Hotels near Schynige Platte to First

This is the hard one, and nothing else on the list is close. The Faulhornweg runs 16.19 km from Schynige Platte to First in a signposted 6 hours, climbing 825 m and losing 639 m across a range of 1,910 m to 2,681 m, with the Faulhorn summit at the top of that spread. Schynige Platte starts you at 1,967 m and First finishes you at 2,167 m, but the line between them is a long undulating ridge rather than a steady climb.

Difficulty is best described as medium to hard. No operator publishes an official Swiss T-grade for it, so judge it on the terrain instead: natural mountain footpath, long stretches of rock and scree, entirely above the tree line, and no realistic bail-out once you are past the Faulhorn. The reward is that you walk the full length of the ridge with the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau on your right the whole way and both lakes below on your left.

Access from Interlaken is the easiest part: the BOB drops you at Wilderswil, one stop out, and the Schynige Platte Railway leaves from the same building at Hauptstrasse 2. The rack railway climbs 7.3 km and 1,420 m in 52 to 53 minutes with departures every 40 minutes, and its 2026 season is 13 June to 25 October. That railway season, more than the snow, is what decides whether you can walk this; the path itself is realistically clear from July to early October. Return fare is roughly CHF 68 adult, the "from CHF 34" on jungfrau.ch being the reduced rate. You exit by taking the Firstbahn down from First to Grindelwald and the BOB back to Interlaken Ost, and the Jungfrau Travel Pass covers both railways plus the gondola.

Pro Tip: Take the first Schynige Platte departure of the day from Wilderswil. Between a 52-minute rack-railway climb, 6 hours of signposted walking and a 25-minute Firstbahn descent, a mid-morning start leaves no margin at all, and your deadline is the last Firstbahn cabin from First rather than nightfall.