Читать книгу Walking in the Bernese Oberland. Over 100 walking routes онлайн

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On its own hillside terrace on the west side of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Mürren has a deserved reputation for its stunning mountain vista. Perhaps better-known these days as a skiing centre, it is no less lovely in summer when a splay of footpaths lead to scenes of enchantment. A little lower than Mürren, but a near-neighbour, Gimmelwald shares those scenes, and shares too a cableway to the Schilthorn, whose summit restaurant is known as Piz Gloria since a James Bond movie was shot there.

To the west of Gimmelwald the high pass of the Sefinenfurke, approached in the shadow of the Gspaltenhorn, will take adventurous walkers over the mountains to the charming little hamlet of Griesalp at the head of the Kiental. This is a gentle pastoral valley whose unfussed charm contrasts with the blockbuster tourism of Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. With the sub-valley of Spiggengrund nearby it gives plenty of scope for walkers who prefer to wander in solitude.

From the Kiental one peers up at the big snowy mass of the Blüemlisalp whose several 3500m summits overlook the ice-cap of the Petersgrat to the south, and the deep fjord-like bowl that contains the Öeschinensee to the northwest. This lake is pictured on so many calendars, chocolate boxes and jigsaw puzzles that it’s a familiar sight to many long before they actually see it for themselves, and is probably the most visited mountain feature around Kandersteg. Kandersteg draws walkers and climbers alike with its wide choice of outings. There’s so much to explore nearby, including the superb Gasterntal, a peaceful valley whose walls are streaked with waterfalls, and whose meadows are so rich in flowers that it’s sometimes difficult to find the grass.