Hiking the Eiger Trail in the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland

When visiting the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland, we almost always hike the Eiger Trail. While John really wished he had some rock climbing gear to scale the North Face of the Eiger, the rest of us were perfectly happy walking along the base. If you are interested in learning more about this treacherous climb, there are plenty of movies and books that feature this location.

Hike Details

Difficulty: Moderate.
Starting Point: Eigergletscher Station
Ending Point: Alpiglen
Distance: 3.75 miles
Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Elevation change: up 260 feet, down 2560 feet
When to Go: The trail is usually open from mid-June until October, but closes for snow or other poor conditions.
Cautions: Make sure you have good hiking boots/shoes. It is not advisable to hike this trail in falling rain or snow.
Getting to Eigergletscher:
- Gondola from Grindelwald: Take the Eiger Express up the mountain. (This option is new as of 2020)
- Gondolas from Wengen: Take a gondola to Männlichen, then another back down to Grindelwald, then the Eiger Express back up again. We tried this (new) option, but it would be very costly without the Jungfrau Travel Pass.
- Trains: From either Grindelwald or Wengen/Lauterbrunnen, take the appropriate train to Kleine Scheidegg, then transfer to the train going up to Jungfraujoch. The train will be somewhat crowded, make sure to get off after a few minutes at Eigergletscher Station.
Getting Back from Alpiglen:
- Train to Grindelwald: Take the train to Grindelwald.
- Train/Gondolas to Wengen: Take the train to Grund, then walk to the gondola station. Take the gondola up to Männlichen, then another back down to Wengen. This is very costly without the Jungfrau Travel Pass.
- Train to Wengen: There are two ways to get to Wengen by train. The first transfers through Kleine Scheidegg and is quite costly without the Jungfrau Travel Pass. The second way is a bit cheaper, but transfers in Grindelwald, Zweilütschinen, and Lauterbrunnen.
Trail Details: Check here for more detailed and current trail information!

The Hike

Upon arrival to the Eigergletscher Station, there are several possible ways to go. While we prefer the Eiger Trail that ends in Alpiglen, it is steep and rocky, and has both streams and patches of snow to cross. If your physical fitness, shoes, or love of hiking doesn’t meet the expectations required for this trail, consider the (short) Eiger Walk instead.

We used to be bigger fans of the initial part of the hike. While the 2020 gondola addition of the Eiger Express makes it much easier to reach Eigergletscher from Grindelwald, it means that the first ~20 minutes or so of the hike will be underneath the gondola, taking away a bit of the seclusion and previous majesty. For better or worse, the gondola is here to stay.

The terrain is quite varied. John always likes climbing every rock that he can.

Both boys like the various patches of snow. Do check the conditions as this trail sometimes opens later than other trails or closes mid-season when poor weather happens. In 2013 we visited in July and there were crews of volunteers carrying shovels to dig out the trail

And all of us like the streams. Just watch your step. On the day of our hike, we saw an unfortunate woman land on her bottom in the middle of some glacier runoff.

At one point we stopped for a picnic lunch. While I had remembered to bring some meat and cheese, somehow I missed putting the bread in my backpack. Oops! Fortunately, we also had a nice selection of Swiss chocolate bars with us.

It really is a beautiful hike!

At some point, you need to decide whether to go to Alpiglen and catch the train, or if you want to hike all the way down to Grindelwald.

Even if you decide to go to Alpiglen, you can always add on a hike to Brandegg, or even continue onto Grindelwald from there, although that section of the hike is more backroad rather than trail.

In any case, we were feeling a bit sore from two days of some fairly steep downhill hiking and decided to take the train back to Kleine Scheidegg. It is also possible to take the train down to Grindelwald from here.

Once we reached Kleine Scheidegg, we stopped for some drinks, then decided to split up. James and I took the train back to our apartment in Wengen, while Jeremy and John walked down to Wengernalp, then took the train from there.