A long hike with a rewarding view over the Thunersee and Brienzersee in the Bernes Oberland.
Last Sunday we went for a hike in the beautiful Berner Oberland. Starting in Interlaken which is located between the Thunersee and Brienzersee. Already the drive from Basel to Interlaken gives you an amazing view over the Thunersee with the Alpin mountains in the background. Plenty of parking space is conveniently located at Interlaken Ost train station. From there it´s a short walk to the cable car that takes you from Interlaken (566 m) up to Harder Kulm (1321 m) in a short 8 minutes ride at a 64° angle. The cable car runs every 20 minutes and it can get crowded as the Harder Kulm is a popular viewing platform for tourists.
Then follows a challenging hike from Harder Kulm to the Augstmatthorn, it feels like a never ending ascent.
It requires sure-footedness and a head for heights. First part of the track leads you through a forest on slippery root covered and rocky paths, the second part leads through open fields with great views on the lakes on one side and landscape view on the other side. Once we reached the final plateau before the ascent to Suggiturm we were already exhausted and ran out of water. If you decide to take this tour be aware to bring enough supplies because there are no chalets on the way. At this point we took a short rest enjoyed the view over Brienzersee with the Grindelwald and the famous snow covered Jungfraujoch in the background. We hiked with two friends who already took on the challenge to climb up the narrow ridge to Suggiturm and from there to the summit cross on Augstmatthorn. We finally decided to take a detour around the summit and meet them on the other side of mountain where two hiking trails meet. Our target destination was Habkern, which was still about two hours away and we wanted to save some energy for the last part. When we rejoined with our friends, we spotted a little cabin where we stopped to refill our supplies. As we checked the bus schedule from Habkern to Interlaken we discovered that the last bus already left because our hike took us longer than expected. Luckily a nice family gave us a ride from the cabin to our parked car in Interlaken Ost.
All in all it was a great hike with a spectacular view and you will see a lot of people that actually run the whole way from Harder Kulm to Augstmatthorn and back. I guess, we are just not there yet with our fitness. 🙂
GPS Route:
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