← Jungfrau Marathon·1 night

Lauterbrunnen: The Valley the Race Climbs Out Of

A return to the dramatic valley the marathon course itself climbs out of, with flat valley-floor walking and waterfalls visible without needing to climb toward Wengen.

Duration1 night
TransitDirect train, around 20 min from Interlaken Ost
DepartsInterlaken Ost

After the Jungfrau Marathon: Lauterbrunnen

The Route: Interlaken → Lauterbrunnen → Interlaken Logistics: Direct train from Interlaken Ost, roughly 20 minutes, the same railway that runs alongside the marathon course around km 20. Marathon Month: September Duration: 1 night

Interlaken Ost ──(20 mins direct train)──> Lauterbrunnen ──(short walk)──> Staubbach Falls & valley floor
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                                          Interlaken Ost ◄──(20 mins direct train)───────────┘

The marathon course reaches Lauterbrunnen at km 20, loops 5 km south of the town, then turns straight uphill toward Wengen, giving runners barely any time to register one of the most striking valleys in the Alps before the real climbing starts. A night here afterward, without a race number pinned on, gives the valley the attention race day doesn't allow. September in Lauterbrunnen tends to bring settled, cool mornings and mild afternoons, though the valley's steep walls mean weather can shift with less warning than in the open Interlaken basin.

Night One: Lauterbrunnen

Lauterbrunnen sits at the base of a glacially carved trough valley, its near-vertical walls lined with more than seventy waterfalls, a geological setting so distinctive it's said to have influenced J.R.R. Tolkien's descriptions of Rivendell after he visited in the 1910s. The valley floor itself is flat, a rarity in this part of Switzerland, which is precisely why it makes sense as a recovery base rather than pushing straight on to a higher, steeper village.

The primary recovery asset is the valley floor path itself, flat and well-maintained, running the length of the valley past farms and the base of the surrounding cliffs, with Staubbach Falls, a single 297-metre drop right beside the village, visible within a five-minute walk of the train station. The full valley floor walk to Trümmelbach Falls and back covers a few kilometres at an entirely level grade, extendable or shortenable depending on how the legs are managing the day after.

Secondary attractions include Trümmelbach Falls, a series of ten glacier-fed waterfalls thundering through a gorge inside the mountain, reached via a short funicular from the valley floor that removes any climbing from the visit (entry approximately CHF 14), and the village of Stechelberg at the valley's southern end, the departure point for the cable car up to Mürren and the Schilthorn, worth knowing about even if the cable car itself is saved for a day with more energy.

Where to stay: Hotel Silberhorn, in the village centre, puts Staubbach Falls and the train station both within a short walk. Camping Jungfrau, on the valley floor south of the village, offers a lower-cost option with direct access to the flat valley path.

Where to eat: Airtime Café, in the village, does a straightforward international menu popular with the valley's paragliding and climbing crowd. The Horner Pub, also central, offers a more traditional Swiss menu for a heartier post-marathon appetite.

Getting Home

The direct train back to Interlaken Ost from Lauterbrunnen takes around 20 minutes, running frequently through the day with no need to plan around a specific departure. Runners flying home from Zurich, Basel or Geneva can connect directly from Interlaken's rail network without needing to route through Lauterbrunnen again first.