The rugged, sparse and hydro power plant dominated Grimsel region is the source of Guttannen’s fame: rock crystals. Crystals varying in size and price can be purchased at Guttannen.

Guttannen lies on the Grimsel Pass road in the Oberhasli region of the Bernese Oberland. The village at an altitude of 1057 metres is a close-set settlement: avalanche paths and flooding hazards limit the area of available building land. The Kristallmuseum (rock crystal museum) exhibits mountain rock crystals and other mineral formations found mainly in the region. Rock crystal mining has a longstanding and strong tradition here.

The municipality of Guttannen covers a vast area; from the valley floor and the village in a large arch over Handegg, Grimsel Hospiz, the Grimsel reservoirs, Ober and Unteraargletscher glaciers to the Schreckhorn, Lauteraarhorn and Finsteraarhorn peaks. The glaciers are the source of the Aare River. The water of the four reservoirs Oberaarsee, Grimselsee, Räterichsbodensee and Gelmersee is used to produce hydroelectricity.

The Grimsel Pass road leaves Guttannen to climb through narrowing gorges of rugged beauty. Hydroelectric power plants, electricity pylons and vertiginous dam walls dominate the high Alpine scenery on the northern side of the Grimsel.

The Gelmerbahn, the world’s steepest funicular with a gradient of 106% (!) and formerly in use for the construction of the reservoir, climbs up to the picturesque Gelmersee, starting point for an almost 2 hour hike around the reservoir. The cableway from Handegg to Gärstenegg near the Räterichsbodensee transports ski touring enthusiasts and power plant personnel during the winter months when the pass road is closed.

At the dam wall of the Grimselsee, a hotel with majestic views of the Lauteraarhorn and lake lies on a rock formation, the Nollen (1980m). A theme trail leads from the Grimsel Hospiz to Handegg through one of the most mineral-rich regions in the Alps.

The Grimsel Pass was a pack mule route. Swiss cheese was exported to Piedmont in Italy and the Italians brought wine, rice, corn and leather to Switzerland. Business was often conducted at the old Grimsel Hospiz, which is now submerged in the waters of the reservoir. There is an exhibition on hydroelectricity at the Hospiz. The pass summit at an altitude of 2165 metres marks the boundary between the Cantons of Bern and Valais.

Highlights

• Reservoir landscape – impressively rugged and sparse high alpine landscape at the Grimsel Pass, interspersed with glaciers, reservoirs and hydro power plants.
• Grimsel electricity – Grimsel Power offers several guided plant tours for individuals and groups.
• Three-Pass Tour – excursion with the most typical of Swiss modes of public transport, the postbus, over the sparse and beautiful high-Alpine scenery of Susten, Furka and Grimsel.
• Gelmerbahn – the world’s steepest funicular with a gradient of 106% (!) climbs to the reservoir of the same name.
• Trift rope suspension bridge – with its 102 metres length Europe’s longest. Constructed in the traditional Nepalese style, it crosses the Gadmental at the Trift glacier, 80 metres above the pale green melt water of the Triftsee.