Lauterbrunnen — the valley of the seventy-two waterfalls

The Lauterbrunnen valley is the textbook alpine U-trough — a glacial trench carved through the Bernese Alps during the last ice age, with vertical walls of yellowish-grey limestone rising to nine hundred metres on the east (the Männlichen face) and just over a thousand metres on the west (the Mittaghorn–Schilthorn massif). Between these walls flows the Weisse Lütschine river, and over them descend the seventy-two named waterfalls for which the valley is known. The official count is published by the Lauterbrunnen tourist office and is verifiable against the Swisstopo 1:25,000 sheet 1228 (Lauterbrunnen).

The geology, briefly

The valley is the textbook example of glacial U-carving in central Europe. During the last glacial maximum, approximately 18,000 years ago, the Lütschine glacier extended from the Mönch–Jungfrau massif north through the valley and reached as far as the present-day Lake Thun, sixteen kilometres further on. The glacier's downward erosion deepened the valley by approximately 800 metres below the surrounding plateau level; its lateral erosion produced the characteristic flat-floored, vertical-walled profile that distinguishes a glacial trough from a river-cut V-valley.

The waterfalls themselves are the consequence of hanging valleys — smaller tributary valleys that were carved more shallowly than the central trough during glaciation, and whose mouths now hang several hundred metres above the valley floor. Each tributary stream therefore descends to the Lütschine via a waterfall. The result, on the modern map, is approximately seventy-two named falls distributed along the eight-kilometre length of the valley.

The principal falls

Of the seventy-two falls, six are large enough to be marked individually on the Swisstopo sheet and visible from the valley road.

• Staubbach Fall · 297 m single drop · immediately above the village of Lauterbrunnen on the west side. The principal photograph of the valley. The fall is at its strongest in May (snowmelt) and at its thinnest in late August (low base flow). Goethe wrote a poem about it in 1779 (Gesang der Geister über den Wassern).
• Trümmelbach Falls · ten cascades, 200 m total drop, inside the mountain on the west side. The falls drain the Eiger–Mönch–Jungfrau glaciers and are accessible by a small lift bored through the rock. Open April–November; entry CHF 14.
• Mürrenbach Fall · 417 m total, in four steps · the highest fall in Switzerland and the second-highest free-fall waterfall in Europe. Visible from Stechelberg looking up toward the Schilthorn cableway.
• Schmadribach Fall · 95 m principal drop · at the southern head of the valley, on the foot route to the Lauterbrunner Breithorn.
• Sprutz Fall · 110 m · the path passes behind this fall on the route from Mürren to Gimmelwald.
• Spissbach Fall · 75 m · on the east side, opposite the village of Trachsel.

The foot routes

Three principal walking routes traverse the valley.

Route A — Valley-floor stroll

Lauterbrunnen station to Stechelberg, 5.8 km, flat, surfaced foot-path along the river. Allow 1h 30m. The route passes the Staubbach Fall (km 0.5), the Trümmelbach access (km 3.2), and the Mürrenbach Fall view-point (km 5.6). For readers with limited mobility, this route is the substance of the valley.

Route B — Upper-west traverse, Mürren to Gimmelwald

Mürren cable-car station (1,638 m) to Gimmelwald (1,367 m), 2.4 km, 270 m descent. Allow 1h. The route passes behind the Sprutz Fall and offers the principal valley-wide panorama from the Mürren plateau. Recommended in afternoon (the valley is in shadow from the west by 16:00).

Route C — Upper-east traverse, Wengen to Lauterbrunnen

Wengen (1,274 m) via the Mendlenen foot-path down to Lauterbrunnen (802 m), 4.5 km, 470 m descent. Allow 2h. The route is way-marked yellow and crosses the Spissbach above its principal drop. Knee-bracing on the descent is sensible.

Access by mountain railway

The Lauterbrunnen-Mürren-Schilthorn cableway (LSMS) runs from Stechelberg (867 m) to Mürren (1,638 m) and continues to the Schilthorn summit at 2,970 m. The Wengernalp railway (WAB) connects Lauterbrunnen with Wengen and continues to the Kleine Scheidegg pass (2,061 m). Both systems are step-free at boarding and operate year-round. Schedules are published on the SBB unified timetable.

What the editor reads

The Lauterbrunnen valley reads at its strongest in three windows: late May (peak snowmelt produces maximum waterfall flow); late June (alpine meadows in full bloom on the upper terraces); and early October (low-angle light against yellow autumn larches on the upper benches). High summer (mid-July to late August) is busy with day-trippers from Interlaken; the valley is best walked in early morning during those weeks.

The seventy-two waterfalls of Lauterbrunnen are an accident of geology and an inheritance of glaciation. Stand at the valley floor; look up. Read the cliff.

Last walk: April 2026, full valley floor route plus upper-west traverse.