Is Gimmelwald Worth Visiting? Yes, for an Hour

Every guide to Gimmelwald still calls it the first stop on the Schilthorn cable car. Since December 2024 the fastest cabin to Mürren flies straight over it, and plenty of visitors never set foot in the village at all.

That is the mistake I see most often. I guide in the Lauterbrunnen valley and I have walked down from Mürren to Gimmelwald more than five times, and I still tell people to go. I also tell them something the famous travel writers do not: sleep in Mürren.

Below is what Gimmelwald actually gives you, how to reach it now that the fast cabin skips it, where to eat and buy food, whether the Sprutz waterfall is worth the climb, and why an hour with a drink is the right dose. Times and fares were checked with the operator and the Swiss timetable on 25 September 2026.

Is Gimmelwald worth visiting?

Yes, as a stop, and most people should make it one. Gimmelwald is a car-free farming village at 1,370 metres, five minutes by cable car below Mürren. There are no sights to tick off. What you get is quiet, working farms and a view across the valley, and it takes about an hour to enjoy with a drink.

Pierre says: "The silence."

Pierre Vetsch, founder and head guide at Swiss Local Adventures, on what Gimmelwald has that Mürren does not

That is the whole case for the village, and it is enough. Gimmelwald has no high street, no hotel lobby and no traffic, because no road reaches it. The village's own website describes it as one of the last car-free villages, with flower-decked chalets, cheese stores and farm animals. The signpost at the cable car station reads 1,370 metres.

A man in Gimmelwald once told me tourism has dropped a bit since the new gondola goes straight to Mürren. For you, that is good news. The village was never busy, and now it is quieter still.

Gimmelwald or Mürren: where should you sleep?

Mürren. Gimmelwald is the better place to stop, Mürren the better place to spend the night. Mürren has more restaurants open in the evening, more hotels to choose from and, in my view, the better view. Gimmelwald after dark is very isolated. Stay there only if calm and farm life are the reason for your trip.

This is where I part company with the writers who made Gimmelwald famous. Rick Steves, the American travel writer most associated with the village, recommends sleeping in Gimmelwald to feel the Alps properly. I understand the romance. I still send my own guests to Mürren.

Pierre says: "More restaurants open, more choice of hotels, Gimmelwald is too isolated in the evening, and the view is better."

Pierre Vetsch, on why he sends guests to Mürren for the night

The numbers support him. The village's own list of places to stay has four addresses, Esther's Guesthouse, the Mountain Hostel, the Pension Gimmelwald and Olle and Maria's Bed and Breakfast, plus four holiday chalets, several of them rented for three nights or more. The Pension has eleven rooms and serves one set dinner at 19:00, reservation required.

There is one kind of guest I would still send to Gimmelwald for the night.

Pierre says: "Stay there if you are really looking for calm and Swiss farming life."

Pierre Vetsch

My verdict: sleep in Mürren, stop in Gimmelwald on the way down. If you already know you want silence more than a choice of dinner, book the Pension or Esther's and ignore me.

How do you get to Gimmelwald now the fast cable car skips it?

Take the old cable car on purpose. From Stechelberg it leaves at :01 and :31 past the hour and reaches Gimmelwald in five minutes, on the timetable I queried for 3 October 2026. The new direct cabin at :21 and :51 goes to Mürren without stopping. Or walk down from Mürren in 45 minutes.

The two lines leave the same valley station at Stechelberg, and nothing on the platform tells a first-time visitor which cabin is which. I explain the full story of the two lines in my guide to the three ways up to Mürren. For Gimmelwald, you only need three times.

• From Interlaken Ost, the whole trip takes 62 minutes: train to Lauterbrunnen, bus 141 to Stechelberg, then the old cable car.

• From Lauterbrunnen station, it takes 31 minutes by bus and cable car.

• From Mürren, the cabin down leaves at :16 and :46 and takes five minutes.

The fare is part of the Stechelberg to Mürren ticket: CHF 11.80 one way and CHF 23.60 return for an adult, half that with the Half Fare Card, and free with a Swiss Travel Pass, at prices valid until 12 December 2026. The operator does not publish a separate fare for Gimmelwald.

Insider tip: the Stechelberg, Gimmelwald, Mürren cable car is closed for maintenance from 19 to 30 October 2026. The operator runs a replacement shuttle bus via Mürren between 8am and 6pm, with limited seats. If your trip falls in those twelve days, walk down from Mürren instead.

The best way in is on foot. I always do Gimmelwald last, walking down from Mürren: 45 minutes and 275 metres of descent on a wide, surfaced service road, with no climbing back up. The only climb of the day is done sitting in a cable car.

What do you actually do in Gimmelwald?

Walk through it slowly, then sit down. With my guests I cross the village on the way down from Mürren and we stop for a drink at the Pension Gimmelwald or the Mountain Hostel. Around that, you can buy cheese or eggs from a farm, look at the old sawmill, or climb to the Sprutz waterfall.

Pierre says: "An hour, with a drink."

Pierre Vetsch, on how long to plan for Gimmelwald

People online worry that there is not much to do, and they are right. That is the point, and it is also why an hour is enough for most visitors. The honest list is short.

• The village street, from the cable car up to the top of the village, past chalets, barns and cheese stores.

• A drink on the terrace of the Pension Gimmelwald or the Mountain Hostel, which serves pizza from a stone oven.

• The farms: several sell cheese, milk, eggs and sausage direct, marked by signs along the village street.

• The paths above the village, towards the Sprutz, the Sefinental or up to Mürren.

Fun fact: Gimmelwald's sawmill in the Sefinental was built in 1856 and belongs to a local alpine cooperative. It still runs on water power, and people from the village still bring their own timber to be cut into boards and beams. In summer the village offers guided visits on request.

Is the Sprutz waterfall worth the climb?

Only if you are a confident hiker. The Sprutz is a waterfall above Gimmelwald with a path that runs behind the water. The village signpost gives one hour to reach it, on a mountain path with close to 300 metres of climbing. I have walked up to it, and it is not for everyone.

Pierre says: "Not for everyone."

Pierre Vetsch, on the climb to the Sprutz for an average visitor

The federal names register puts the Sprutz at 1,663 metres, and the signpost at the Gimmelwald cable car gives 1,370 metres for the village. The difference is almost 300 metres of up, on a path, not a road. Allow two hours there and back.

If you want to walk behind a waterfall without the climb, the Staubbach in Lauterbrunnen has a gallery reached in about fifteen minutes, with a queue in August. I compare the two, and the other named falls of the valley, in my piece on the valley's 72 waterfalls.

Where can you eat, drink and buy food in Gimmelwald?

At two restaurants and a handful of self-service shops. The Pension Gimmelwald opens its restaurant and beer garden daily from 12:00 to 22:00 in summer, and the Mountain Hostel runs a bar with stone-oven pizza. There is no supermarket. The village relies on honesty shops, farm fridges and the Coop in Mürren.

The details matter if you plan to stay or picnic, so here is what the village's own site lists.

• Pension Gimmelwald: in summer, restaurant and beer garden daily from 12:00 to 22:00, homemade soup and sausage or cheese plates until 15:00, then a set menu at 19:00. In winter, the bar opens from 14:00 and dinner is at 19:00. Reservation required for dinner.

• Mountain Hostel: a simple bar and restaurant with pizza from the stone oven, cocktails and local beer. It publishes its own hours on its website.

• Honesty shop at the Pension: drinks, ice cream, sweets and souvenirs, and you pay without a salesperson.

• Self-service fridge at Esther's Guesthouse, and a window shop at Olle and Maria's Bed and Breakfast.

• Farms selling cheese, milk, eggs and sausage, marked by signs along the village street.

• Coop in Mürren, open daily from 8:00 to 18:30, for anything bigger.

If you want a proper meal after dark with a choice of places, that is Mürren's job, and one more reason I send people there for the night.

When should you go, and how fit do you need to be?

Go between May and October, when the Pension runs its summer hours. Winter works too, but mostly as a place you pass through. Fitness barely matters for the village: the cable car stops in it, and the walk down from Mürren is 45 minutes on a surfaced road. The Sprutz is the only real climb.

Pierre says: "Only in passing."

Pierre Vetsch, on whether he goes to Gimmelwald in winter

In winter people do sledge down the road from Mürren to Gimmelwald, but it is not an official toboggan run, because vehicles use the road to supply the village. The village's own site says so. A marked snowshoe trail starts in Gimmelwald and climbs about 450 metres via the Gimmelwalder Allmi to the Restaurant Gimmelen. For official runs, see my guide to the best sledding runs around Interlaken.

On the way back, the old cable car keeps running late. On 3 October 2026, cabins still left Gimmelwald for Stechelberg at 22:58, with a bus 141 connection to Interlaken Ost at 23:10. The operator has also committed in writing to serve Gimmelwald at least hourly from 06:00 to 24:00 until at least 24 August 2035, as long as more than 100 people keep living in the village.

Your Questions About Visiting Gimmelwald

These are the questions travellers keep asking on TripAdvisor and in the travel guides before a trip to Gimmelwald. I answer them with the operator's timetable and fares, the village's own website, and what I see as a guide who walks this path with guests.

Is there anything to do in Gimmelwald?

Not much, and that is its value. You walk the village street past chalets and cheese stores, buy something from a farm or an honesty shop, have a drink at the Pension Gimmelwald or the Mountain Hostel, and look across the valley. Hikers can climb to the Sprutz waterfall. For most visitors, an hour with a drink is right.

Does the cable car still stop in Gimmelwald?

Yes, but only the old one. Since 14 December 2024 a new direct cable car runs from Stechelberg to Mürren without stopping. The old line through Gimmelwald still runs, leaving Stechelberg at :01 and :31 and reaching the village in five minutes. Check which cabin you board, because the direct one leaves at :21 and :51.

Should I stay in Gimmelwald or Mürren?

Mürren, for most people. It has more restaurants open in the evening, more hotels and, in my view, a better view. Gimmelwald has four places to stay and four holiday chalets, and it is very quiet after dark. Stay in Gimmelwald only if silence and farm life are exactly what you are after.

How long does it take to walk from Mürren to Gimmelwald?

About 45 minutes downhill, with 275 metres of descent on a wide, surfaced service road. It is the easiest way to see the village, because you arrive on foot and leave by cable car, so you never climb. Going the other way, the signpost in Gimmelwald gives 55 minutes up to Mürren.

Can you visit Gimmelwald on a Swiss Travel Pass?

Yes. The Swiss Travel Pass covers the Stechelberg to Mürren cable car, including the stop at Gimmelwald: the operator lists its fare as zero for pass holders. Without a pass, the adult fare from Stechelberg to Mürren is CHF 11.80 one way and CHF 23.60 return, and half with the Half Fare Card, at prices valid until 12 December 2026.

Walk down to Gimmelwald with a local

Gimmelwald rewards the people who get off the cable car, and it punishes nobody for staying only an hour. The one real risk is missing it, by taking the fast cabin or never leaving Mürren. The simplest fix is to plan the day so you arrive on foot and leave by cable car.

Pierre says: "Not going there, and heading straight to Mürren."

Pierre Vetsch, on the most common mistake visitors make with Gimmelwald

If you are building a day in the valley, start with my Lauterbrunnen day trip plan, and if you are still choosing a base, read why I tell guests to stay in Interlaken instead. If you would rather have someone plan it around your date, we can design your private Swiss adventure, with the walk down to Gimmelwald built in.

Source: Schilthornbahn timetable and fares, Gimmelwald village website, the Gimmelwald service commitment, and guided days in the Lauterbrunnen valley, 2024 to 2026.

Written by Pierre Vetsch, founder and head guide at Swiss Local Adventures