The Matterhorn reflection
The whole pyramid on the lake's still surface.
Patryk Hejduk — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Roy Egloff — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alps — Public domain · Bob Tan — CC BY-SA 4.0
Three conditions: **early morning** (the first train, before the wind rises), a **clear day** (check the live cameras), and the **season** (late June to October; before that the lake is frozen or under snow). Get off at Rotenboden rather than Riffelberg — the lake is closer to it. And if the water is ruffled, wait a few minutes: it often stills suddenly.
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Riffelberg is a high terrace (2,582 metres) and a station on the Gornergrat line, and it is **the source of the world's most famous photograph of the Matterhorn**: minutes away lies the small lake **Riffelsee**, and on still days the Matterhorn's pyramid is mirrored on its surface almost perfectly — the image you see reproduced in books, advertisements and on chocolate wrappers. Access is easy: get off the Gornergrat train at **Rotenboden** (or Riffelberg) and walk five to ten minutes on a level path to the lake. No fee and no difficulty — what you need is an early morning before the air ruffles the water, and the window from late June to October when the lake is free of snow. From Riffelberg, lovely descending trails run down to Zermatt via Riffelalp (about two to three hours), so you can ride up and walk down — the best way to get value from an expensive Gornergrat ticket.
The whole pyramid on the lake's still surface.
From Riffelberg to Zermatt via Riffelalp on foot.
Riffelberg, 3920 Zermatt