One of the Steepest Funicular Railway in Europe is a Rollercoaster Ride in Nature

If you are seeking for a thrill, Gelmer Funicular in the Bernese Oberland is where you should be. With an inclination of up to 106% and a 1,028 meters (3,373 feet) long track, this stomach-churning funicular is the steepest of its kind in Europe.

Originally built to transport the heavy construction materials for the Gelmer dam, it is now open for adventure-seeking hikers. The track was built in 1926 but was not officially opened to the public until 2001.

There’s just one more thing: travelers must cross the Handeck suspension to reach the funicular which hangs some 70 meters above the Handeck Gorge.

The vertigo-inducing funicular makes its way to the Gelmer valley 1,860 meters (6,102 feet) above sea level.

The line operates from the beginning of June through mid-October in daylight hours. 24 passengers can fit in each open carriage with nothing but a metal bar to grip onto as the ground drops away beneath them. 60 people can be sent in each direction every hour. The scary but scenic ride lasts about 12 minutes.

The railway passes through the Grimsel Pass, a mountain pass in Switzerland in the Bernese Alps. Once at the top, a walk around the turquoise colored lake is a must, or a hike up to the Gelmer hut for some more spectacular lookouts. It takes about two hours to walk around the entire Lake Gelmer.

According to Wikipedia, the Gelmerbahn was the steepest funicular in Switzerland and Europe until the opening of the new Stoos Funicular in 2017.

The Stoosbahn funicular railway is now in service and is being hailed as a triumph in modern design engineering. Running from Schwyz to the mountain village of Stoos in Switzerland, the €44.6m tram will travel 1,300 meters above sea level at an incline of 110%. The funicular was also a redesign of an older system that was placed in 1933.