Interlaken Ost station is the gateway to the most famous part of the Bernese Oberland, the Jungfrau region, which is largely inaccessible by road. Nearly all the railways that thread the valleys and clamber over seemingly insurmountable ridges of rock rely on the rack system - a toothed rail in the centre of the track which is engaged by a cogwheel on the train, allowing it to climb steep gradients and brake the descent.
Leaving the popular Interlaken resort, on the isthmus between the lakes of Thun and Brienz, the blue and cream trains of the Bernese Oberland Bahn (jungfraubahn.ch) race past an airfield to join the Lütschine river as it swirls down its steadily narrowing valley.
At Wilderswil, some passengers disembark to take the historic railway up to Schynige Platte, its trains still propelled by venerable box-like locomotives built in 1914. It is one of the most impressive mountain railways in Switzerland, the wooded slopes giving way to open alpine meadows and spectacular views over the lakes and south towards the Jungfrau massif. Near the summit is an alpine garden with more than 500 species of plant.
Leaving Wilderswil for Lauterbrunnen, the train is soon dwarfed by the valley sides, covered in a mix of coniferous and deciduous trees. Trains divide at Zweilütschinen, the front part continuing south to Lauterbrunnen while the rear turns east to Grindelwald. Lauterbrunnen is flanked by towering walls of rock, reaching up to sunnier shelves with the car-free resorts of Mürren on one side and Wengen on the other.
A new cable car swings through the trees to Grütschalp, from where a short, relatively flat railway runs through woods and cow-grazed pastures near the edge of the cliff, giving fantastic views across the Lütschine valley to Wengen and the snow-covered peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Visitors to Mürren are often surprised but always delighted at how peaceful a place is without cars, the flower-filled streets given over entirely to pedestrians and cyclists. There need be no worrying about the safety of children, and the air has a purity that makes you want to breathe deeply.
Numerous great walks begin in Mürren. Gentle walks on the Allmendhubel plateau can be reached by a funicular. Here, there is a children's playground and a restaurant with even more extensive views than in Mürren. One of the highest walks is the steep climb to the Schilthorn (schilthorn.ch), made famous in 1969 by the dramatic ski chase from the summit in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service when Diana Rigg and George Lazenby skied for their lives. Those who don't relish the idea of tackling this steep climb on foot can take the cable car that comes up from Stechelberg and reaches the 2,970-metre summit in two stages.
The summit is crowned by a revolving restaurant with an unforgettable panorama of more than 200 peaks, cleverly identified by a pictogram that sits on a stationary ring around the gently turning floor. Golden eagles hover looking for prey, and ibex can be seen picking their way across the rocky slopes. Even if the weather isn't clear, you can still enjoy the view with the multivision show about the region, which includes the highlight from the Bond film.
