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Travel to Jungfrau, Top of Europe
Hello Guys!
As someone said, once you fall in love with mountains, you would find excuses to keep visiting anywhere which talks of high peaks, snow, mountains, pass and so on, such is the love that goes par anything else, and, Switzerland Vacation time over a weekend was one such instance.
In case, you have not read my blog-posts on Travel in Switzerland / Stay options in Switzerland.
This is the third blog-post in my Switzerland trip which is on Jungfrau Region which i had the fortune to visit on Sunday – 11th March 2018.
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Jungfrau region needs no mention should you be a Indian movie lover which would have a romantic number from one of these regions. Having said, that, this place also boasts to be the top of Europe which makes it a must visit place for someone on a trip to Switzerland.
While Jungfrau is the top of Europe, it is actually a high-altitude building in the Swiss canton of Valais which overlooks the snows of Aletsch Glacier from the south side of the Jungfraujoch, at a height of 3,454 metres (11,332 feet) above sea level. (source: wikipedia)
Jungfrau is one of the regions best known not just for its tourist attractions but also Skiing.
Coming to Jungfrau, you would be awe-struck with the beauty it has to offer, be it summers or winters, you can equally enjoy this beautiful Bernese Oberland.
Basic facts
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How to get to Jungfrau
You have multiple options to reach and enjoy Jungfrau:
Cycling through Rotsteckli and Eiger Ultra Trail, this would take you around 03:30 hours covering a distance of around 27 kms with a bit of train travel included from Eigergletscher:
Trek for the adventure lovers would be via the Eiger Ultra Trail until Eigergletscher where you would need to board a train to reach Jungfrau (top of Europe):
Coming to the most scenic route for most of us, who love traveling by Train, here is the route:
You would need to board the train from Interlaken OST station in the direction of either Grindelwald / Lauterbrunnen both of which are scenic and you need to switch to the trains leading to Kleine Scheidegg.
Note: Trains leave with intervals of 30 minutes from Interlaken Ost and note that they are 99.999% Punctual.
These trains lead you to Kleine Scheidegg where you need to catch your next connection towards Jungfraugh.
Recommendation: You could take the Interlaken OST – Grindelwald – Kleine Scheidegg – Jungfraugh – Kleine Scheidegg – Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken Ost to make it a round trip and cover most of the scenic places.
One best thing about Switzerland is you could stay at a central location and visit most of the destinations that you would want to cover.
Where to Stay
You can opt to stay in Interlaken which is central to most destinations around this region.
A few noteworthy mentions could be Mürren or Lauterbrunnen where you could stay in an Alpine Hut or in Grindelwald where you could sleep in the Straw on a farm. You can book these stays at Switzerland Tourism
In our case, we stayed in Basel, but from a recommendation standpoint, i would recommend someone to stay in Interlaken / Luzerne / Zurich should you wish to cover most of Switzerland.
Tip: I would recommend you to buy a Swiss Travel Pass for International Tourists for a fairly economical travel option in this beautiful country. Also, you could opt for a Family Card wherein children aged 6-15 years accompanied by at least one parent travel free.
Once you reach Jungfrau which approximately takes around 2 hours from Interlaken Ost, explore the place, it has multiple attractions.
You could easily take around 2-3 hours to explore all that Jungfraujoch has to offer and ensure you have a bit of time to not miss on any attractions:
Must visit places:
- Eismeer Railway Station with an observatory deck where the train stops for 5 minutes
Once you reach Jungfraujoch:
- Ice Palace with beautiful carvings out of ice
- Snow Fun Park (wish the weather good, so you would not be disappointed should you be travelling in winters)
- Plateau – Jungfraujoch
- Sphinx Observatory Deck (you need to take a lift to this place)
- Alpine Sensation
- Mönchsjochhütte – a must visit should the weather permit, this is the highest hut in Switzerland
- Lindt Chocolate Shop and Top of Europe Shopping
- Jungfrau Panorama once you complete your Sphinx Observatory visit or on your way as it suits
- Finally, Food court / restaurants – if you love Indian cuisine, a must visit would be the Bollywood Restaurant, should not miss authentic Indian taste at this place and you can thank me later
Few points to remember:
- Check weather before planning a trip to this wonderful place, you can check on Jungfrau Site this site also offers live webcams / panoramic pictures of Jungfrau and surrounding area
- Jungfrau region is car-free, so you need to depend on rail / trek to reach the destination
- Dress adequately with multiple layers and for all the snow lovers, wear high boots and ensure you are properly covered as you step out
- Stay Hydrated and take care to ensure you do not get impacted by High Altitude Sickness
Wishing you the best in planning your trip and visiting Jungfraujoch, do follow me on my social media accounts should you need any support in planning your trip.
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Until my next blog-post, this is Srikanth signing off.
