Engstligen falls, Alpine waterfall in Adelboden, Switzerland.
Engstligen Falls drops in two stages over a rock step into the Engstligen valley, where the water forms the river Entschlige. The upper fall is 97 metres high and the lower 165 metres, a combined 375 metres according to the English source (the German source gives 370 metres). The streams of the Engstligenalp plateau gather at its northern exit before plunging; the upper fall is seen from the mule track through the rock wall, the lower from an easy path above the valley station.
The falls have been protected under environmental law since 1948 and are listed in the Swiss Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments of National Importance. Since 2008 a via ferrata has run along the west side of the lower fall, and in winter the frozen water draws ice climbers.
Each early summer, more than 400 cows and cattle are driven up the mule track through the rock face to the Engstligenalp in a large Alpaufzug, the seasonal ascent to high pasture. The falls are known in Berndeutsch as Entschligefäll, and the river they feed below is the Engstlige.
The lower falls are reached on an easy mountain path from the lower station of the Engstligenalp cable car. The upper falls are only partly visible from the cable car; the full view opens from the mule track that climbs through the rock wall. In early summer that same track carries the Alpaufzug, when more than 400 cows and cattle are driven up to the Engstligenalp.
Since 2008 a via ferrata has climbed the west side of the lower Engstligen Fall, and in winter the frozen falls draw ice climbers. The two drops measure 97 and 165 metres, and the streams of the Engstligenalp plateau above gather at its northern exit before plunging.
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