Visitors have been enthralled by the Jungfrau region of the Bernese Oberland ever since the first travellers came in the 18th century to marvel at the series of majestic peaks that culminate in the dizzying summits of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Today the unique train journey to Jungfraujoch, Europe's highest railway station at 3,454 metres, is on the itinerary of most first-time visitors to Switzerland, eager to see an area that has been designated a Unesco world heritage site. Here, 72 waterfalls cascade into the Lauterbrunnen valley, the most spectacular being Trümmelbach falls, a series of 10 cascades cleaving the alpine rock; or Goethe's favourite, the Staubbach falls, which can look like gossamer threads of spun sugar arcing from the top of the rockface hundreds of metres high.
The pure mountain air has always been popular, and who can resist a hike that takes you over a footbridge 60 metres above a thundering river as part of a glacier walk? There's also a host of other activities to enjoy, from paragliding to testing your nerves on the iron walkways of a via ferrata. Children will love summer tobogganing and zipping down the mountains on the scooter-bicycle hybrid Trotti-bikes. And after all that, what could be more relaxing than a dinner cruise aboard a paddle steamer on the Thun lake? Read on to discover the wonder of the Jungfrau region.
For more information on the Jungfrau region visit myjungfrau.ch or interlaken.ch
