The Matterhorn in front
The unmistakable triangle, with twenty-nine 4,000-metre peaks around it.
Andrew Bossi, clipped and more contrast by Herzi Pinki — CC BY-SA 2.5 · Bob Tan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fiver, der Hellseher — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fiver, der Hellseher — CC BY-SA 4.0
A summit at 3,089 metres above Zermatt, reached by a cog railway climbing from the town in about half an hour, and among the best-known viewpoints in the Alps. The railway is part of the experience: it opened in 1898 as Switzerland's first electric cog railway, and climbs more than fifteen hundred metres through forest, then meadow, then bare rock. Sit on the right going up. The view from the top is the reason: the Matterhorn in front of you with its unmistakable triangular form, twenty-nine peaks above four thousand metres around it, and below you the Gorner glacier — the second largest in the Alps — running like a white road between the mountains. This is a view that needs no walking and no fitness: you step off the train and stand on it. At the summit are a hotel, an astronomical observatory, restaurants and walking paths descending to the lower stations, and those paths are the best thing here for anyone able: you walk down and board the train at a lower station. The ticket is expensive, and clarity decides everything.
The unmistakable triangle, with twenty-nine 4,000-metre peaks around it.
The Alps' second largest, running below you like a white road.
Opened 1898, climbing over 1,500 metres — sit on the right.
Above Zermatt, 3,089 m
Glacier Paradise is higher (3,883 m), reached by cable car and holds an ice cave; its view is wider but the Matterhorn appears from a less familiar angle. Gornergrat is lower but gives the classic view of the Matterhorn with the Gorner glacier — the image you know. With one choice, Gornergrat.
Yes, and the paths down from Gornergrat to the lower stations are among the finest in the region, taking two to three hours depending on the station. The route is clear and signed and needs no climbing, but it is a long descent over rock requiring proper shoes and sound knees. Buy a one-way ticket if you plan to walk down.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.