Jungfrau-Cross
Description
Let's set off on a three-day adventure in Engelberg. Ideally, you should arrive by train so that you don't have to drive back to Engelberg after the three days because your car is still here. As the tour is tough enough, you take the cable car from Engelberg to the Joch Pass or the chairlift on the second section. A fun path leads down to Engstlenalp, where you then have to master a pushing section up to Tannalp. The following trail over the Balmeggerhorn is an unparalleled natural spectacle: the Titlis at your back, the glacier peaks of the Jungfrau region on the opposite side of the valley and the Melchsee and Tannensee lakes on your right. In the section immediately before the Planplatten, the trail is exposed and caution is the order of the day. A trail finally leads down to the first stage destination, the Mägisalp.
The second day starts with the ascent to Käserstatt - a pleasantly ascending trail that only gets a little steeper in the last few meters. The same applies to the next section up to Gibel. This inconspicuous summit offers the best panoramic views of the Jungfrau region and Lake Brienz far below. It is also the starting point of the long and varied singletrail descent to Meiringen. Sporty mountain bikers tackle the ascent to Grosse Scheidegg from here under their own steam, while more leisurely contemporaries take the PostBus up. The Grosse Scheidegg is stage destination number two.
The third day gets off to a brilliant start. You reach the Bachsee, one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in Switzerland, before the many hikers. At this time of day, you are also largely alone on the descent and reach the village of Grindelwald on a mix of varied single trails and short sections on gravel roads. The ascent to Kleine Scheidegg is next, which you have to tackle under your own steam as the Jungfrau Railways do not transport bikes on this section. However, Kleine Scheidegg is not the culmination point for us; instead, we climb a few more meters up to Rinderhitta. Now it's time for the descent! You're largely on the same route as the ski racers at the Lauberhorn race. Even the Hundschof is included. The descent takes you past Wengen and down to Lauterbrunnen, from where you follow the signposted route along the River Lütschine to Interlaken. From here, trains run to Bern or Lucerne, allowing you to make the comfortable journey home from this impressive three-day tour.
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Details of the tour
108 km
4320 m
5960 m
1 day
Engelberg
Interlaken
1654
limited
More information
No bike schools are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.
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User comments (5)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
We rode the tour at the end of September. Because the weather was very bad on the first of the planned three days, we did the tour in two days:
On the first day to Meiringen and from there by post bus to Grosse Scheidegg. If you spend the night there, the post bus ride is free and you only have to pay for the bike.
There were lots of hikers on the ridge path above Melchseefrutt (it was a Sunday)
On the second day, we rode the rest of the way to Interlaken.
On this Monday, the hiking trails were much less busy.
However, for a tour rated three out of six stars in terms of difficulty, the section after Kleine Scheidegg in particular is quite challenging and the section past Wengen down into the valley is not without its difficulties. Especially when it's still a bit damp.
All in all, a great tour with a fantastic panorama!
I did the tour this summer (July 2023). However, I divided the stages slightly differently. The first overnight stay in Meiringen ("Simons Herberge" - simple and very cheap!). In my opinion, the first stage is otherwise very short. I stopped at the Mägisalp for lunch. If you don't want to do that, I would recommend keeping to the altitude, because the ascent from the Mägisalp is very strenuous - especially right after lunch ;-).
On the second day I took the post bus from Meiringen to Schwarzwaldalp and then tramped up to Grosse Scheidegg and from there followed the planned route to Grindelwald (I found the trail from Bachsee to Grindelwald absolutely amazing!!!) and spent the night in the youth hostel.
On the third day I hiked in pouring rain to Kleine Scheidegg and skipped the Hundschopf because of the rain. From Wengen I followed the route again as the weather had improved. In this weather I was very happy about the alternative to the trail.
Can only recommend the tour!
would like to save this tour.
Yesterday I rode, or rather ran, the trail from Planplatten to Mägisalp. In my opinion, this trail is not rideable even for very good bikers. It's better to take the hiking trail and save yourself the trouble.
I did this in July 2023. I had to get off in between - but was able to ride most of it. Presumably that has changed in the meantime.