Gimmelwald, Switzerland Travel Info.

Gimmelwald is a little town snuggled in the Swiss Alps at the foot of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.  It's a backpacker's paradise with hostels and hostel-like hotels where guests share a bathroom and eat meals family-style with fellow travelers.

The tourist season is June - September and in my opinion, May is the perfect time to go.  It's still quiet in May and you should see some snow.

Gimmelwald can be a tourist's day-trip excursion from Interlaken or it can be a three-day excursion for hikers and other adventure sport enthusiasts.  Available activities include.....
 paragliding, base jumping, rock climbing, crazy good skiing, and hiking. 

Take a cable car from Gimmelwald or walk up to Murren and take a cable car from there up to Schiltorn for a 360 panoramic view of the Alps at 3000m above sea level as well as a delicious dinner in the rotating restaurant at the peak.  The ride up to Schiltorn is rather pricey, but well worth it.

Schiltorn was created for and made famous by the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."  I used to be a huge James Bond fan so this was particularly exciting for me.  The James Bond theme song was running through my head pretty much the entire time we were in Gimmelwald. 

Travel Info:

From Interlaken:  At the Interlaken Ost station, board the front car of the train for Lauterbrunnen. (The rear car goes to Grindelwald NOT Gimmelwald. The cars are clearly labeled)

At Lauterbrunnen, there is a Post Coach waiting across the street. The bus will take you to the Schilthorn cable car station at Stechelberg.

The first stop on the Schilthornbahn Cable Car system is Gimmelwald.

Stay at Walter's - "Hotel" Mittaghorn.  Walter's known for being cranky, but Tim's a peach.  Put a checkmark beside your name on the chalkboard if you plan to eat dinner with them.  Walter cooks 2 meals and alternates them.  It's a difficult climb up, but a great place to stay for the whole cabin in a woods experience.
If you can't walk up steep hills, stay at Esther's Guesthouse located right next to the cable car.

Get a map of the local hikes.  You can hike to many waterfalls.

Eat pizza at the Mountain Hostel.

 
Take the cable car down and walk the trail along the road down to the Trummelbach Falls Cave -- glacier fed waterfalls inside the mountain.  This is really breath-taking to view.

My other posts on Switzerland:

First Morning

Photo Tour
Cowbells of Switzerland