Harder Kulm is an Interlaken mountain with a restaurant and viewing platform at an altitude of 1,322 meters. It offers a spectacular panorama over the Jungfrau, Eiger, Mönch, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. To get there, you can hike (not an option for me) or take a ten-minute, wheelchair-accessible ride on a very steep Harder Kulm funicular (Harderbahn) that has been active since 1908.
Accessibility
When I searched online for wheelchair accessibility information on Harderbahn, I found a short post on Trip Advisor saying it was possible to visit in a wheelchair and a “suitable for pushchair” remark on the Interlaken website. That’s it. But that was enough for me to give it a try.
We arrived at the funicular station in Interlaken and were met my stairs. Lots of them. You want to buy tickets or inquire about an accessible route? Stairs. So J. climbed the stairs, bought the tickets, asked the questions, and was given a vague explanation (as if they didn’t want us to find it) of how to get to the wheelchair-accessible platform.
After getting lost for a minute, missing the right turn, and rolling a few extra hundreds of meters (there are no signs or markers), we found the secret platform, and now I’ll try to explain it as accurately as possible.
How to get there in a wheelchair
First, purchase your tickets online to avoid sending someone up those stairs. You can do it on the jungfrau.ch website or sbb.ch (website or app). The price is 20 CHF per direction, but if you have a SwissPass or another travel card, you’ll get a discount. (More about travel cards here).
When you arrive at the Harderbahn station, keep rolling on Brienzstrasse for about 300 meters (if you are facing the station, the direction will be to your right) until you see a small, paved road on your left going up the mountain. Turn onto that road and roll for another ~200 meters. You will see a big metal gate (in the photo) with a “passage prohibited” sign. Go through the gate, and you are there.
Have your tickets ready and wait behind the rope. The funicular driver will see you and stop at the platform to pick you up. There’s a small metal ramp to cover the gap between the platform and the funicular, and you’ll get the front row seat going up.
At the top station, it’s very straightforward. The restaurant and the viewing platform are wheelchair-accessible, and I saw an accessible restroom at the restaurant.
Manual-wheelchair users, be aware that there’s quite a bit of uphill pushing. Power-wheelchair users, ensure your wheelchair doesn’t exceed the weight/size limit since that ramp wasn’t very solid.
After wasting time looking for the wheelchair-accessible platform at the bottom, we had about two hours left until the last funicular descent, so we gave up on the viewing platform that was too crowded anyway and grabbed drinks and cheese fondue at the restaurant. The drinks were good, the fondue not so much, plus costly.
Great information thank you. We are going later this year with my 86 year old mother who would not be able to handle all those stairs.