Switzerland Diaries - A Day Trip To Rhine Falls

Rhine (also spelled as Rhein) Falls is a 150 m wide and 23 m high waterfalls located near Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland. The natural beauty of the falls is overwhelming and the amount of water peaks in summer months of June / July.

During our 5-day Switzerland tour, a visit to Rhine Falls was included in our Day 3 itinerary.

Also read:

1. Visit to Cuckoo Clock Factory in Black Forest, Germany
2. Visit to Lake Titisee, Germany

Switzerland is one of the most popular world tourist places that attracts tourists from across the world. Switzerland is a dream destination for Indian tourists and our film industry which shot romantic song sequences in beautiful locations of Switzerland, has greatly influenced Indians in visiting Switzerland. In fact Indian tourists have a craze for visiting Switzerland.

Switzerland is a very small Federal Republic country composed of 26 cantons (like the Indian states). The country is landlocked and shares international borderlines with the countries of Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. It is one of the most developed countries in the world. Zurich, Geneva and Basel are ranked among the top ten cities in the world in terms of quality of life. It's currency is Swiss Franc and is official known as CHF (Confoederatio Helvetica Franc).

Also read:

1. A day on Mt Titlis
2. An evening visit to Interlaken

On Day 3 of our Swiss tour we enjoyed a boat ride getting closer to the Rhine Falls and then spent a leisurely evening at Zurich. We started at around 10 a.m from Hotel Courtyard Marriott, Basel and reached Rhine Falls at around 11.45 a.m. We were fortunate to have fair and sunny weather during our 3 days stay in Basel, Switzerland.

On reaching the falls, we walked down a ramp where from we had an awesome view of the falls from a height. At this place too there is an Indian restaurant on the left as one walk down the ramp to the ticket counter. Many Indian tourists were relishing hot hot pav bhaji, samosa, paneer butter masala and butter naan, chai and many more Indian foods.

The Rhine Falls Boat Ride

There are a couple of ticketed boat rides for the tourists to get closer to the falls. There are different color boats for different rides. On walking down the ramp, there is a ticket counter to the right. Tourists buy ticket for boat ride based on their choice of ride. The red boat takes the tourists closer to the falls while the yellow (or blue, not sure of the colour) boat takes them to the standing platform where from they can have a view of the falls.

We bought the ticket for the red boat ride. It's about half-an-hour ride. We occupied a comfortable seat in the boat and enjoyed the ride. At the boat started getting closer and closer to the falls there were screams and shouts of thrill from the tourists. Well, as we were getting closer we could see some tourists standing on the platform and enjoying the view of the falls. I was busy taking pictures and videos of the falls. As our boat was getting closer to the falls we could feel the vibration and hear the roaring sound of the mighty falls. When we got very close to the falls we got soaked in the spray of cascading waters. Tourists shouted in excitement and I quickly shut down my cams as the lens might get spoiled. That was a wonderful and memorable experience of getting closer to the waterfalls. However, when compared to the experience of getting closer to the Niagara Falls in the 'Maid of the Mist' ride, this Rhine Falls ride is less thrilling. But for first timers this would be a really wonderful experience.

Also read: An evening at Lucerne

There stands a mighty rock in the middle which has a platform and tourists can have a close up view of the natural spectacle from standing platform.

The mighty river Rhine (Rhein) passes through four countries during its course from Alps to North Sea. Tourists can experience the full power of the natural wonder by riding closer to the falls in a boat. They can also have a close encounter of the cascading waters and soak themselves in the spray of fall waters by standing on the mind viewing platforms.

While having a boat ride tourists can enjoy the beautiful view of the surroundings and watch the running of train. The greenery all around and the blue waters of the falls makes the place worth a visit. After enjoying a ride, we went to souvenir shop where we purchased a few beautiful items to make the trip more memorable.

Also read: A trip to Niagara Falls.