Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch is an impressive landscape and an outstanding example of the formation of the High Alps. It includes the most glaciated part of the mountain range and the largest glacier in Eurasia, the Aletsch Glacier.

The area holds 9 peaks over 4,000m: Finsteraarhorn, Aletschhorn, Jungfrau, Mönch, Schreckhorn, Gross Fiescherhorn, Hinter Fiescherhorn, Grünhorn and Lauteraarhorn. The Jungfrau was first climbed in 1811 and the Finsteraarhorn in 1812. It is still a popular region for mountain climbing.

Year	Decision	Comments
2008	Name change	From "Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn" to "Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch"
2007	Extended	To a wider area, including more glaciers, the Oeschinensee (glacial lake), the roche moutonnée landscape in the Grimsel region, and the Rosenlauischlucht
2001	Inscribed	Reasons for inscription

Reviews

john booth (New Zealand):

I visited several parts of this site. From Kandersteg I took the cable car to view the Oeschinensee, a high lake surrounded by mountains. From Goppenstein I took a bus up the Lotschental, past the Bietschhorn to Fafleralp and hiked up to the Lang Glacier. From Grindelwald I had magnificent views of the Monch, Eiger and Jungfrau, all in their pristine beauty.
But the core of this site, the Aletsch Glacier remained elusive. I could have taken the train from Grindelwald to the Jungfraujoch and viewed it from there, but the cost of this was prohibitive.
So I tried a cheaper route: from Brig station I took a bus to Blatten from where I took a cable car to Belalp. A 20 minute walk from the cable car station brought me to the Belalp Hotel and a nearby church and lookout. To my dismay cloud filled the valley below. By studying the maps at the lookout and found the direction where the Aletsch Glacier should be. As I watched the cloud began to clear and a river appeared way below. Then it cleared more and the glacier appeared, curving up towards distant mountains. After a few moments it disappeared again, and I returned to the cable car to the accompaniment of cow bells.

Date posted: September 2011

Assif Am-David (Israel):
After having visited the Swiss Alps for several times I consider them the most beautiful landscape I've ever seen. Staying at the very touristy town of Interlacken (or smaller and yet more touristy Grindelwald) I drove up several mountains. The Truemmelbach waterfalls are grand. There's also a train leaving Grindelwald to the top of the Jungfrau Joch which is the highest train station in the world. It costs a fortune (as so many other things in Switzerland) and I found it underwhelming to be honest, mostly because the scenery looks much more exciting from below than from the summit where you can only see the icy summits around. The air is so fresh you can truly perceive its quality. I know a new amuzement park was opened in hounor of Swiss von Denicken near Interlacken. You might want to visit it too.

Date posted: November 2008

Jan-Carel Vierbergen (The Netherlands):
The Jungfrau-region is very fascinating, both on distance when viewed from distances up to 150 km (!) and closeby, ranging from 25 km (Interlaken and environment) up to Grosse Scheidegg and even closer. A hike to the Jungfraujoch can only be done by skilled mountain-climbers, but the railway provides a great means to reach this vantage point from where a wonderful vista unfolds itself over the Grosse Aletschgletscher, the largest glacier of the Alps. After 15 years of hiking in this area I never grow tired of enjoying this natural majesty, shooting many pictures every year of landscapes, geological structures, plants (up to 3000 species in Switzerland), and animals that can be seen in abundance here.

To my surprise the picture depicted here (April 17, 2006) I see the Silberhorn, only a small part of the Jungfrau mountain, which towers the region with its top of 4158 m (13,642 ft).

Date posted: April 2006

Maggie Huang (USA; Taiwan):
I was managed to wake up early enough and prepare to take the train at Grindelwald. It's quite freezing in Switzerland's September.
There were 2 trains we need to transfer in order to go to Jungfraujoch. Inside of the station, a video was shown to introduce how this railroad was constructed and completed. It was just amazing to see how people can accomplish such a diffifult task. We went to the top of the station and enjoyed the panaramic view. The nature of glacier, needless to say, is breathtaking. Unfortunately, it was too windy and cold to stay too long outdoor.

I bought a postcard from the highest post office and sent it to myself as a souvenir; to remember this beautiful place forever.

Date posted: March 2006

Joyce (Netherlands):

This glacierfield is the largest one in the European Alps and quite impressive. You can take a special train up to the Jungfrau and you have to change trains twice and you climb up the mountain higher and higher over the course of 3 hours. The last part of the train trip is actually through the mountain and then you end up at the highest railway station of Europe at 3454 meters high; the Jungfraujoch. Since you climb up so fast most people will have a little bit of altitude sickness. At the station you can go outside to see the glacier and shoot some pictures of the view and there are ice caves that are cut out of the glacier.
The whole thing is quite touristy and pretty expensive, but if you have never been high up on the mountains and never seen glaciers before it might be worth it.

Date posted: December 2005

Sunny Upadhyay (Mumbai, India):
It's difficult to believe what nature has in store for you sometimes. Amazing!! its gorgeous. When i was on top, out in the huge balcony, Nothing came out of my mouth, when i first saw it. Beautiful, Marvelous view.

Date posted: June 2005

Rajeev Aloysius (Sri Lanka):
If you do get the chance, to go up to Jungfraujoch: The Top of Europe. SBB will take you up to the bottom of the mountain, and then a special train - which is very expensive at CHF150- will take you up to the observatory known as Top of Europe. I was fortunate to get a very special deal, where I commuted all the way from Geneva at about CHF189. There are scientific experiments being undertaken up there, including global warming, pollution, oxygen levels and so on. The view is amazing, absolutely stunning views of glaciers and green, especially in May and September. This is Switzerland at its very best. You can ski, use discs as surfboards in the perpetual snow at 10,000ft. Take in the Eispalast, a beautiful museum of ice carvings, and two levels of viewing, the Sphinx area being the better one. The restaurant is not bad either. This was one of my most memorable trips.

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