We recently visited Harder Kulm, and it was nothing short of spectacular. Located above the…read morebeautiful town of Interlaken, this panoramic viewpoint offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains, lakes, and the iconic Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks. The journey to the top is an adventure in itself taking a funicular ride from Interlaken up to the summit ( there happens to be a pretty steep hike as well that can take you up there) was smooth, comfortable, and gave us our first taste of the stunning alpine scenery. Once at the top, we were greeted with a 360-degree vista that truly took our breath away. The observation platform is perfect for photos, and we spent quite a while just soaking in the views. We also had a chance to explore the area a little more, with well-maintained paths leading to even more scenic spots around the summit. One of the highlights was the viewing platform's ( also referred to as the two lakes bridge as you get to see the Thun and Brienz lakes) glass floor.Stepping out onto it felt like flying over the town of Interlaken, and it was a thrilling experience. For those who are a bit more adventurous, there also are a couple of hikes around ( one's simple the other being a challenging strenuous hike) where you can feel completely surrounded by nature and mountains. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, adding to the warm atmosphere. Whether you're looking for a relaxing day out or an adventure in the mountains, Harder Kulm delivers both in spades. Highly recommend this spot if you're in the area and it's definitely worth the visit!

If you want to get the best views of the Alps you have to visit Herder Kulm…read more We took a trolly ride up the mountains and it gave us a nice view of Interlaken. The ride up took maybe 10 minutes. Harder Kulm had a restaurant and shop at the top of the mountain. We ended up eating at the restaurant and the food was great. There are also plenty of hiking opportunities so you can get a nice workout. If only have time to do one activity in Interlaken, visit Harder Kulm!!!

Grotte aux Fees, translated into English means cave of the fairies. This was the first tourist…read more"show" cave in Switzerland open to the public. It is open everyday from March 15th to November 15th, and can be seen for 8 CHF. If you take the train to St. Maurice, you need to take a short walk out of town, and about a 10 minute walk up a hill to see the cave. At the entrance to the cave is a cafe with a nice terrace, you can grab a bite of something to eat. I didn't try the cafe, so not able to provide a review for the food. Once inside the cave you walk through a narrow twisting passage for about 1,500 feet, and as you get closer you can hear the thundering water grow louder. Supposedly there are 63 twists and turns along the passage. I don't remember there being that many, but I do remember their being several. I went during the spring time as the snow was melting, which is the best time to come, as the waterfall is even more impressive. I do remember the passage being wet and needing to be careful to watch out for puddles along the way. After the final twist you come to an opening and I remember being overwhelmed by the size of the large waterfall crashing down inside the cave. The sound of the water was deafening. I wouldn't have been able to hear anyone talking to me in the room. I tried to take pictures inside, but it was very difficult to get a picture of the 50 meter- 77 meter high waterfall (the height seems to be arguable, as I have read different resources claiming different heights). I would definitely come back. The only silly thing is that whoever the current owners are, went and did something stupid. In accordance with the name of the cave, the owners put up barbie doll fairies along the path inside the cave leading up to the waterfall. Thankfully their is no stupid plastic barbie to ruin the beauty of the waterfall, and the waterfall itself erased the memory of the plastic silliness for the duration of time I was admiring the falls.

So beautiful!! This was worth the drive, train ride and ski lift…read more The views were stunning. A glacier!! Who gets to see snow and ice in August!!! Be sure to dress warm and wear good shoes!!

One the most expensive excursions in Switzerland even with discounts if you have different travel…read morepasses, the Jungfraujoch is seen advertised in many stations and activities. The visitors certainly fit the clientele the ticket price caters to--mainly wealthy international tourists not looking to do any hiking. This is a great excursion for views, experiencing snow, visiting an ice palace, shopping for souvenirs and getting free chocolate, and if you want to spend more than 2 hours, dining at the self serve or special restaurants, all of which have views. It got quite busy and crowded starting around 10 am which was unfortunate, but at least the first part of our tour was fairly peaceful and there were no lines to take pictures at the viewpoints. To get there, since we stayed in Lauterbrunnen, we rode the train up to Wengen, to Klein Scheidegg, and then the classic red train up to Jungfraujoch. It was quite scenic all the way.

One of the best refuges on our tour. Amazing food. Family run. Friendly staff. Absolutely adorable…read morebuildings. Fantastic views. They even set up a heater and drying room for everyone after a very rainy day. Something I wouldn't expect from most refuges.

The Gorges Du Durnand would more accurately be called the Gorges of Disappointment. The Gorges…read moreboast a series of 14 waterfalls that can be visited by foot via a 400m long staircase that is pinned at the cliff face on the left side of the gorge. The Gorges can be visited between May and October for the price of 8 CHF. The best time to visit would be in May when the snow is melting in the mountains, and the waterfalls are at their fullest, which is the time of year when we visited. The falls are located by bus 5 minutes outside of Marting, and a short walk. If you have a car you can drive up, and park in the large parking lot. You need to go into the cafe restaurant at the entrance to the gorge to purchase the entrance tickets. They have a button in the restaurant that they press to buzz you into the door at the path leading to the falls. The walk through the forest to the cliff is beautiful, and as you start to climb the stairs the water flowing over the cliffs is beautiful, and as you go along, you feel as if momentum is building for something great at the end. But, when you get to the end, their is no amazing sight that takes your breath away. It is definitely beautiful, but not worth going out of your way to get too, and paying 8 CHEF for. You leave feeling cheated, your expectations are building, and then nothing.

Mont Blanc! Its…read moreboring name in English would be "White Mountain", but we don't call it that. We recognize that "Mont Blanc" is a far superior name. It's the highest mountain in the Alps at 15,774 ft. It's the tallest mountain in Europe, unless you're one of those commies that count Russia as part of Europe! Anyway, it's gorgeous. I climbed it via Voie Des Cristalliers route. Known to many Americans as the "Gouter Route". It was technical, but not very. It's similar to the DC or Emmons routes on Mt Rainier. The main difference is that this mountain is taller, and you're not allowed to build a base camp. You gotta stay in "huts". Calling them huts is quite laughable. They are all superb feats of engineering with food, drink, and bunks! Anyway, this is a gorgeous walk-up, well worth the effort. The only negative is the horrendous couloir low on the route. It constantly spits out debris. You have to traverse across and hope you don't get hit. Someone was killed by rockfall on the day we were making our way up. Not cool.

We decided to give this company a try, given the price point and the simplicity of the hiking trip…read morebeing planned (self-guided trek of the Gran Paradiso in Italy). Unfortunately they insisted on payment only through International Money Transfer rather than credit card from Canada, which resulted in various extra charges using the SWIFT process and wide divergences in currency exchange rates (in fact, they kept sending me emails indicating that payment was not yet 'complete' - and a number of the emails were 'curt' to say the least). They even accused me of not sending a 'final' payment, until I sent them a screen shot showing the various payments I had made (in fact, I overpaid the original price just to get them to accept the fact that the contract was paid - no apology was offered upon showing proof). All of this could have been avoided if the company simply accepted credit card payments and added the 3% charge to the price (or offered a credit card payment price, and a bank transfer price). We were also disappointed with the following: - the hiking map itself was fine (and readily available at any refuge on the route for 10 euros) but the written 'directions' provided by Altitude Mont-Blanc left much to be desired. - the company also lacked flexibility with their 'contract'. My wife injured herself on the first day (in part, as a result of the aforementioned written route directions). We made it work nonetheless, but as the injury worsened we decided to spend two nights in one of the refuges to give her a rest, and cancel the last two of the seven nights on the trek (turns out my wife fractured her leg - she's a trooper!). We attempted to contact Altitude Mont-Blanc by email and by telephone to advise them of the changes required, but received no response until the following Monday morning. We thought that Altitude Mont-Blanc would simply pay the extra night in this particular refuge and cancel the last two nights of our trek. While they were unavailable to take any action over a weekend (although they indicted in their documentation there was always someone available if the need arose), they then argued that this was our problem (and not theirs) and that we were responsible for both the extra night, and the two nights which we cancelled. Super professional and helpful. This was not our first experience using a travel company, but we will not be using Altitude Mont-Blanc for future treks. Better to save your money, book your own refuges (all of which were very accommodating and professionally run) and buy your own map.