Switzerland is known for its mountains, endless hikes, superb skiing, and the best views in the world. Over the last 2 years I have traveled throughout Switzerland and the alps in search of the perfect hike in the summer and the perfect run in the winter.
I can finally say I found the perfect hike. Located in one of Switzerland’s most popular areas, the Jungfrau Region, specifically on the outskirts of Interlaken. The Hardergrat trail.
We started the day with a 0330am wake-up in Germany and drove the four and a half hours to Interlaken. We parked the car and took the mountain train to Harder Kulm. Harder Kulm is a base camp, it offers a fantastic view of the two lakes and Interlaken. It has a small platform to walk onto and get the best pictures, and the restaurant is pretty good too. It's best to stop there after the hike and reward yourself with a cold beer and cheese fondue.
After a few pictures and a couple of shots on the GoPro, we started the trek. The first hour was grueling, you are surrounded by trees and only get a few glimpses of the lake and it's mostly uphill. The hike makes you earn the views because you don’t get to anything worth seeing for almost two and a half hours.
Once past the trees, the gorgeous rolling green hills open up and you can see in every direction. We ate lunch and I took the drone out to grab some shots. After we finished eating we got back on the trail and realized we had about another two hours to go.
The reason why I wanted to do this hike more than any other in the entire country is because of this section of the trail. Look to your right and see the beautiful Lake Brienzersee, look to your left and see endless mountains and green. After an hour we reached a small base camp with a makeshift fireplace and other weary hikers who needed a break before the final push.
Getting to the peak involves a one-hour hike straight uphill and some parts are pretty scary. One bad slip could mean it's all over. The trail is incredibly narrow and the sides are all but straight down. After some water and drone shots, we climbed up, and wow it was amazing. Every second of the four-and-a-half-hour hike was worth it.
The top offered some of the greatest views I had ever seen in my life. I was so happy. The thing about the Hardergrat trail is that it keeps going. In a way, the top which took us over four hours to reach is only the beginning. If you wanted you could follow the narrow trail for another 15km. If I wasn’t exhausted, almost out of water, and afraid of losing daylight we would have kept going. Oh and the fact that every step you take in one direction you have to take to get back. It is a straight hike, no loops, it's all there and back.
At the top, we walked the ridge for a little and took in the views. We found a small place to sit with our feet dangling over a thousand-foot drop and took out two beers we carried. For at least twenty minutes we sat and enjoyed the fruits of our hard work. When I was recharged I worked myself further down the trail to find the perfect drone spot and I think I did.
The view at the top is hard to describe and the videos don’t do it justice. It is something that needs to be seen with one's own eyes. It took us about fours to get back and we enjoyed some much-desired beer and cheese fondue.
Now for some protips: There are no shops or restaurants along the way. So everything you want to eat or drink needs to be on you.
There are actually three different ways to reach the top. First, the way we took, second if you look on google maps you can find some trails on the back of the mountain that we watched people hike up. They parked at a restaurant at the base and probably saved three hours of grueling work. The last is the far side of the trail. You can take a chair lift to the top and walk the ridge the entire time. All views.
Regardless of which way you go up, it is one of if not the best hikes in Switzerland.
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