The slower route is the one that stays above ground the whole way.

From Interlaken Ost, a train reaches Lauterbrunnen in about 20 minutes, descending into one of the deepest, sheerest-walled valleys in the Alps — 72 waterfalls drop from its cliffs, the best known being the Staubbach Fall, which plunges almost 300 metres in a single drop near the village itself. From Lauterbrunnen, the Wengernalpbahn cogwheel railway climbs the valley wall to Wengen, then continues on to Kleine Scheidegg. The whole climb from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg takes roughly 50 minutes, followed by the Jungfraubahn's own 35-minute run to the summit — about two hours door to door from Interlaken.

Wengen: no cars, ever

Wengen has been car-free since before the road technology existed to make it otherwise — it's reachable only by rail, and locals and hotel guests move goods by small electric vehicles and the railway itself. It sits on a sunny terrace looking directly across the valley at the Jungfrau massif, and functions as its own ski and hiking base independent of the Jungfraujoch trip, with the Lauberhorn downhill course — one of the longest and fastest on the World Cup ski circuit — running on the slopes just above the village.