Oeschinensee, the famous turquoise lake above Kandersteg

Getting there

Take the train to Kandersteg¹, it sits right on the main line through the Bernese Oberland. From the village a gondola runs up towards the lake³, and from the top station it is roughly 20 minutes on foot to the shore. Easy walking, nothing technical.

If you would rather skip the gondola, you can walk the whole way up from the valley. Reckon on about an hour on foot, a steady climb on a clear path. I usually take the gondola up to save the legs for the lake itself, but the walk is a fine option if the queue at the bottom is long or you just want the movement.

The photo and the lake

Almost every reel I recorded here went viral. It is postcard Switzerland, the turquoise water under the wall of peaks, and creators like me are part of why it got crowded. It is not a hidden gem anymore. It is still worth it if you do it right.

Doing it right means walking past the platform. Most people stop at the first viewpoint by the restaurants, take the shot and turn around. Walk up the hill on the left side of the lake instead, past where the crowd thins, and within a few minutes you have space and a cleaner line on the water.

You need decent weather for the lake to be that blue. The turquoise comes from the light hitting the water, so on a cloudy day the colour goes flat and grey, and the photo everyone came for is just not there. Check the forecast and go on a clear day. One practical tip that catches people out: bring cash. Card payments do not work at the restaurants near the gondola, so if you want a coffee or a bite up top, have notes and coins on you.

When to go

Late May to October. Outside that window the gondola and the restaurants wind down and the lake can still be under snow or ice, so there is nothing turquoise to see.

The honest downside is the crowd: 5 out of 5. This is one of the busiest spots in the Bernese Oberland, and on a summer weekend the platform is packed from mid-morning on. Two things help. Go early in the morning or in the evening, when the day-trippers have not arrived yet or have already left. And pick a weekday over a weekend if you can. Combine early light with a weekday and the left-shore walk, and even in high season it feels calm twenty minutes from the gondola.

Can you camp there?

Not at the lake. Oeschinensee is a protected nature reserve and part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site², so pitching a tent or bivouacking on the shore is not allowed, and a gamekeeper checks the area in high season. There is a campsite down in Kandersteg, and legal options higher in the mountains around the lake, but the full legal picture, the fine, and where it actually works are a separate question. I wrote that all up in the dedicated piece: wild camping at Oeschinensee, what is actually allowed.

Oeschinensee is in the Swiss Gems guide with its GPS pin, access notes and the wild camping verdict, next to 140 other spots I have mapped across Switzerland. If this kind of field note is useful to you, that is where they all live.

Frequently asked questions

Leon Helg

Swiss filmmaker and software engineer. 26 years in Switzerland, spends his free time exploring the Swiss Alps and maps his favourite spots for Hikebeast. Posts as @leon.helg on Instagram and TikTok.

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