fancy a snack, just outside of Wengernalp you will find (possibly Switzerland’s most scenic) honesty fridge full of local meats and cheeses. Just be sure to bring some cash as you will need exact change. Alternatively, you can pop into the café at the Wengernalp train station and take in a coffee or beer with one of the world’s most incredible views.

A self-service 'honesty' fridge between Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen

On the Path to the World Cup

Beyond Wengernalp, the path turns the corner around the ridge and begins to drop into the valley towards Wengen. Pocket views through the forest offer sneak peeks at the Lauterbrunnen Valley and down into Wengen. Off in the distance ahead, high on the craggy peaks, is Schynige Platte.

The ridge to the right forms the same peaks that you skirt your way around on the Panorama Trail. Perhaps one of the most well-known peaks here is Lauberhorn owing to its iconic and spectacularly challenging downhill ski run which features prominently each year in the Skiing World Cup.

Lauberhorn above the Panorama Trail earlier in the walk between Männlichen and Kleine Scheidegg

The Lauberhorn Race has been held annually since 1930 and, at 4.5 km, is the longest downhill run in the entire World Cup. The world’s most experienced skiers reach speeds of up to 160 km/hour or 100 miles/hour as they tackle the entirety of the technically challenging run in around 2.5 minutes.

A small section of our walk follows the Lauberhorn run just beneath Canadian Corner where skiers barrel through a narrow rock-cut and then take a sharp right turn off the Lauberhorn ridge. Nets along the corners speak to the intensity of the run. In the summer, it’s almost impossible to imagine skiers blasting through this terrain, but it gives you a real appreciation for the difficulty of the sport.

After the Lauberhorn run breaks off from the path, you descend further past the steep cliffs of Lauberhorn and Tschuggen down to Wengen. While the cliff faces are not as spectacular as the Jungfrau Massif, they still offer some beautiful scenery and even one incredible waterfall.

Views along the path down into Wengen

At Allmend, you pass under another one of the region's many ski lifts and have one last chance to grab lunch or a snack before hitting Wengen again.

Back Into Wengen

Eventually, our path hits the outskirts of Wengen and a number of cute chalets before dropping back down to the train station.

From Wengen you can continue on a few other trails along the bench above the Lauterbrunnen Valley or, if you are really gung-ho, you can even make your way down one of the steep switchbacking trails all the way to Lauterbrunnen.

After grabbing a quick lunch, we skipped the trail and hopped back on the train down to Lauterbrunnen for a short walk on our favorite path up the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Regardless of your choice, you are likely to have a spectacular day in this stunning mountain landscape.

We hope you enjoyed our visit to the Jungfrau. If you did, check out the other articles in our Discovering Bern series, where we tour our home canton of Bern, or in our series One Year: 26 Cantons where we visit all 26 of Switzerland’s Cantons in 2024. Stay tuned for additional articles on our Swiss travels every week!

Until next time, gute Reise, and feel free to leave a comment on one of our social media platforms!

One of several cute chalets on the outskirts of Wengen with the gondola line to Männlichen in the background