Source of the Aare
Short facts
- start: Meiringen
- destination: Hospiz or Oberaar mountain station
- medium
- 37,71 km
- 12 hours 25 minutes
- 1998 m
- 2451 m
- 595 m
- 100 / 100
- 40 / 100
best season
This multi-day tour starts in Meiringen at the railway station and leads along the Aare Gorge to Innertkirchen. Along the old mule track you will pass artistic stone arch bridges, stairs carved out of the rock, wild streams and endless photo subjects. On the way, you can stop in Innertkirchen, Guttannen or Handeck for food and drink and to spend the night. Now follows the ascent to the Räterichsbodensee. Or you can take the adventurous Gelmerbahn up to the Gelmersee, from where the view sweeps over the granite landscape of the upper Aare Valley and the path first leads downwards. Past the Räterichsboden, the trail leads up to the historic Grimsel Hospiz Alpine Hotel on the Grimsel Nollen.
Here the two paths part. The lower source of the Aare lies behind the six-kilometre-long Grimselsee at the Lauteraar glacier and the Lauteraarhütte awaits above the valley. Far behind you can see the Finsteraarhorn, the highest point of the Aare and thus also of the Rhine catchment area!
You can reach the upper source of the Aare with the Sidelhorn cable car or on foot via Trüebtensee and Oberaarsee to the Oberaar glacier. The hike ends at Berghaus Oberaar with a view over the lake to the spring, before you glide back to the hospice on the Oberaar cable car.
General information
Directions
Meiringen - Innertkirchen - Guttannen - Handeck - Grimsel Nollen. Lower source of the Aare: Grimsel Nollen - Sommerloch - Grimselsee - Lauteraarhütte - Grimselsee - Grimsel Nollen / Upper source of the Aare: Grimsel Nollen - Trübtensee - Oberaar - Oberaargletscher - Oberaar.
Safety Guidelines
In early summer there may still be snow on the continuously marked hiking trails in various places. The springs are only accessible via the trail-less glacier forelands. Sufficient time and provisions must be taken into account.
Equipment
For the route to the Oberaar glacier, appropriate hiking equipment is sufficient. On the route to the lower source of the Aare, the highest point is at around 2400 m above sea level; good alpine equipment is mandatory here.
Tip
The route can be shortened at will by taking the former Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG cable cars or the PostBus! The route to the Oberaar glacier is suitable for families, while a visit to the source of the Aare at the Lauteraar glacier is worthwhile for experienced mountain hikers
Getting there
From Basel and Geneva, the fastest route to the Jungfrau Region is via Bern. From Zurich, the route via Lucerne and the Brünig Pass is recommended. The pass is open all year round.
From the south, travel to the Jungfrau Region via the Grimsel or Susten Pass. Both passes are only open in summer. An alternative is the Simplon Pass with subsequent car transport through the Lötschberg tunnel.
Parking
The municipality of Meiringen has 835 public parking spaces in the village centre and at the valley station of the Meiringen-Hasliberg cable cars. A large multi-storey car park is located in Hasliberg-Wasserwendi directly by the gondola lift to Käserstatt.
Public transit
Thanks to its central location in Europe, Switzerland is served by international trains from over 12 countries. Within Switzerland, Intercity trains run from Basel and Lucerne directly to the Jungfrau Region. Travellers from Zurich change trains in Bern. The trains run every half hour.
From Interlaken and Lucerne we travel comfortably on the Zentralbahn panorama trains directly to Meiringen. From Brünig-Hasliberg we have several post bus connections at our disposal.
Pavings
- Street (19%)
- Asphalt Coating (13%)
- Hiking Trail (18%)
- Path (49%)
- Unknown (1%)
Weather
This tour is presented by: Jungfrau Region Tourismus AG, Author: Christoph Bill