Grindelwald

Grindelwald lies at a thousand metres with the Eiger standing over it, and it was one of the first Alpine villages to receive tourists in numbers - visitors came from the late eighteenth century to see the two glaciers, the Upper and Lower Grindelwald, which then reached close to the valley floor. Both have retreated dramatically: engravings and early photographs show ice where there is now bare rock and forest, and the change is one of the clearest visual records of glacier loss in the Alps. The village has grown into a large resort with the Eiger Express gondola, the First ridge lifts and the Jungfrau railway running through. The glacier gorge below the village can be walked on galleries.

What to look for

• The Eiger over the village - the north face directly above the valley.
• Two retreated glaciers - ice far up the valleys that once reached the floor.
• A record of the retreat - old engravings against the present view.
• The glacier gorge - galleries through the cut below the village.

When to go

June to September, or the ski season. Three days.

Practical notes

This is a large, busy resort, not a quiet village - summer coach traffic is heavy. The glaciers are now distant and require a walk or lift to see properly. Lift prices are high. Cloud sits on the Eiger frequently.

Nearby

First and Bachalpsee are above; Kleine Scheidegg is up the railway.

Key facts