Beatenberg
(Bernese Oberland)

ABOVE: Chalets in Beatenberg, above Lake Thun.

A century ago, the hillside village of Beatenberg, near Interlaken, was a health resort frequented by tuberculosis patients who came for the fresh, crystalline air. Even now, the village has two private health clinics, although most of today's visitors favor hiking or skiing. Beatenberg has some 30 km (20 miles) of marked walking paths in the immediate neighborhood, and skiers of all levels can make advantage of five lifts serving ten pistes--including a chairlift to the summit ridge of the Niederhorn, 6445 feet or 1950 meters above Lake Thun.

If you're looking for a taste of the "real Switzerland" within commuting distance of Interlaken, Beatenberg is worth investigating. The village has nearly a dozen hotels and guesthouses, from the imaginatively modern Dorint Hotel Blüemlisalp to the Naturfreundhaus (Friends of Nature) hostel and the Berghaus Niederhorn at the upper station of the chairlift. Vacation apartments are another option.

In addition to hiking, you can enjoy paragliding from Beatenberg or the Niederhorn--an activity that offers wonderful views of the Thunersee-Interlaken-Jungfrau region, although it's not for tourists with faint hearts or thin wallets.

Even if you don't stay in Beatenberg, it makes a pleasant excursion from Interlaken or Thun. And for visitors who aren't carrying much luggage, it's also a pleasant side trip on a journey from Bern to Interlaken. Here's a sample itinerary based on summer train, lake steamer, and bus schedules from the Swiss Official Timetable:

Bern-Thun (train schedule 292)

8:26 a.m - Bern (InterCity Monteverdi)
8:45 a.m. - Thun

Thun-Beatenbucht (boat schedule 3310)

8:54 a.m. - Thun
9:59 a.m. - Beatenbucht

Beatenbucht-Beatenberg (funicular/lift schedule 2355)

10:07 a.m. - Beatenbucht
10:17 a.m. - Beatenberg

From the upper station of the Beatenbucht-Beatenberg funicular (see photo on next page), you can follow the road to your right towart the village, where you'll find the station for the Niederhorn chairlift.

Beatenberg-Niederhorn (funicular/lift schedule 2355)

From June 1 until the beginning of November, the Niederhorn chairlift runs at half-hour intervals from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m., then continuously from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. (Service after that is intermittent and doesn't leave much time for enjoying the summit.)

When you've visited the Niederhorn and explored Beatenberg, you can catch a postal bus from Beatenberg to the Interlaken West railroad station. Buses leave hourly throughout the day. For example:

Beatenberg-Interlaken West (bus schedule 310.75)

2:00 p.m. - Beatenberg Station (funicular)
2:05 p.m. - Beatenberg Parkplatz Lood
2:08 p.m. - Beatenberg Post
2:10 p.m. - Beatenberg Verhehrsbüro (Tourist Office)
2:15 p.m. - Waldegg (Beatenberg) Post
2:20 p.m. - Unterseen, Luegibrüggli
2:26 p.m. - Unterseen, St. Niklausen
2:33 p.m. - Interlaken West

From Interlaken, you can return to Bern by train, walk along the Thunersee toward Thun, ride a lake steamer back to Thun, or catch the Interlaken West-Thun bus 300.70. Or you can combine the various transportation elements to fit your hiking ambitions and schedule.

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