Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch Nature Reserve

Address: Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch (Aletsch Glacier region and surrounding sites), Canton of Bern, Switzerland

The Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch is a high-mountain natural property in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, centred on the Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger peaks and the Aletsch Glacier system. It contains the largest contiguous glacier in the European Alps and extensive glacial landscape features.

Visitors encounter high alpine scenery including permanent ice, moraines and sculpted glacial valleys, with established trails and viewing platforms offering views of the glacier and surrounding peaks. The Aletsch Glacier is the central feature, flowing for roughly 23 kilometres through a broad glacial trough.

Transport infrastructure and viewpoints facilitate access to high elevations, most notably the Jungfraujoch railway terminus at 3,454 metres, which provides panoramic views over the glacier system and research facilities for glaciological study. Mountain huts, marked routes and cableways provide access to lower ridges and hiking routes during the warmer months.

The landscape has been shaped by repeated glaciation during the Quaternary and by ongoing alpine processes that continue to modify the glacier and its moraines. Scientific observation of the glaciers and mountain environment has been important for the study of alpine glaciology and climate change.

The property lies in the Bernese Alps in southern Switzerland, within the Canton of Bern, occupying high mountain terrain above the northern edge of the Rhone and Rhine catchments. Key access points include valley towns served by mountain railways and cableways into the massif.

• Glacier size: The Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps at roughly 23 kilometres in length, and the site includes the surrounding high-mountain catchment that shapes its ice flows.
• High access point: Jungfraujoch hosts the high-elevation railway terminus at 3,454 metres, providing engineered access to high alpine environments and panoramic views of the glacier system.

What to See#

• Aletsch Glacier: The Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the European Alps, stretching for about 23 kilometres and forming a major glacial system feeding out from the high mountain catchment. Its wide glacial tongue and ice streams are central to the site’s geomorphology.
• Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger: The high peaks of the Bernese Alps that frame the site, notably the Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger, which form a dramatic mountain barrier and influence local glaciation patterns. The three peaks are regional landmarks and form part of the protected massif.
• Jungfraujoch: Jungfraujoch, the high mountain saddle with the railway terminus at 3,454 metres above sea level, providing one of the most accessible high-alpine viewpoints and a base for glacier observation.

• Struve Arc points are small, spread-out monuments rather than a single site; before you go, download the Latvian/UNESCO map or contact Valmiera tourist information so you know which marked point you'll visit and how to reach it.
• Expect short walks from the nearest road at many markers - check local directions in advance and allow time for off-road approaches and limited signage.
• Combine the geodetic point with nearby nature trails or local heritage sites in Valmiera municipality; on-site interpretation panels can be brief, so bring a guidebook or the official Struve Arc leaflet for context.