Top Ten Switzerland Classic Adventures

Into the glaciers (Swiss Tourism)

Train-riding is so much a part of Swiss life as to be almost synonymous with the country. Most any train you board will not only depart on time but will also pass through amazing scenery.

One of the most popular and spectacular rail trips is the mountain railway up Jungfraujoch, lying way up at 11,628 feet in the cleft between the Monch and the Jungfrau Mountains. (Board at the start in Interlaken or at other points en route.) Stretching south from here is the glistening expanse of the Aletsch Glacier, Europe's largest valley glacier. From the Jungfraujoch viewing platform you can also look north, with seemingly half of Switzerland stretched out before you. On clear days you might even see as far as the Black Forest in Germany. Leave the crowds behind by hiking 50 minutes across the edge of this icy sea toward the Monchsjoch Alpine hut. For a more demanding experience, you can take a guided walk, roped in a line with your colleagues, into and across the cracks and crevices of the glacier itself.