A funicular climbing 735 vertical meters, and two lakes appear at once.
Lake Brienz by Paddle
Slow strokes, flat water, and Ringgenberg's cliffs sliding past at eye level.
Lake Brienz gets its turquoise color from glacial flour, fine rock sediment carried down by meltwater from the Aare glacier upstream.
Kayaks and stand-up paddleboards launch from Bönigen, a village on the lake's western tip a short bus ride from Interlaken Ost. The water stays calm close to shore, sheltered by steep rock faces rising near Ringgenberg. Rentals start around 30 francs an hour for a single kayak, with sit-on-top boats suited to beginners and sea kayaks available for those with more experience. Paddling east toward Iseltwald takes about two hours one way, past cliffs that drop straight into the lake.
Guided evening tours run through summer, when the water holds the last light long after the shore falls into shadow.
More in Interlaken
Steam and coal smoke drifting up a mountainside above Lake Brienz.
A restaurant with a turret and a terrace, and a two-lake view from the table.
A river runs beneath the mountain, cold and constant, whatever season waits outside.