If you’ve seen any photos from Switzerland, chances are that this country’s on your wish list too! I’ve realised over the years that I’ve gone a bit bored from the traditional city breaks. Now my soul screams for mountains, green fields and bird eye views. And what a better place in Europe to explore nature and unbeaten paths than Switzerland? I’d say, none! I had seen so many pictures from the Swiss mountains and I’ll be lying if I say that I wasn’t dying to get up there one day. The chill once you get out of the cable car or make the final hiking step to reach the top. The incredible feeling of leaning forward and realising how steep the hill is. The proximity to the clouds and the snowy views even on the hottest days of summer. I was just imagining how overwhelming it’ll be to experience this somewhere so unique as Switzerland. So I embarked on an adventure to the 2970th meter of Schilthorn to find out.

But how much does it cost?

If you’ve got the time, passion and gear to hike all the way to the top 2970th meter of Schilthorn, it’ll cost you nothing.

But sadly, I didn’t have the time to hike up. So I had to go the slightly boring way and use cable cars all the way to the top. As I was planning for my trip I was obviously very price conscious as I’m sure you’ve heard, Switzerland is mad expensive and getting to its beautiful mountain tops is equally luxurious from a price perspective. In fact, when I looked at the adult prices for a return cable car ticket, I was stunned. A round trip from Lauterbrunnen to Schilthorn costs a whooping 105 CHF. And trust me, whatever currency you convert this to, it’ll be extortionate 😀 . So I had to find another way!

This is when my intense research into a better deal, got me to discover the Swiss Travel Pass. For more on what it is exactly, I’ll be posting a separate post but to sum it quite nicely, I went all the way to the top for free. The pass itself cost me 225 CHF for 3 days but it gave me unlimited use of the Swiss public transport (buses, trains, boats, everything) and included perks such as the cable cars to 3 of the Swiss mountains, including the Schilthorn.

Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen

For my Swiss mountain adventure I stayed overnight in Interlaken, near Interlaken West station. That morning I was so excited. I slept like a baby knowing that the next day will be literally all I wanted it to be, ADVENTUROUS! So I had the quickest breakfast ever, armed myself with my camera, tripod and warmest clothes and I rushed to get the bus to Wilderswil (line 105). Since I stayed near Interlaken West station, to get to Lauterbrunnen I had to get a bus to Wilderswil and change to a train to Lauterbrunnen. Luckily, if you stay near the Ost station, you’ll get a direct train but the station is not very central so it’s a bit of a trade off. Having said that though, the journey via Wilderswil only makes the journey longer by about 10-15min so it’s not a deal breaker.

Lauterbrunnen to Murren

Once in Lauterbrunnen, there were two options to get to Schilthorn. One was to get a cable car via Murren and the other via Stechelberg. After about 2 hours of walking around Lauterbrunnen, my hands were freezing from the many photos I had taken so it was time to head to Schilthorn (only to come back later). So I decided to listen to Google maps and go with the faster option, via Stechelberg. That meant that I had to get bus 141 that goes to Stechelberg and get a direct cable car from there to Schilthorn.

Slight confusion

Like you probably know, I live in the UK.  I was pretty convinced that I am quick to adapt to the “normal” driving on the right side of the road in Europe. But when I saw my bus passing by me and me running after it, I realised that I was totally wrong. I was freezing and had waited for the bus for a few minutes so when it passed by without even acknowledging I was waiting for it, I was pissed 😀 . A few seconds later I realised I was on the WRONG side of the road. Classic mistake, right! So I had to go for option 1 via Murren.

Honestly, I couldn’t have been happier that I missed that bus. Murren definitely surprised me probably more than any other place on my journey, but more on that later. To get to Murren, I had to first get a 10min cable car to Grütschalp and then a quick 15 train to Murren BLM station.

The adventure was on!

As soon as I got on the cable car at Lauterbrunnen, I knew this was gonna be the highlight of my trip. I rushed to glue myself to the front glass window of the cable car to get all the views on the way up the mountain and impatiently waited until we had a move on. The feeling of almost flying above the mountain was incredible. The views – even more so but that was barely anything compared to what was coming. The cable car was definitely a lot faster than I expected and in about 10 min we were literally in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by nothing else but hill tops and pine trees.

As soon as we got off at Grütschalp, it hit me! The sun was shining. There was nothing around but a little train waiting for us all to get on board and a couple of rails waiting to get our train across the mountain. I couldn’t believe it. Тhere was a train literally in the middle of the mountain, casually traveling along the mountain edge! We opened the windows to let the freeze in and indulge in the views as the train was making its way among the trees and piles of snow. It was just such an unbelievably cool experience!

After our scenic ride was over, I got off at Murren (BLM station) only to realise that I had just stepped foot at the very last inhabited village up in the mountain. I couldn’t help but wonder what it must feel like to wake up to the views of this place, knowing there is nothing else around. No other village nearby, or crowds of people, or busy roads. Just the songs of the birds, the breeze of fresh air, occasional locals chilling on a balcony overlooking the mountains and barely any tourists. It was the most peaceful place I had even been to. It felt as if I’ve gone somewhere completely outside of our planet! Ah, take me back!

Murren to Schilthorn

To get the cable car to Schilthorn, I had to walk to Murren Schilthorn cable car station. I was mesmerised by the views that were all around but I still wanted to get to the top. So I put a hold on the many photos I was taking and rushed to line up. I felt like a little kid waiting with the big spoon, ready to dig into the tub of ice cream 😀 . All I could see from the cable car window were endless landscapes of snow covered hills and skiers sliding down the mountain. The views were so wonderful that it’s hard to describe so I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Atop of Schilthorn

After another quick change of cable cars at Birg at 2677m, I got on the last journey to the very top of Schilthorn. Once the cable car reached the top, I felt a sudden rush of emotions, I was so excited! As I got off the cable car, I suddenly felt the drop in temperature. Having another layer to put on top definitely saved me from freezing. Having said that though, it was nowhere as cold as I expected it be. But I’m pretty convinced that time up here goes quicker 😀 . I spent so much time up here without really doing much. For the first time in my life I was so high up and I was just so genuinely happy.

The clouds were floating right above us. The birds were flying so near that a few times I thought they’ll fly right into me. Ah, it was phenomenal! Everywhere I was turning, I was seeing mountains, covered up in snow, reflecting the sun that was shining right on top of their hills. Skiers were sliding down the slopes and occasionally paragliders were bringing colour into the scenery by casually spinning up in the air. A number of times I looked down and a sudden rush of adrenaline started rushing through my veins. I was so high up, I could barely believe it!

Dare to walk around 

As if going all the way to the last 2970th meter of Schilthorn wasn’t enough that they had to make this even a greater adventure 😀 . On the way back from Schilthorn, just off the viewing platform at Birg at 2677m, there are stairs! And these are no ordinary stairs. I call them the adventure stairs. Why? Because they take you to the Thrill Walk which goes all around the Birg peak with nothing underneath you but the views of the snowy slopes and occasionally uncovered cliffs. Someone said adrenaline? 😀 . This is a proper goose bumps experience and you cannot miss it even if you’re rushing to get down!

Have a drink at the top

Although I spent quite a bit of time both at Schilthorn and Birg, the one thing I wish I had the time to do was sit down, get a drink and just relax for hours! Although Schilthorn has a posh revolving (indoors) restaurant right at the top of the 2970th meter (might recognize it from the James Bond 007 movie), nothing beats the casual outdoor bar at Birg. The views, the unpretentious atmosphere. Everything is so well thought out to really make you feel relaxed and one with the mountains. So sit down, relax and enjoy a drink and THE views. All the way until sunset!

Insider tip: You don’t have to pre-book any of the cable cars to Schilthorn. Depending on when you visit, you might have to queue up but in April when I went, I didn’t have to wait long at all. At Murren Schilthorn station, just show your Swiss travel pass and they’ll issue you with a return ticket to the top.

Getting up to the top of Schilthorn will be an adventure regardless of which way to decide to go up. Whether you hike or take the cable car, you will “WOW” when you reach the final meter. So take some warm clothes, bring your camera and start packing up your bag with memories of the spectacular views at Schilthorn. Enjoy!

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