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Follow the meadow stream and listen to the waterfalls.

Switzerland · LauterbrunnenValley of Waterfalls

Staubbach Falls drops 297 metres from the cliff edge, and the wind scatters it into spray.

What you’ll hear

  • Waterfall
  • Stream
  • Cowbells
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In the 3D scene you can change the time, season and weather, or follow the local time.

About this place

Lauterbrunnen is a U-shaped glacial valley in the Bernese Oberland. The village sits at about 795 m, the floor is rarely more than a kilometre wide, and the walls rise hundreds of metres. Seventy-two waterfalls are said to pour over the cliffs; Staubbach Falls, the best known, drops 297 m. It runs fullest with late-spring snowmelt and thins to a thread in winter, when icicles build at its foot. Around the winter solstice the valley floor gets little more than an hour of sun a day.

The village lies right below the falls, its timber chalets gathered round a spired church, with the Weisse Lütschine running through the meadows. Dandelions cover them in spring, cut hay dries in rows in summer, and autumn crocuses bloom from late August. Belled cows graze the slopes, chamois keep to grassy ledges on the walls, and Alpine choughs circle the cliff tops, dropping into the village in winter. In 1779 Goethe wrote “Song of the Spirits over the Waters” for this waterfall.

Through the year

Waterfall flowMeadow flowers
123456789101112

A rough guide from published sources, not monthly measurements.

Month by month

  1. JanuaryThe falls shrink to a thread; ice builds at the foot
  2. FebruaryMore sun each day; choughs visit the village
  3. MarchBlack redstarts return to the rooftops
  4. AprilMeadows green up and dandelions open
  5. MaySnowmelt swells the falls day by day
  6. JuneFalls at full strength; meadows in mixed bloom
  7. JulyHaymaking; cut grass dries in rows
  8. AugustAutumn crocuses appear late in the month
  9. SeptemberCattle come down from the high pastures
  10. OctoberWoods turn gold; the falls thin
  11. NovemberLeaves are down; snow settles higher up
  12. DecemberBarely an hour of sun around the solstice

Four seasons

  • Late May · Spring

    Snowmelt swells the falls and the near slope is yellow with dandelions.

  • Mid-August · High summer

    The meadows are at their greenest, belled cows graze, and clouds tower over the peaks by afternoon.

  • Early October · Autumn

    The woods turn gold, the falls run thinner, and autumn crocuses dot the mown meadows.

  • January · Winter

    Snow covers meadows and roofs, the falls are a thread, and ice hangs at the foot of the cliff.

Best moments

  • High summer in the valley

    High summer in the valley

    Aug 15 · 13:35 · Clear

    August noon: the waterfall drops from the cliff, the stream crosses the meadow, and belled cows graze the slope.

  • Spring flowers at dawn

    Spring flowers at dawn

    May 20 · 06:15 · Clear

    A May dawn: the near slope is yellow with flowers as first light reddens the far cliff.

  • Summer dusk

    Summer dusk

    Aug 15 · 20:15 · Clear

    The sun sets after eight; the snow peaks turn pink while the valley floor darkens.

  • Autumn evening

    Autumn evening

    Oct 10 · 18:30 · Clear

    October colours in the woods, warm evening light on the meadows, and a thinner waterfall.

  • Autumn Milky Way

    Autumn Milky Way

    Oct 10 · 23:30 · Clear

    A moonless autumn night with the Milky Way over the valley and only the falls and stream to hear.

  • Snow in the valley

    Snow in the valley

    Jan 18 · 12:40 · Snow

    A snowy January day: meadows and roofs are white, the waterfall a thin line on the pale cliff.

  • By the stream

    By the stream

    Aug 15 · 13:35 · Clear · By the stream

    Down at the water, the stream runs between the stones right at your feet.

  • Under the falls

    Under the falls

    Aug 15 · 13:35 · Clear · Below the falls

    Close under the cliff, with the whole waterfall above the church and a few houses.

  • Summer rain

    Summer rain

    Aug 15 · 13:35 · Rain

    Afternoon rain hides the far peaks in cloud and deepens the green of the meadows.

An artistic re-creation of the Lauterbrunnen valley rather than surveyed terrain; distant birds and chamois are drawn larger than life, and some sounds, including the church bells, were recorded elsewhere in Switzerland and the nearby Alps.

In the 3D scene you can change the time, season and weather, or follow the local time.

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