With its dramatic landscape, shimmering glacial lakes, and rushing rivers, travelers from around the world are looking for thrilling adventures in Switzerland. While many think of the tiny country in Central Europe as a winter wonderland, Switzerland has a variety of year-round adventures. The countryside has well-marked hiking trails and paved biking paths that weave through verdant valleys and meadows strewn with stunning wildflowers in the warm seasons, and steep funicular rides offer breathtaking views of the countryside.
The alpine nation of Switzerland is known for its seasonal adventures. Upgrade your travel plans with these nine ways to have an adventure in Switzerland.
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1. Skiing
Avid skiers from around the world flock to Switzerland in winter for its excellent skiing in the Swiss Alps. Most of the ski resorts have facilities to accommodate a broad range of abilities from gentle slopes for beginners and families to courses for the most experienced experts.
The village of St.Moritz is a premier winter sport resort famous around the world for the elite. Linking the towns of Klosters and Davos, Parsenn is a winter paradise for everyone. And situated under the striking pyramid-like Matterhorn Mountain, you can even hit the slopes on the Theodul Glacier high above Zermatt for summer skiing in the morning until midday. Snowpark Zermatt is also a snowboarding paradise.
2. Sledging
Sledging is probably the most famous adventure in Switzerland and for good reason! For one of Switzerland’s most exciting sledging tracks, head to the village of Preda via the Albula line of the Rhaetian Railway. Situated at 1789 meters, Preda is famous for its sledge run on the pass road that is closed to traffic in winter. The tiny hamlet, population 10, is located at the base of the Albulapass and the Albula railway tunnel’s north portal.
The scenery along the way is an adventure in itself as it passes through a spiral tunnel and the Landwasser Viaduct. Once there, although there are less than a dozen residents, you’ll find a hotel, a guesthouse, and several holiday apartments.
For a steeper and more challenging sledge run with plenty of hairpin turns, take the ski lift to Darlux for a daring ride down. Both runs end in the lovely mountain village of Bergün.
3. Whitewater Rafting
When the spring thaw comes, the best Swiss rivers become a haven for whitewater rafting. One of the most popular rivers for these outdoor adventures is the Lütschine located in the Bernese Oberland region. The exhilarating Lütschine class III-IV rapids flow from Zweilütschinen to Lake Brienz near Berne just north of the Alps.
The rapids are open for whitewater rafting from March to June. Leave your camera behind. Most rafting operators include photo services to capture this unforgettable experience.
4. Jetboating
Adrenaline junkies looking for high-speed boating fun will find it on Lake Brienz in Interlaken. Hop on a jet boat that seats up to 11 passengers to share a thrilling, white knuckle ride as the pilot revs the engine for high-speed runs, twists, turns, and 360-degree spins. The wind and water spray will be more than exhilarating on a summer day.
There will be time to enjoy the stunning views of the lake, surrounding forests, and distant alps, and the ride includes a stop by the base of the roaring Giessbach Waterfalls.
5. Hiking & Walking Tours
Thanks to the amazing beauty of Switzerland and the Swiss respect for nature, the country has an elaborate system of hiking and walking routes. The trails are easy to navigate with clear signage. Trekking through Switzerland, you’ll pass through quaint Medieval old towns and valley and lake regions with a background of the majestic snow-capped Swiss Alps.
The mountainous Jungfrau region is particularly beautiful in the spring with fields of pretty wildflowers set against the green slopes and blue lakes. The region has a collection of trails perfect for trekking adventures. Blumental and Via Ferrata in Murren and the Eiger trail in Grindelwald are popular hiking routes. Less crowded routes can be found by veering off these routes. One such route is Obersteinberg which begins at the village of Stechelberg. There are a lot of variety of hikes for any traveler to have their own adventure in Switzerland!
6. Cycling
Take a themed cycling tour on Switzerland’s paved and well-maintained cycling trails. One of the best is a chocolate tour that begins and ends in Zürich. Up first on the 7-day cycling adventure is a stop at the world-famous Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate factory. After some tasty samples, you’ll visit the monastery of Einsiedeln and then continue with a challenging climb up on Iberegg Pass. Next, a rewarding downhill cruise takes you toward beautiful Lake Lucerne. Other stops include the cherry orchards of Zug and the Aeschbach Chocolatier. The chocolate and scenery makes this one of the best adventures in Switzerland.
7. Paragliding
For one of the most daring Swiss adventures, take to the skies for a bird’s eye view of the countryside on a tandem paragliding flight. Lauterbrunnen, a central town in the Jungfrau region has several operators that offer this exhilarating experience. You’ll get safety briefings and do some practice runs before launching from a gentle slope.
You and your pilot guide will soar over meadows and mountains for some of Switzerland’s most spectacular alpine landscapes. You’ll also spot mountain villages that are usually not seen because of their hilly settings.
8. Funicular Rides
If paragliding seems a little too daring, you can still see stunning panoramas of the Swiss countryside on a summer or autumn day with a leisurely funicular ride. The Gelmerbahn (Gelmer Funicular), once used to transport building materials for building the Gelmersee dam in the 1920s is now one of Europe’s steepest funicular rides. The funicular takes 24 passengers on each trip to ride down the slops at a thrilling 45-degree inclination. It operates during June, September, and October. You can also take a gondola ride in Grindewald for more breathtaking views.
9. Summer Tobogganing
For summer fun in Switzerland with the family, go tobogganing sans the snow on the Rodelbahn, or Alpine Slider. The summer toboggan operates exclusively in the summer (May through October) and only in dry conditions. Beginning at Oeschinensee’s cable car station, the wheeled toboggan runs down a specially-built slide track over the countryside above Oeschinen Lake. The straights and turns travel over a distance of 750 meters.
Read More about Switzerland
One Day in Lucerne, Switzerland
Where to Stay in Lucerne, Switzerland
Beautiful Cities in Switzerland
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This is a guest post from Anna of Expert World Travel. Anna was born to travel the world having studied languages all her life. Although she has traveled the world, she now calls Switzerland home and spends her time writing about her experiences on Expert World Travel. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. All photos are by Expert World Travel.
I ;ve only done skedging and funicula rides out of these 9, so clearly I need to be more adventurous! I’d love to do paragliding up in the mountains and now I know exactly where to go to do it.
I’d never associated Switzerland with white water rafting but clearly it can be done there and I’d never heard of Summer Toboganning before either. Lots of great info here for those adventurous souls among us.
Haha I wouldn’t have thought Switzerland for white water rafting either but it looks incredible!
Hiking and snowboarding through Switzerland is definitely on the list of things to do one day! Looks like there is just so much outdoor adventures to partake in!
you wouldn’t think so since it’s Switzerland – but the nature is just too gorgeous to sit inside!
I would do any and all of those adventuresome activities in Switzerland. Definitely the 7-day bike tour of the best chocolate stops caught my attention immediately. As long as if it was an e-bike, as those hills could be a challenge. But would certainly feel less guilty about over indulging on their decadent chocolate.
Hiking is probably the number one activity I would do if I visited, it looks like some excellent places to go and see the spectacular views. I would also have to take a funicular ride. What a unique experience. Sledging looks so much fun too!
Switzerland is an incredible (although expensive) place! I love all the outdoor activities and their active lifestyle. I can confirm the Summer sledging is a lot of fun. I would also add the Rhine Waterfall and watersports in general. I noticed Swiss love anything with water and if there is a chance (rivers, lakes ect) the Swiss are usually the first ones in!
Carolin | Solo Travel Story
Switzerland sure has a lot of activities I wouldn’t have thought of, this was quite interesting to see. Although some of these activities are a bit out of my comfort zone, I’d still give them a try when I eventually make it to Switzerland.
Thank you for providing this list of recommendations. If I ever visit Switzerland, I will undoubtedly go jetboating. After reading this article, I made the decision to participate in all of the daring activities. They appear to be fascinating.