Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald in Jungfrau region (near Interlaken) are our favorite villages in Central Switzerland and we have done several hikes around Grindelwald. Then, we learnt it was not New Zealand but Lauterbrunnen valley that inspired JRR Tolkien for his Middle Earth sagas: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. And, ever since we wanted to trek around Lauterbrunnen...!
Travelers have been exploring these valleys since the Berner Oberland Bahn railway opened in 1890, and of course today one can use Switzerland’s ultra-efficient train network and retrace Tolkien’s journey much more easily. But, we decided to shadow Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ footsteps and explore Rivendell and the Misty Mountains in the real form like Tolkien did in 1911 and set up his masterpiece. The name Rivendell itself means “Deeply Cloven Valley” and the Lauterbrunnen (also called as The Valley of 72 waterfalls) certainly fits this description - with alpine peaks of Eiger, Monch, Jungfrau and villages of Murren, Wengen in the backdrop. While we have been planning to hike the route from Lauterbrunnen to Murren for quite some time, eventually it was a sudden decision to walk the path after being in the lock-down for several weeks with Coronavirus situation.
We started post lunch on a sunny afternoon and the first section of the scenic hike took us up through the steep alpine trail along the aerial cableway route to Grütschalp. The early part of the trail is very scenic as one leaves behind Lauterbrunnen valley, Staubach waterfall, and pass through the beautiful wooden chalets in the village . Soon after, Lauterbrunnen village can barely be seen as the wide grassy meadows obscures most of the views of the steep cliffs as well as the views of the snow-capped peaks on the other side of the valley. In hindsight, we under estimated the difficulty level of this section as it was steep and required good physical fitness. Thankfully, Kabir and Meera were high on energy in the first few hours and managed it fine.
We reached the source of Staubach waterfall after two hours as the trail led past flowering meadows to a large mountain hut in a shaded valley. The Staubach stream flows through the woods and just a few hundred meters downhill, this gently gurgling stream becomes a mighty waterfall cascading over the cliff to the valley down under. We met few hikers along the way, who were managing social distancing quite diligently and perhaps it was a effect of the lock-down that even on a perfect sunny day – the trail didn’t have many hikers around. It was almost 5.30 pm in the evening, and I checked the cable car schedule from Mürren to Lauterbrunnen. I was wondering if it was still operational under the lock-down, and half scared that everyone would disown me if we had to climb down entire way in late evening hours. Thankfully, cable car was operational at hourly frequency (as per online timetable) and we had 90 minutes to hike another five kilometres and reach Mürren – a difficult though not an impossible ask while hiking with the kids.
After a short break around the alpine hut, the trail continued through another shaded forest section and just before Winteregg it opened up into a panoramic vista. It was perhaps at this point, everyone got bit more energized when initial hard work was rewarded with some of the most pristine views of the entire Jungfrau range and the mighty peaks. And, the best part of the hike is that this view of the entire Jungfrau region stays with you until the end of the trail. It was already 6.30 pm, and Mürren was still 3-4 kilometers away. Soon, we realized it’s not possible to catch the 7 pm cable car down to Lauterbrunnen and should target the 8 pm schedule instead. This worked well as we could take a short break at a mountain farmhouse to refresh ourselves (and the tired feet) while enjoying the best views of Jungfrau.
From here, the route leads mainly parallel to the Grütschalp-Mürren railway line and rest of our hike proceeded at a leisurely pace with picture-postcard views of magnificent mountain scenery, snow covered peaks, villages, huts, waterfalls, and deep-green firs lining the forest trail. As we reached closer to Mürren, the charming wooden chalet started appearing on both sides of the street, and one could see the direct impact of Corona-virus lock-down, as all the hotels and restaurants were closed with barely anyone out in the village.
We somehow found a small coffee shop to recharge ourselves before walking further down to the cable car station. The ticket counter was closed, and our heart sank for a moment assuming the online schedule wasn’t updated. Thankfully, the cable car were operational and we could buy the ticket from the cable car driver, or online. We clicked few pictures of the valley down, while waiting for the cable car and were wondering that one of our best hike was completely unplanned and was done in a jiffy.
On a rather somber note, its the moments such as these that stay with us forever like the masterpiece from JRR Tolkien. And, undoubtedly the key message that one doesn’t need to be a great warrior to achieve great things - a true heart is greater than a strong arm and a good blade. Once we reached Stechelberg via Gimmelwald cable car, the Lauterbrunnen valley opened up in front of us with vertical cliffs on both sides - highlighting that from the deepest of valleys comes the desire for deathlessness. And, perhaps that's what makes us live each moment, and enjoy life much more...!
