Oeschinensee

Oeschinensee lies in a bowl of rock above the village of Kandersteg, a lake of an intense milky turquoise held in by a wall of cliffs that rise more than a thousand metres above the water, with the Blüemlisalp peaks behind and thin waterfalls dropping down the rock faces from the snowfields. It was formed when a rockslide dammed the valley, and it sits within the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage area. A gondola from the village and a short walk bring you to the shore, where rowing boats can be hired and a footpath circles part of the lake; more demanding trails climb on towards the Hohtürli pass and the mountain huts. The water is glacial and startlingly cold, which does not stop people swimming on hot days. In winter the surface freezes and the bowl becomes a snow amphitheatre.

History

Large prehistoric landslides in the upper Kander valley dammed the lake, which lies at 1,578 m and is up to 56 m deep. Sulphur was mined on the Oeschinenalp in the 17th and 18th centuries, tourism grew after 1850, a chairlift from Kandersteg opened in 1948, and since 2007 the lake has been part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO site (Wikipedia, Oeschinen Lake).

Highlights

• The lake and cliffs - the turquoise water beneath a thousand-metre wall of rock.
• The waterfalls - the thin falls dropping from the snowfields into the bowl.
• Rowing on the lake - hired boats out on the cold, clear water.
• The shoreline trails - walks around the lake and up towards the higher passes.

When to go

June to October is the walking season, when the gondola runs and the trails are clear; the colour of the water is strongest in bright light around midday. Winter brings a frozen lake and sledging back down to Kandersteg. Snow can linger on the higher paths well into early summer.

Practical notes

It is well known and, on a fine summer weekend, genuinely busy, with a queue for the gondola and crowds on the short path to the shore; walking up from the village or going early thins them out. The water is glacier-cold year-round, so swimming is brief and bracing. The circular path is not complete around the whole lake, and the far shore involves rougher ground.

Nearby

Kandersteg and the Gemmi pass are close; Interlaken and the Lauterbrunnen valley lie over the hills to the east.

Key facts