Engstligen Falls

The Engstligenfalle drop in two stages down the headwall at the end of the Engstligen valley, and the combined fall is around six hundred metres, which puts them among the highest in Switzerland by total drop - the individual tiers are far shorter than that figure suggests, and the water spreads across the rock rather than falling clear. They are fed by the Engstligenalp above, a wide high plain of about six square kilometres, and the whole basin is a protected site. A cable car climbs beside the falls to the alp; the walking path up is steep and takes a couple of hours. In early summer the melt makes the falls thunder; by autumn they are much quieter.

What you actually see

• A two-tier fall of about 600 metres - among the highest in the country by total drop.
• The Engstligenalp above - a wide high plain feeding the water.
• A cable car beside the fall - the alternative to a steep two-hour climb.
• Meltwater timing - loud in June, thin by autumn.

When to go

May to October; June for the strongest flow. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The total-drop figure flatters the sight: the water is spread across rock rather than a single plunge. Late-season flow is modest. The path up is steep and slippery in spray. The cable car has limited hours.

Nearby

Adelboden is up the valley; Lenk and the Simmental are over the ridge.