Stunning view from the Brienzer Rothorn
Just an hour and a half from Bern, lake Brienz offers a flamboyant blue color. It is easily accessible by train via Interlaken.
How to get there effortlessly?
Everything is just a train ride away
View from of the traintracks in Spiez that is on your way from Bern to Interlaken
A quick (and sustainable) way to get to Brienz is using public transport. You can use the train or the boat to get from Interlaken to Brienz. Boat or train will both offer stunning views of lake Thun and lake Brinez as well as the Alps.
Memorable trip up Brienzer Rothorn
While the emerald blue of lake Brienz is already captivating from the shore, it’s extraordinary from the top of Brienzer Rothorn. There are a couple ways to get there.
Climb the Rothorn without breaking a sweat
Ride full steam ahead to the Rothorn Kulm using the Brienz Rothorn Bahn. The ride through Alpine meadows is an hour long and offers a magnificient view of the Alps. The ride is CHF47 round trip with half fare tickets and can be made cheaper if you take the 08:36 train. More information can be found here.
The sweet compromise
Hike up to Planalp to take your time enjoying the view of Lake Brienz. What I really liked was starting our hike at 8 AM to see the fog lift as we walked.
After your 2.5 hour hike and 775m ascent, you can take the take the steam train from Planalp to the Rothorn Kulm.
Feeling brave ?
You can also hike all the way from Brienz to Planalp. This hike will take about 5 hours and the total ascent is about 1800m. If you need a brake in the middle, Berghaus Planalp is a magnificient location for a lunch break. As always in Switzerland, the trail is well indicated with yellow signs throughout.
Enjoying the view at the summit
The view from the Rothorn Kulm is dazzling and is one of my favourite nature views of Switzerland. A remarkable hike that can be done starting from the Rothorn summit is a ridge hike to the Harder Kulm towards Interlaken. Since I went to Brienz in May, there was too much snow to do this Hardergrat hike but I can’t wait to do it in the Summer time.
Easy way down
For a shortcut down, and to avoid snowy surprises, I took the train down to Planalp and walked back to Brienz from Planalp using a similar route as the way up.
On our way down to Brienz
View from of Lake Brienz from the Brienz dock
