Harderkulm, known as the “top of Interlaken”, is a viewing point 1322m above sea level. It offers amazing views over lakes Thun and Brienz, as well as the mountains Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger. There are hiking trails that lead from Interlaken up to the viewpoint, as well as further hiking trails once you reach the top. There is also a funicular that you can take to the top if you aren’t interested in hiking.
The 4km hike to the top takes around 2.5 hours, although there are reports of very fit individuals (or the average Swiss person) completing it in half this time. The overall increase in altitude is 809 metres. Once you reach the top, there is a very pricey restaurant and an amazing viewing platform, called the “Two Lakes Bridge”.
After taking our token photo at the viewing platform, we completed the Rundweg trail. It’s an easy 2.8km circle trail that takes around 1 hour and starts just to the right of the restaurant. The views at the start of the trail are good, although after that most of the view is obscured by trees as you walk through the forest.
Returning down the mountain should take 1.5 hours, although we found coming down fairly difficult with all our camera equipment as it was often quite steep. So, it took us around 2.5 hours! If you’re strapped for time but still want to get some exercise, you can take the cable car up the mountain and hike back down. A one-way ticket on the funicular costs 16 CHF and takes around 10 minutes. However, the line to get on the funicular is quite long so beware you might find yourself waiting over an hour in peak season.
If you have a car, you can park at the nearby Interlaken Ost car park for 5 CHF per day. It often fills up, so you might have to drive up and down the road waiting for someone to exit the car park before you can enter.
Last but not least, the Alpine Wildlife Park is located just at the end of the trail, about 5 minutes’ walk from the funicular station at Interlaken. Entrance is free. Here you can see a marmot colony as well as many Alpine ibex. The Alpine ibex were hunted to extinction in Switzerland in the 19thcentury as people used their horns and other bodily parts for medicinal purposes, as well as a social status sign. Reintroduction of the Alpine ibex started in 1920 and now the population is doing well.
