The Bernese Oberland

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Why going to the Bernese Oberland?
Overview of the Bernese Oberland

Why going to the Bernese Oberland?

The Bernese Oberland is a part of the canton of Bern and one of the older vacation destinies of Switzerland. You will be able to find anything you can imagine concerning Switzerland here: snow-covered mountain tops, fresh green meadows, woods, blue lakes, nice villages and gondolas to beautiful viewing points. The Bernese Oberland can be very well reached and is situated in the centre of Switzerland. This may also be a reason to pick this area for your vacation: from here it is easy to make day trips to other areas in Switzerland, such as Wallis. Cities like Bern, Luzern and Zürich can also be reached easily. This way you will be able to see more of the country.

The Bernese Oberland is located in central Switzerland.

If you are not planning to make long day trips, the Bernese Oberland offers a lot of possibilities to stay in a small area and to be able to undertake a lot of different things as well. Besides the hiking possibilities this area offers many water sports and mountain sports. You can participate in several organized sportly activities. You could make magnificent tours by train, bus, car, boat or gondola. Furthermore you will find musea and other things worth being seen, like stalactitic caves, a miniature railroad and many viewing points.

Overview of the Bernese Oberland

The Jungfrau, seen from the green meadows of Schynige Platte near Wilderswil.

There is no doubt about it: the most popular area for tourists from all over the world is the Jungfrau region. Here you can find famous mountains like the Eiger, with its almost completely vertical north face - a challenge for many climbers. Furthermore the Jungfrau, located here, can be visited by a mountain train. From this point, which is Europe's highest train station, you will have a beautiful view of the whole area and an icecold world of glaciers. These mountains, as well as the area behind it in the canton of Wallis, are considered as natural inheritance by UNESCO and therefore have a protected status. Another famous viewing point is the Schilthorn, with its rotating restaurant. The gate to the Jungfrau area is the city of Interlaken and the two lakes around the city: the Thunersee and the Brienzersee.

These two lakes are actually parts of two other vacation areas. The Thunersee will be the first meeting with the Bernese Oberland for travellers coming from the north. This beautiful lake is well-liked by sailers and windsurfers. Especially places at the southern side of this lake can be a good starting point for day trips in the Bernese Oberland and bordering areas, because of their central situation and the fact that they can be reached very well. The Brienzersee, a bit smaller, is closed-in between two ranges of mountains. There are some small but beautiful villages on both the northern and the southern shores, which can be a good place to spend your vacation. The town of Brienz is very well known for the wood carving.

Overview of the Bernese Oberland. Click on the map for a larger view.

South of the Thunersee the Kandertal valley begins. This valley is the gate of the Lötschberg route to Wallis. There are beautiful hiking possibilities in the valley itself and in side valleys like the Gasterntal valley. The most important towns are Frutigen, in the centre of the valley, and Kandersteg, at the entrance of the tunnel to Wallis. Many trains to the city of Brig and furtheron to Italy run through this tunnel. The road ends in Kandersteg. You will be able to put your car on special car trains, and take it with you to Wallis. For more information about this subject you can check the website of the Lötschbergbahn. The Simmental valley with towns like Zweisimmen and Lenk is less well-known but it is also a beautiful part of the Bernese Oberland.