JUNGFRAU REGION

Switzerland’s mountainous heart is a magnet for adrenaline-seekers, who flock to its soaring peaks and misty waterfalls for some of Europe’s most thrilling outdoor adventures. Words: Kerry Walker

For many, the vision of paradise is a river running through a valley, leading to lush pastures and jewel-like lakes, backed by forests, peaks and glistening glaciers. Nowhere does this better than Switzerland’s Jungfrau Region in the Bernese Alps, where Mother Nature seems to have drawn the landscape with a clean and confident hand — just take the region’s mythical mountain trio, the Eiger (the Ogre), Mönch (the Monk) and Jungfrau (the Virgin), for example.

Here, farmers still bring their bell-swinging cattle down to graze in summer meadows, and dark-timber villages are dwarfed by their backdrop. Where some will take one look at these savagely lovely mountains and shrug in defeat because they appear so impenetrable, the Swiss have harnessed them with zeal. Topnotch restaurants perched in the peaks are putting new spins on classic alpine fare, and hydro-powered trains and futuristic cable-cars glide up to lookouts pinned to mountaintops.

But perhaps best of all, this is a true alpine adventure playground, whether it’s hiking, skydiving in front of the Eiger or racing through the landscape on a zip-line. Come for a weekend and you’ll get a taster, but you’ll wish you’d stayed the whole week.