Schynige Platte

8 reasons why you should visit Schynige Platte

• Schynige Platte is nicknamed "Top of Swiss Tradition" because here you can immerse yourself in various typical Swiss traditions. These include the free alphorn concert, which takes place daily between 11:00 and 14:00. Afterwards, you can even have your picture taken next to the typical Swiss instrument
• The ride on the nostalgic, over 100 year old rack railroad is an unforgettable experience. During about 50 minutes the train winds its way up to 1967 m above sea level.
• On some days of the year the old steam locomotive from 1893 is brought out. Cab rides take you back in time to more than a hundred years ago.
• In the botanical alpine garden you will find over 700 different flowers and plants typical of the Bernese Oberland.
• The Schynige Platte is a slate rock face on the Gummihorn, which reflects the light particularly intensively during and after rain. Because of this enchanting phenomenon, the Schynige Platte bears its name.
• The Panorama Hike is a leisurely circular hike to and from Schynige Platte, suitable for the whole family.
• The Schynige Platte is a paradise for families thanks to the children's playground "Lily's Alpenspielplatz" and the Teddyland
• From Schynige Platte a very popular, challenging and incredibly panoramic hike leads to Grindelwald First or to Grosse Scheidegg. Hiking tickets are available for this hike, which include all mountain rides.

Sights on the Schynige Platte

The mountain summit at Schynige Platte has a lot of nature to offer. It's known for hikes with particularly stunning views of Lake Thun and the four-thousand-metre peaks of the Jungfrau region. Visitors can discover well-known alpine plants in a botanical alpine garden. Plus, there's a big picture frame where you can take a great souvenir photo. All attractions are available during the summer and autumn months when the cogwheel train runs to the Schynige Platte.

The sights include:

• Botanical Alpine Garden
• Teddy Bears and Children's Playground
• Alphorn Concerts
• Nature Cinema

Botanical Alpine Garden at the Schynige Platte

The Botanical Alpine Garden on the Schynige Platte showcases over 700 different alpine plants. Besides well-known plants like Edelweiss, Gentians, or Alpine Roses, there are also plants that you probably haven’t seen in nature before, such as the Black Men’s Trust and the Paradise Lily.

Entry to the Botanical Alpine Garden, located at an elevation of 1967 m above sea level, is free if you can show a train ticket. The walk is about 1 km long and showcases roughly two-thirds of the entire alpine flora. Some areas are artificially created, such as the calcareous debris slope and the primordial stone field.

Specific species grow here. The Alpengarten Schynige Platte Association specializes in researching alpine flora in Switzerland. It introduces visitors to the beauty, secrets, and richness of alpine plants. The plants on display bloom in stages: early bloomers can be seen from the end of May. Between mid-June and mid-August, the alpine flora is in full bloom, with the last buds opening up in September.

The area of the Botanical Alpine Garden is completely safe for children to explore. The garden is open during summer from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM. You'll find it right near the mountain station of the cogwheel train. Every Sunday, there's a guided tour called “Discovering the Alpine Garden” from 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM. You can join for free without prior registration. The tour is funded by a collection.

Booked tours for up to 20 people last for one hour and come with a fee. You can choose specific themes for the tours, such as medicinal plants, endangered and protected species, climate change, parasitic plants, alpine animals, or haymaking.

Teddy Bears and Playground at Schynige Platte

Nostalgic teddy bears have found a place in a former mass dormitory. They come from Theresia Bodenmann-Muggler (Turbenthal) and Ursula Rudin (Matten) and can be admired in an exhibition.

The playground "Lily's Alpine Playground" near the mountain hotel is managed by local singer-songwriter and pop star Marc Trauffer. Lily is a carved cow. Alongside her, there are also carved cats, chickens, and other animals made in the Trauffer wooden toy workshops. The playground even has a slide. Be sure to mark Schynige Platte for your next family outing.

Cable car to Schynige Platte

The Schynige Platte Railway is a cogwheel train. The mountain station is located at 1967 m above sea level.

Buy your ticket here for the cogwheel train to Schynige Platte.

Getting there with the nostalgic cogwheel train to Schynige Platte

The railway line was opened in 1893. Today, the ride on the cogwheel train is referred to as a nostalgia trip. It has a gauge of 800 mm. The journey from Wilderswil near Interlaken to the Schynige Platte takes about 50 minutes. It covers a distance of 7.26 km and climbs 1383 meters in elevation. On average, the gradient is 19%, with the steepest gradient of 25% occurring within the Grätitunnel.

Stations of the Schynige Platte Railway

The individual stations are:

• Wilderswil (584 m elevation)
• Rotenegg (886 m elevation after 1.84 km)
• Breitlauenen (1542 m elevation after 4.61 km)
• Schynige Platte (1967 m elevation after 7.26 km)

In Wilderswil, there are parking spaces at the post office (Migros parking lot) and on the other side of the station on the Alte Staatsstrasse.

Operating season of the Schynige Platte Railway

The service starts each year around late May to mid-June and ends in late October. The train operates every 40 minutes and travels through four tunnels and over eight bridges.

Every autumn, the overhead line of the long-electrified cogwheel train has to be removed in the upper section due to avalanche risk. Once the snowmelt season is over, the overhead line is reassembled. Inside the train, the wooden benches remind you of the early days of the railway. During the ride, you can enjoy views of the four-thousanders Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.

Steam locomotive ride to Schynigen Platte in the driver's cab

The rack railroad was electrified as early as 1913, but about four times a year it runs up the mountain with a steam locomotive

A trip can be booked by 40 people at a time, as the steam locomotive only carries one car. It is also possible to book a cab ride and help out yourself. For this you get an overall and a heater cap. Oiling the engine is also one of the tasks of a hobby locomotive driver. Before the trip, you learn how to prepare the locomotive. You load water and coal, are allowed to fire up the engine during the journey and later even hold the wheel yourself.

The steam locomotive has the number H 2/3 5 and dates from 1894. The nostalgic steam locomotive trip starts in Wilderswil and lasts one hour. The handmade fittings on the tender are still in their original condition and the plaque with all the builder's data is also still present in the original.

Dates and costs of these trips are published on the Jungfrau Region page. It is also possible to buy a three-hour ticket for the driver's cab. This includes coffee during the breaks. As a souvenir, the hobby locomotive driver receives the heating cap, an antique folder of the Schynige Platte Railway and a certificate as well as a souvenir.

Activities on the Schynigen Platte

The most popular activities are hiking, but also paragliding from the Gumihorn is becoming more and more popular on the Schynigen Platte. After the annual dismantling of the electric trolley line in the upper part of the ski run due to avalanche danger, you can also enjoy winter sports here. However, without a mountain railroad, skiing is very limited.

The main activities are therefore:

• hiking
• paragliding

Hiking on the Schynigen Platte

In summer there are several hikes to and from Schynigen Platte, which you can combine with an arrival or departure on the nostalgic cog railroad

The panorama hiking trail is very easy to walk. It starts and ends at the mountain restaurant. The hike leads to the Oberberghorn and back and is marked as trail no. 60.

If you would like to climb a peak, you can also do so here

However, the summit of the 2100 m high Gumihorn is not easy to climb and requires good mountain skills. In the immediate vicinity, however, there are two other peaks that are only slightly lower. They are located on both sides of the actual summit and can be easily reached from the Schynige Platte train station

The 2076 m high peak to the north is called "Tuba" or "Daube". The 2067 m high peak above the station is called "Geiss".

The hike from Schynigen Platte to the First above Grindelwald takes about 6 hours. The moderately difficult hike is signposted as hiking trail no. 62.

By the way, below the train station on the Schynigen Platte there are three barbecue sites if you want to organize a small barbecue. The wood for this is provided by the railroad.

Paragliding at Schynige Platte

Your paragliding adventure starts with a ride up the mountain on the cogwheel train. There's plenty of time along the way to give detailed instructions to tandem flyers. Once you reach the top, you'll need to walk for nearly half an hour to get to the launch site.

The flight offers spectacular views of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, along with the Bernese Oberland. Evening flights are particularly popular.

Coordinates for various launch sites at Schynige Platte:

• N 46°39'29.61" E 7°54'10.54" (1,750 m elevation, launch facing NW)
• N 46°39'45.40" E 7°54'03.88" (1,574 m elevation, launch facing W-NW)

Coordinates for various landing sites:

• N 46°40'51.44" E 7°49'25.90" (565 m elevation, Interlaken)
• N 46°41'10.02" E 7°51'31.39" (569 m elevation, Interlaken)

Launch and landing sites can change. For tandem flights, operators provide information in advance about the exact launch and landing locations. Several providers offer tandem paragliding experiences from Schynige Platte.

Offers from Swiss Activities:

• Schynige Platte Sunset Paragliding
• Evening Paragliding at Schynige Platte

Also, skydiving at Schynige Platte is a huge thrill for adrenaline junkies.

Lily's treasure hunt

A small hiking trail has been designed especially for puzzle lovers and treasure hunters. Riddles are waiting for you at nine places, which, when put together, result in a solution word. You can get a treasure map at the train station and at the restaurant Schynige Platte. There you will also find the last puzzle. If you have the correct solution word, you can choose a treasure from a treasure chest.

Nature cinema on the Schynige Platte

The Nature Cinema is a circular trail at an altitude of about 2000 m that leads along above the railroad station. Through two huge picture frames you can watch your own nature cinema, film or take souvenir photos. Wooden feel-good benches let you close your eyes and listen to nature

Concerts of the alphorn blowers at Schynige Platte

During the summer season, a free concert by alphorn blowers takes place daily in front of the Schynige Platte mountain hotel between 11 am and 2 pm. Afterwards, tourists may have their picture taken with the musical instruments. In case of bad weather it takes place in the hotel

Since 2015, about 80 alphorn players from Switzerland, Austria and Germany meet annually on the first weekend of September for the "Bernatone Alphorn Meeting Interlaken-Jungfrau". Each Sunday afternoon, a concert with the almost four-meter-long alphorns takes place at the Berghotel Schynige Platte.

Schynige Platte: Location and Getting There

Schynige Platte is located in the Interlaken-Oberhasli district and is part of the municipality of Gündlischwand. The Gumihorn mountain, beneath which Schynige Platte sits, is at the western end of the Schwarzhorn group.

You can reach it from Lucerne or Bern via the A8 motorway. Take exit No. 25 to Wilderswil. From Interlaken, visitors can drive via Gsteigstrasse (Route 6) or take a train from Interlaken Ost on the Berner Oberlandbahn (heading towards Lauterbrunnen, it's the first stop).

In Wilderswil, you can park your car in the lots by the valley station. From there, you'll take the cogwheel train during the operational season, which runs from late May to late October. Given the often high visitor numbers, it's advisable to book your tickets in advance.

• Schynige Platte Ticket

Schynige Platte is located on the side of the 2,100 m high Gumihorn mountain. You can reach it in summer via the Schynige Platte-Bahn (SPB), which has been operated by the Berner Oberlandbahn (BOB) since 1895. The trains transport over 200,000 passengers between May and October.

Mountain hotel Schynige Platte with restaurant and accommodation

The Berghotel Schynige Platte dates back to 1899 and is located 1 km from the Schynige Platte train station. Overnight stays between or after extended hikes reward you with beautiful sunrises on the mountain with the backdrop of the four-thousand-meter peaks.

From the terraces, the Bernese Alps and Lake Thun as well as Lake Brienz are clearly visible. The group of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau is unmistakable in the south and even Pilatus stands out in the northeast.

The hotel offers single, double, triple and family rooms. Special rates are offered at full moon times. The restaurant also offers a self-service buffet on the terrace. The alpine hut, which also belongs to the hotel, is located on the path to the alpine garden. The hotel and restaurant are open during the operating months of the cog railroad.