Mountain Walking in Zermatt

Zermatt itself is situated at 1 mile (1605m) above sea level - just like Denver, Colorado. So even when lying in your hotel bed, you will be pretty high up! And from here, for as long as you are in the Zermatt area, you can only go higher.

The easiest way to get straight up into the mountain scenery is by funicular. The station is close to the river at the northern (lower) side of the town. The funicular is ideal if you prefer to walk down rather than up, or just want to do some mountain walking higher up above the tree line.

The first stop is Sunnegga (2288m or approx 1.4 miles above sea level). There is a mountain restaurant here with lovely views, and the surrounding terrain is long grass with lots of pretty Alpine flowers.

From Sunnegga, you can take the cable car to Blauherd (2578m / 1.6 miles), and either stop there or continue by cable car to Unterrothorn. If you get out at Blauherd, you'll find it a little more barren than Sunnegga with a lot of rocky ground.

Unterrothorn is 3103m (almost 2 miles!) high. Although we were there in the hottest summer on record, even then there were still pockets of snow to be seen in shaded spots. This tends to be as high as tourists generally go, although serious hikers could be seen setting out for Oberrothorn at 3415m (2.12 miles). Even in Summer you will need the proper equipment and know-how to tackle this route, which can only be tackled on foot.

This can either be the first or the final leg of your walk, or it could simply be an introductory walk while you get used to the altitude. (If you are not used to it, you may find the air thin and tire easily at first.)

I did this route downhill, on the way back to Zermatt, so just reverse it if you need to.

From sunny Sunnegga, the path takes you alongside meadows grazed by cows (you'll hear their cowbells even if you don't see them!) and through little Findeln at 2051m with its traditional rustic chalets.

As you continue your descent, you will reach the treeline. From this point, the walk is in woodland, which is particularly pleasant on a hot day as it will give you some shade. However, be sure to take your photos before this point.

This was a route that we did on our final day - the day we saw a marmot!

Rather than going direct from Blauherd to Sunnegga, we first went uphill and then looped back around. The highlight of this walk, apart from meeting a marmot of course, was the wonderful view down to the Mosjesee (pictured).

We saw many pretty flowers too, and walked alongside a mountain stream for a while. I think it was somewhere around here that I found the rock that looked just like a mini Matterhorn.

Blauherd was also the spot from which I took a shortcut down to Zermatt on another day - by tandem paraglide! This involved being strapped to a Swiss man and a large piece of fabric, and running off the mountainside. An unforgettable experience.