Natural places in Switzerland – Rheinfall Waterfall

I knew that I could find spectacular natural places in Switzerland, but I never thought that I would discover one in the short time I spent there a few weeks ago. It was a business trip, so my schedule was quite busy, with little free time available.

It was my first time visiting Switzerland. I arrived in Zurich, and then I took the train until I arrived in Schauffahusen, the small city where I was supposed to stay in for the next three days. Unfortunately, the weather was not very good, it rained, and it was windy and cold. I also had the flu so that you can imagine in the morning I was looking forward to entering the office and meetings than to walk around the town.

But to my surprise, I got lucky on the last day, the weather was suddenly good, the sun was shining, and I still had some free hours until my flight back to Bucharest. It was the perfect moment to walk around and explore the area. So I found the Rheinfall Waterfall, which is the largest waterfall in Europe, as I was about to find out.

How to get there

This place is pretty close to Schaffhausen town. Considering the sunny weather, I chose to walk to the waterfall. It is a 30 minutes walk, and you get to see also the surroundings.

However, the winter season is not high season for visiting. Searching about this destination online, I found out that there is a special train, the Rheinfall Express, available for tourists in spring, summer, and autumn. Here you will find more information about prices, stations, the duration of the trip, and scheduling. The season is starting in April.

You can also take the train directly from Zurich to Rheinfall Waterfall. The journey lasts about 1 hour, and there are two train stations near the waterfall: Neuhausen Rheinfall and Neuhausen, Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall (situated on the other side of the river).

My experience

I was so amazed to arrive and see this incredible spectacle of nature. The water was reflecting the winter sun rays, and I could feel the water splashes all around. It is impressive. And also very noisy from the powerful water flow hitting the rocks. It is yet another evidence of the unbelievable force of nature.

I was there with my colleagues and had to shout if we wanted to speak to each other.

That was not so great for my already existing flu. The cold, sharp air combined with the shouting made me lose my voice entirely after a few hours.

Even so, I was happy that I got the chance to visit this incredible place!

Activities

Here are some activities that you can experience while visiting the area:

• Hiking and biking trails.
• Boat trips
• Adventure Park
• Visit the waterfall at night and see a whole different spectacle of lights.
• If you are around on the 31st of July, there is a fireworks spectacle going on.
• Guided tours (rafting, cultural tours)

Or maybe you are interested in a more extensive tour of natural places in Switzerland. You can find some inspiration for experiences, tours, accommodations, transport, maps, tips, or seasonable activities on this website.

Facts and figures

The Rheinfall Waterfall is approximately 15 000 years old. The waterfall is situated on the Rhine river, one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. It originates in the Swiss Alps and runs for 1320 km until it reaches the North Sea.

The waterfall has 150 meters in width and 23 meters in height. The capacity of the flow in summer goes up to 600 000 liters per second, while in winter it is only 250 000 liters per second.

Above the magnificent waterfall, there lies the Schloss Laufen castle. The palace has over 1000 years and was initially the home of the barons of Laufen. In 2010 it was renovated, and now it is open to the public for special events and tourism.

So, if you are thinking of visiting some cool natural places in Switzerland, Rhein Waterfall should be on your list. I would love to know if you have already been there, especially in the high season.