Switzerland · Bernese Oberland
Staubbachfall
One of dozens of waterfalls lining the sheer walls of Lauterbrunnen valley, this one so thin and wind-blown that Goethe wrote a poem about it after visiting in 1779. A short path climbs to a platform partway up for a closer look at the falling spray.
Checked September 2026 by David Bussell
Staubbach Falls drops 297 metres (974 ft) on the Staubbach. It is a horsetail-type fall, and the nearest base for a visit is Lauterbrunnen, with BRN the closest airport. Access to the main viewpoint is rated easy.
Staubbach Falls is the second-tallest of the 8 we cover in Switzerland. As a horsetail waterfall, water stays in contact with the rock as it falls.
Also good forHikingPhotography
Spring snowmelt gives the fullest flow; strong winds can blow the thin drop sideways into mist before it lands.
Entry: Free
This waterfall
Staubbach Falls
Switzerland
Height297 mWidth—
Most similar
Vaipō Waterfall
France
Height350 mWidth—
Also a horsetail waterfall, of similar height and in France
Largest curtain
Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe · Zambia
Height108 mWidth1,708 m
Largest single sheet of falling water
Tallest on earth
Angel Falls
Venezuela
Height979 mWidth—
Widest on earth
Khone Phapheng Falls
Laos
Height21 mWidth10,783 m
Measured across the whole multi-channel system
Angel Falls is 3.3× taller than Staubbach Falls. It drops 2.8× further than Victoria Falls (108 m). We don't have a reliable crest width for Staubbach Falls yet, so it is left off the width chart. Tallest · widest lists.
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Walking guide
Lesley Williams & Jonathan Williams · 2023
50 day walks around Grindelwald, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen and Mürren, the valley of Staubbach and Trümmelbach falls.
Walking guide
Kev Reynolds · 2015
Kev Reynolds' wider Oberland guide, taking in Lauterbrunnen and the Meiringen–Rosenlaui side where the Reichenbach Falls drop.
Guidebook
Lonely Planet · 2024
Current Lonely Planet covering Schaffhausen, the Lauterbrunnen valley, Meiringen and Glarus, with transport and pass details.
Guidebook
DK Eyewitness · 2024
Illustrated country guide useful for combining the Rhine Falls with the Bernese Oberland on one trip.
46.5898, 7.9054
Staubbach Falls is in Switzerland (Bernese Oberland). The nearest base is Lauterbrunnen and the closest airport is BRN. Its coordinates are 46.5898, 7.9054.
Staubbach Falls drops 297 metres (974 feet). It is a horsetail-type waterfall on the Staubbach.
Peak flow is May to July. Spring snowmelt gives the fullest flow; strong winds can blow the thin drop sideways into mist before it lands.
Beyond the viewpoints: paragliding, hiking and photography. Access to the main viewpoint is rated easy — a short walk or roadside viewpoint.
The usual base is Lauterbrunnen, and the closest airport is BRN. A short walk or roadside viewpoint from there. Free.
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