Here are the summary hike details:
- Start/ end location: Gimmelwald village (you can also start / end in Stechelberg and some other places)
- Destination: Tanzbodeli summit
- Ascent /descent: 1.280 m (7.000 ft), if starting / ending in Gimmelwald village
- Distance: 16.6 km
- Duration: 5-6 hours (snack and photo breaks included)
- Technical and physical requirements: Medium
- Season: June – October
Introduction
Lauterbrunnen region offers great hikes with amazing views towards the 4.000m (13.100 ft) peaks from the Jungfrau region, such and Eiger, Mönch or Jungfrau. We spent two days in the region and this is one of the hikes we did. The second one was to Schilthorn summit, and you can see it here. One of the best views of the entire region you get from the Tanzbodeli summit, situated at 2.134 m (7.000 ft).
Getting to Gimmelwald
We started the day going to Gimmelwald, a small car free village of only 130 inhabitants, where we booked a one night room at the Hotel Pension Gimmelwald. The hotel is very nice, with great views towards the Lauterbrunnen valley and the Bernese Alps. The hotel is managed by a very nice family, it offer also dinner and breakfast, all in all, it’s a place where you really feel like home (a room for one night is 60 CHF / person, 120 for two persons, so you pay per person, not per room; you can also get both dinner + breakfast for 30 CHF /person, which is quite a bargain for CH).
Hike details
From Gimmelwald, we went down towards the valley, crossing the river from the bottom and then started the ascent towards Tanzbodeli. The trail begins through the woods, in a steep ascent, that will challenge you from the beginning. It goes a while through the woods, which helps against the heat and then you start slowly to get above the tree line and view are getting better and better. Total ascend might take up to 2-3 hours, depending on the physical condition. Once on top, there is a large plateu where you can relax and we spent an hour there, soaking up the sun and enjoying amazing 360 degree views towards the Swiss Apls.
The descent goes on the other side of the mountain, towards Obersteinberg Hotel, where you can get a short break, enjoying Chutes du Schmadribach waterfall (Schmadribachfall), which stays under the Breithorn Glacier. From Obersteinberg we went back to Gimmelwald, at our hotel, getting there just in time for the well deserved dinner. There is also an option to go towards Stechelberg on the way down, another popular route that can beautifully end the Tanzbodeli hike. You will also find our Strava link at the end of the post, for the full route preview.
My Strava map upload: Tanzbödeli Hike