Here are the summary hike details:
- Start/ end location: Gondola towards Eigergletscher from Grindelwald Terminal
- Ascent /descent: 100 m (360 ft) ascent, 720 m descent, if you are starting from Eigergletscher
- Distance: 7,5 km (you can see our exact Strava route at the end of the post)
- Duration: 3-4 hours (snack and photo breaks included)
- Technical and physical requirements: Easy
- Season: June – October
Introduction
The Eiger Trail in Grindelwald, Jungfrau region is one of the most iconic hikes from Switzerland that you can do, not due to technical difficulty but because it’s going under the north face of the Eiger. The hike is painting a spectacular view towards the north wall of the Eiger where many climbers tested their climbing capabilities for reaching the summit. The first ascent that happened almost 100 year ago lasted 3 days, but currently the fastest one was achieved less than 2 and a half hours. Unfortunately there where more than 60 lost lives in the attempt to climb the North Face which makes it one of the most deadliest mountains the world.
Is it safe for children?
Getting back to the Eiger Trail hike, we think it’s very safe for everyone, without any ridges or increased exposure, as you will see in the pictures below. We saw children around 6-7 on the hike and they were doing just fine. There are just a few rocky places where there are ropes you can use, for ensuring better security, but again, you will see in the pictures more details regarding how the route looks like. We did the hike with some friends and our son, Patrick, who is one year old and travelled in his Deuter children backpack (you can see the model here). Patrick slept half of the time, so that means that the backpack was very comfortable and also the mountain air, wind and sun helped a bit.
Getting there
The hike is situated in the Jungfrau region and it starts from Grindelwald, which is the center of starting endless, various activities that you can do in the region. For starting the hike you need to reach to Grindelwald and from there you can take the Eiger Express gondola from the Grindelwald Terminal to Eigergletscher. It is a 15 minutes ride and you can start the descent from there towards Alpiglen where the hike ends, and form where you can take a train back to Grindelwald. Or you can do it the either way around, which is what I would have liked to do, but maybe we’ll doo that again with Patrick in a couple of years.
Hike details
We arrived at Grindelwald Terminal around 12.00 PM with the car and parked in the huge parking that is available (costs 12 CHF / day). Took the gondola up around 12.30 PM and had lunch at the Eigergletscher restaurant for 1,5 hours. Around 14.00 we started the hike which took around 3,5 hours with many stops for snacks, pictures and just enjoying the amazing view. Please note there are no services along the hike, so make sure you get with you the necessary snacks and water, but you will find restaurants at both ends of the hike.
Cost in 2022 (prices below can be reduced by 50% if you are using the Half Fare Travel card or GA card) were as follows:
- Golgola Eiger Express – 32 CHF for one way up
- Train from Alpiglen to Grindelwald Grund – 12 CHF
- Parking Grindelwald Terminal – 12 CHF
