Aareschlucht - Meiringen

The Aareschlucht sits between Meiringen and Innertkirchen in the Haslital, where the Aare leaves the Grimsel valley and forces its way through a limestone ridge called the Kirchet. It is not a climb but a walk: 1,400 m of catwalks and short tunnels bolted to the gorge walls, open to the public since 1888. I went through it at the end of May 2023.

Aareschlucht, ~604 m / gorge walkway, Meiringen–Innertkirchen

1,400 m through the gorge, approx. 45 min one way / walls up to 180 m, narrowest point ~1 m / limestone (Kirchet ridge) / catwalks and tunnels, no technical difficulty

The gorge cuts through the Kirchet, a limestone ridge left behind by the Aar glacier between Innertkirchen and Meiringen. Meltwater under the ice carved several channels through that barrier over the course of the last glaciation; the Aareschlucht is the youngest of them, and the one the river still uses. The result is a slot up to about 180 m deep and, at its tightest, roughly a metre wide, with the Aare running through it fast enough that the noise carries the whole way.

Logistics

Approach

Both entrances are about 10 minutes on foot from their respective stations on the Meiringen–Innertkirchen railway — Aareschlucht West and Aareschlucht Ost (the latter via a stepped path). Free parking at both ends. Since it is a one-way traverse, the return is either the marked hiking path back over the Lammi (about an hour) or the train, whose return fare is included with the admission ticket.