Trummelbach Falls

Trummelbach drains the glaciers of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, and rather than dropping down the valley wall in the open it does it inside the rock, in a corkscrew shaft the water has cut for itself. Ten separate falls stack up through the mountain; a lift bored into the cliff carries visitors partway up, and galleries, stairs and tunnels lead between the viewing points. Up to twenty thousand litres a second come through in high summer, and it is loud - the noise, the pressure of spray and the cold air are more of the experience than any single view. The flow is meltwater, so it peaks in the afternoon on hot days and slackens in cool weather. The stream drops about 140 metres inside the mountain from a catchment of some 24 square kilometres, half of it snow and ice, and the falls are listed in the federal inventory of natural monuments; they have been open to visitors since the late nineteenth century.

What's there

• Ten falls inside a mountain - a corkscrew shaft the water carved itself.
• A lift bored through rock - the way up to the middle galleries.
• Glacier meltwater - draining the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau above.
• Noise and spray - the reason it is felt rather than just looked at.

When to go

April to November; July and August carry the most water. Two hours.

Before you go

The galleries are wet, cold and slippery, and the stairs above the lift are steep. It is closed through winter. Queues build at midday in summer. Photography is difficult in the spray and low light.

Nearby

Staubbach Falls is at Lauterbrunnen village; Murren is on the terrace above.

Key facts