The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. While the northern ranges from the Bernese Alps to the Appenzell Alps are entirely in Switzerland, the southern ranges from the Mont Blanc massif to the Bernina massif are shared with other countries such as France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.
The Jungfrau Railway is a mountain rack railway in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, connecting Kleine Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland to the Jungfraujoch, across the Valais border. It is the highest railway in Switzerland and Europe, running 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the station of Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch, well above the perennial snow line. As a consequence, the railway runs essentially within the Jungfrau Tunnel, built into the neighbouring Eiger and Mönch, to protect the line from snow and extreme weather.
The Jungfrau, at 4,158 meters (13,642 ft) is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the Jungfrau forms a massive wall of mountains overlooking the Bernese Oberland and the Swiss Plateau, one of the most distinctive sights of the Swiss Alps.
The Aletsch Glacier or Great Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about 23 km (14 mi) (2014), a volume of 15.4 km3 (3.7 cu mi) (2011), and covers about 81.7 km2 (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais. The Aletsch Glacier is composed of four smaller glaciers converging at Konkordiaplatz, where its thickness was measured by the ETH to be still near 1 km (3,300 ft). It then continues towards the Rhône valley before giving birth to the Massa. The Aletsch Glacier is – like most glaciers in the world today – a retreating glacier. As of 2016, since 1980 it lost 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) of its length, since 1870 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi), and lost also more than 300 metres (980 ft) of its thickness.
The Kleine Scheidegg is a mountain pass at an elevation of 2,061 m (6,762 ft), situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The name means "minor watershed", as it only divides the two arms of the Lütschine river, both converging at Zweilütschinen, while the nearby Grosse Scheidegg divides the Lütschine from the Rychenbach stream.
The Jungfraujoch is a saddle connecting two major 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of 3,463 metres (11,362 ft) above sea level and is directly overlooked by the rocky prominence of the Sphinx. The Jungfraujoch is a glacier saddle, on the upper snows of the Aletsch Glacier, and part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch area, situated on the boundary between the cantons of Bern and Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch.
The Gornergrat Railway is a mountain rack railway, located in the Swiss canton of Valais. It links the resort village of Zermatt, situated at 1,604 m (5,262 ft) above mean sea level, to the summit of the Gornergrat. The Gornergrat railway station is situated at an altitude of 3,089 m (10,135 ft), which makes the Gornergrat Railway the second highest railway in Europe after the Jungfrau, and the highest open-air railway of the continent. The line opened in 1898, and was the first electric rack railway to be built in Switzerland. The Gornergrat is a starting point for many hikes, as it lies surrounded by 29 peaks rising above 4,000 m (13,123 ft) in the Alps and several glaciers, including the Gorner Glacier. At the end of the line on Gornergrat, the Matterhorn is visible on a clear day. It is also a popular skiing area.
Kleine Scheidegg is a railway station and hub that is situated on the summit of Kleine Scheidegg, a mountain pass in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The pass, located between the Lauberhorn and the Eiger's ridge, houses a complex of hotels and railway buildings. Administratively, the station is in the municipality of Lauterbrunnen in the canton of Bern, a few metres from the border with the municipality of Grindelwald.
The Sphinx Observatory is an astronomical observatory located above the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. It is named after the Sphinx, a rocky summit on which it is located. At 3,571 m (11,716 ft) above mean sea level, it is one of the highest observatories in the world. Accessible to the public, it is also the second highest observation deck in Switzerland. The mountain top has been tunneled to fit an elevator which ascends to the observatory from the Jungfraujoch railway station, the highest such train station in Europe. The building is located on the Valais side of the border, only a few metres from the canton of Bern, although it is accessed via the Jungfrau Railway from the Bernese Oberland.
Eigergletscher is a railway station in the municipality of Lauterbrunnen in the canton of Bern. The station is served by trains of the Jungfrau railway, which run to the Jungfraujoch from Kleine Scheidegg, where they connect with services from Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald via the Bernese Oberland railway and the Wengernalp railway.
Eigerwand is a disused underground railway station in the municipality of Grindelwald in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It is on the Jungfrau railway, which runs to the Jungfraujoch from Kleine Scheidegg. The station is located just behind the north wall of the Eiger and its principal purpose was to allow passengers to observe the view through a series of windows carved into the rock face. Trains to Jungfraujoch used to stop at the station for a few minutes for this purpose, but those descending to Kleine Scheidegg did not stop.
Eismeer railway station is an underground railway station bored into the mountain Eiger on the Jungfrau Railway, which runs to the Jungfraujoch from Kleine Scheidegg. It lies at an altitude of 3,159 metres above sea level, which makes it the second highest railway station in Europe. Located just behind the south-east face of the Eiger, the station's principal purpose is to allow passengers to observe the view of the glacier Ischmeer. To that end, uphill trains stop at the station for five minutes.
Jungfraujoch is an underground railway station situated near the Jungfraujoch, in the canton of Valais, a few metres from the border with the canton of Bern. At 3,454 metres (11,332 ft) above sea level, it is the terminus of the Jungfrau Railway and the highest railway station in Switzerland and Europe. The Jungfrau Railway runs from Kleine Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland, through the Jungfrau Tunnel and crosses the border between the two cantons shortly before the terminus.
The Mönchsjoch Hut is a mountain hut located in the Bernese Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At an altitude of 3,658 metres (12,001 ft) it is the highest staffed hut in Switzerland.
The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area is located in south-western Switzerland between the cantons of Bern and Valais. It is a mountainous region in the easternmost side of the Bernese Alps, containing the northern wall of Jungfrau and Eiger, and the largest glaciated area in western Eurasia, comprising the Aletsch Glacier. The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area is the first World Natural Heritage site in the Alps; it was inscribed in 2001.
The Jungfraujoch radio relay station is a former Swisscom microwave radio relay station atop the Jungfraujoch, the mountain ridge between Mönch and Jungfrau, in the Swiss Alps. At an altitude of 3,705 meters (12,156 ft) above sea level, it was Europe's highest radio relay station.
The Eiger Express is a gondola cableway linking Grindelwald with the Eigergletscher that opened in December, 2020.
