4 Days in Interlaken: Paragliding, Harder Kulm & Two Alpine Lakes
Between two alpine lakes: a tandem paraglide, a century-old funicular to a view over both lakes and two days on the water. Best from May to September.
Between two alpine lakes: a tandem paraglide, a century-old funicular to a view over both lakes and two days on the water. Best from May to September.
Interlaken sits squarely on the Bödeli, the flat delta the Lütschine river built between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and Interlaken West station drops you a few minutes' walk from the town center and most hotels, with Interlaken Ost further east handling the onward lines toward Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen.
🚆 ~2 hr 10 min direct train from Zurich, ~50 min from Bern 💵 ~CHF 45-70 one way depending on route 🕐 Trains run roughly every 30 minutes throughout the dayHöhematte has been a protected open meadow since 1864, ringed by grand belle-époque hotels and doubling as the landing field where paragliders drift in all afternoon, and the Höheweg promenade running along its edge is the easiest way to get a first feel for the town before the more active days ahead.
🚶 ~15 min walk from Interlaken West 💵 Free to walk 🕐 Early-to-mid afternoon, when paragliders are landing most oftenThe short stretch of the Aare that links the two lakes runs glacier-turquoise right through town, and a slow walk along its banks toward dinner is the first real look at the color that defines both lakes for the rest of the trip.
🚶 Flat walk through the town center 💵 Free to stroll 🕐 An hour before sunset, for the clearest water colorRunning since 1908 on one of the steepest funicular gradients in Switzerland, the Harderbahn climbs almost straight up from the edge of town to Harder Kulm at 1,322 meters in about ten minutes, gaining more than 1,300 vertical steps' worth of height without a single one of them underfoot.
🚞 ~10 min funicular from Interlaken Ost 💵 ~CHF 44 round trip 🕐 Morning departure, to beat the midday queue at the base stationHarder Kulm's viewing platform juts out over the cliff edge with a bronze eagle marking the spot, and it's the one place on this itinerary where Lake Thun and Lake Brienz sit in the same frame, the Bödeli's green triangle pinched between them with the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau lined up behind.
🚶 A few minutes on foot from the funicular station 💵 Included with the funicular ticket 🕐 Late morning, for the clearest light on both lakesInterlaken is one of the world's best-known paragliding launch points, and a van ride up to a mountainside takeoff near Beatenberg or the Schilthorn side leads into a 10 to 20-minute tandem flight that ends exactly where yesterday's walk did, drifting down into the Höhematte with the whole Bödeli laid out underneath.
🪂 ~1.5 hr door-to-door, including the drive up and the flight 💵 ~CHF 170-200 per tandem flight 🕐 Book a morning slot, afternoon thermals ground flights more oftenThe BLS fleet's lake steamers leave right from the pier by Interlaken West and work along Lake Thun's shoreline past the Niesen's pyramid-shaped peak and a string of waterfront villages, an easy way to see the lake's turquoise color change with the depth beneath the boat.
⛴️ Boats run roughly hourly, May to Oct 💵 ~CHF 30-50 depending on the stop 🕐 Morning departure, to leave the afternoon for the caves and castleGetting off the boat at Beatenbucht puts you a short walk from the St. Beatus Caves, a stalactite system named for a hermit legend said to have lived inside, where a waterfall marks the entrance and a guided walkway winds past underground lakes and rock formations carved over thousands of years.
🚶 ~15 min walk from the Beatenbucht boat stop 💵 ~CHF 20 entry, guided tours depart roughly every 45 min 🕐 Midday, open 9 AM to 6 PM in summerBack on the boat and a stop further along, Oberhofen Castle's turreted tower sits almost in the water itself, its period rooms and English-style gardens open as a museum from mid-May through October, an easy, low-key close to a day mostly spent on the lake.
⛴️ ~20 min boat from Beatenbucht 💵 ~CHF 15 museum entry 🕐 Mid-to-late afternoon, before the last boats back to InterlakenWhere Lake Thun runs deep blue, glacial silt keeps Lake Brienz an almost impossibly bright turquoise, and the public bathing area near Interlaken Ost is close enough for an easy morning swim before a lake steamer continues out toward the villages on the far shore.
⛴️ Boats leave from the pier by Interlaken Ost 💵 ~CHF 25-40 depending on the stop, swimming is free 🕐 Morning, while the water and the light are both at their bestA short boat ride to the Giessbach landing puts you at the foot of a funicular that has been hauling guests up to the Grandhotel Giessbach since 1879, still Switzerland's oldest funicular in operation, and the four-minute ride climbs alongside the Giessbach's own cascading falls the whole way up.
🚞 ~4 min funicular, boat plus funicular from Interlaken Ost is ~1 hr round trip 💵 ~CHF 10 funicular return 🕐 Midday, leaving time to get back for departureInterlaken Ost connects onward toward Luzern and the Golden Pass line, while Interlaken West is the faster way back to Bern, Zurich, and the airports beyond, both an easy walk or short bus ride from most hotels on the Bödeli.
🚆 ~2 hr 10 min to Zurich, ~50 min to Bern 💵 ~CHF 45-70 one way depending on route 🕐 Leave at least 4 hrs before an international flightMorning flights are calmer and less prone to weather cancellations than afternoon slots, and weekday availability tends to run a little cheaper than weekend bookings.
A multi-day regional pass bundling the BLS boats, Harder Kulm, and the Giessbach funicular often beats buying each ticket separately across four days.
Buying food in town before a boat day saves considerably over the view-premium prices at restaurants right on Lake Thun or Lake Brienz.
Smaller public lidos further along Lake Brienz's shore get a fraction of the crowds of the spots closest to Interlaken Ost.
The funicular runs until evening in summer, and the eagle's-nest terrace empties out well before the last car down, with the best light of the day over both lakes.
The promenade between Interlaken West and Ost is flat, shaded, and rarely takes more than 20 minutes, an easy way to see more of Höhematte and the old hotels along the way.
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