WEEKENDER
JUNGFRAU REGION
Switzerland’s mountainous heart is a magnet for adrenaline-seekers,
who fl ock to its soaring peaks and misty waterfalls for some of Europe’s
most thrilling outdoor adventures. Words: Kerry Walker
For many, the vision of paradise is a river
running through a valley, leading to lush
pastures and jewel-like lakes, backed by
forests, peaks and glistening glaciers. Nowhere
does this better than Switzerland’s Jungfrau
Region in the Bernese Alps, where Mother
Nature seems to have drawn the landscape
with a clean and confi dent hand — just take
the region’s mythical mountain trio, the Eiger
(the Ogre), Mönch (the Monk) and Jungfrau
(the Virgin), for example.
Here, farmers still bring their bell-swinging
cattle down to graze in summer meadows,
and dark-timber villages are dwarfed by their
backdrop. Where some will take one look at
these savagely lovely mountains and shrug in
defeat because they appear so impenetrable,
the Swiss have harnessed them with zeal. Top-
notch restaurants perched in the peaks are
putting new spins on classic alpine fare, and
hydro-powered trains and futuristic cable-cars
glide up to lookouts pinned to mountaintops.
But perhaps best of all, this is a true alpine
adventure playground, whether it’s hiking,
skydiving in front of the Eiger or racing
through the landscape on a zip-line. Come for
a weekend and you’ll get a taster, but you’ll
wish you’d stayed the whole week.
44 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL
