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Swiss Alps Tours › Lauterbrunnen's Waterfalls in a Morning: A Swiss Alps Valley on FootUpdated 2026-09-26

Lauterbrunnen's Waterfalls in a Morning: A Swiss Alps Valley on Foot

Hours, prices and access verified by the Swiss Alps Tours team — last checked 2026-09-26.

A white church and chalets under a tall waterfall pouring off a sheer cliff

The short answer. Two falls make the morning: Staubbach Falls, which drops about 300 m off the cliff behind Lauterbrunnen village and costs nothing, and Trümmelbach Falls, ten glacier falls inside the mountain, CHF 18 for adults and CHF 8 for children from 6 to 15. Trümmelbach opens from early April to early November and does not admit children under four. Walk it, ride it by e-bike, or go with a guide.

The Lauterbrunnen valley is a trench of rock walls with water falling off both sides. Jungfrau Railways calls it the valley of 72 waterfalls, and Lauterbrunnen Tourism counts 71. Either way, two of them are worth a morning. Want the whole valley with a guide and a bike? Compare Swiss Alps bike tour options below.

Staubbach: the fall above the village

Staubbach Falls pours off the cliff right behind the village church. Lauterbrunnen Tourism measures the drop at 297 m and calls it the highest free-falling waterfall in Switzerland; Jungfrau Railways says the water plunges 300 m. Either figure makes it a fall you see long before you reach it.

You need no ticket, and no guide. From the station you walk through the village to the foot of the cliff.

Trümmelbach: the falls inside the mountain

Trümmelbach is different: ten glacier waterfalls hidden inside the rock, reached by a tunnel lift and steps. They drain the glaciers of the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau, a catchment of 24 square kilometres, and carry up to 20,000 litres of water a second at the peak of the melt. It is loud and damp inside, so bring a layer.

TrümmelbachDetail
SeasonFrom early April to early November (dates set each year)
Hours9:00 to 17:00; July and August 8:30 to 18:00
AdultCHF 18
Child, 6 to 15CHF 8
Under fourNot admitted, and no dogs
From LauterbrunnenAbout 3 km up the valley; the Postbus stops outside
Useful tip. The first and last days of the season are set each year, so check the falls' own page before you go in April or November. In July and August you can be inside from 8:30.

Three ways to do the valley with a guide

Every guided option here includes the Trümmelbach entry. They differ in how you move and what else is paid for.

  • By e-bike: the e-bike day costs $319 and gives you about 45 minutes inside the falls, 15 at Staubbach and a mountain picnic in the valley, for up to 12 riders. You must be 16 or over and pass a riding test first.
  • On a hike: the valley hike costs $271, walks from Grütschalp to Mürren for about three hours and spends an hour at the falls, for up to eight. The gondola and train cost CHF 28 more.
  • On a walk: the valley walk costs $283, spends about three hours on the valley's falls, an hour at Trümmelbach and 20 minutes in Mürren, for up to eight. The lifts cost CHF 25 more, and the fare carries no meal.

The walks can pick you up at Interlaken Ost or opposite Lauterbrunnen station. The e-bike starts from a shop in central Interlaken.

With children

The valley works well for families, with two limits. Trümmelbach does not admit children under four, for safety, and it does not allow dogs. From 6 to 15, children pay CHF 8. Staubbach costs nothing and needs no age limit, so the youngest can still see a waterfall from the foot of the cliff.

The guided days set their own ages. The e-bike day takes riders from 16 only, with an adult who signs the waiver, and the riding test at the start applies to teenagers too. The valley hike and the valley walk suit children who can manage a few hours on foot; check the fitness level on the booking page before you book.

Rain and the falls

A wet morning is not a lost one here. Trümmelbach runs inside the rock, so you see it the same way in rain or sun, and Staubbach looks as good from under an umbrella. What rain does change is the guided days: the e-bike, the hike and the walk all need good weather and enough travellers, and if the operator cancels for either you are offered a new date or a full refund. Keep a spare morning in your plan if a guided day is the point of your trip.

Mürren: the view back across the valley

The valley hike and the valley walk both reach Mürren, and so can you on your own. The village sits at 1,638 m on the far side of the valley from Wengen, and it is car-free. From Stechelberg, at the head of the valley, the cable car climbs to Mürren up the steepest line of its kind in the world. From Lauterbrunnen, a cable car and a train take 21 minutes. A walk down or a ride back gives you the valley from above, which makes the falls you have just seen make sense.

A morning on your own

  1. Train to Lauterbrunnen: 22 minutes from Interlaken.
  2. Staubbach: walk through the village to the fall.
  3. Postbus up the valley: to the Trümmelbach stop, about 3 km on.
  4. The falls: allow an hour inside.
  5. Back or on: bus back to Lauterbrunnen, or on to Stechelberg for the cable car to Mürren.

A rail pass can cover some or all of the transport; rail passes on the mountains sets out what each one covers. Where the falls sit in the valley is on the Swiss Alps map, and the other sights are on things to do in the Swiss Alps.

When the falls are at their best

The melt drives both falls, so they run fullest in the warm months, and Trümmelbach closes in early November. MeteoSwiss's averages for Interlaken put July's mean at 18.6 °C, the warm end of a morning in the valley; the weather by month has the rest.

Important. The guided valley days need good weather and enough travellers. If the operator cancels for either, you are offered a new date or a full refund, so keep a spare day. If you are choosing where to base yourself for it, read Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen?.

Where these facts come from

Guided ways to see the falls

Next: Before the valley, choose your summit in Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn or Titlis?, and ride the rail line from Milan in the Bernina red train from Milan. Every summit, train and valley day sits side by side on Swiss Alps Tours.