How to Experience the Awe-Inspiring Aletsch Glacier – My Valais Adventure

**On the trail between Moosfluh & Hohfluh viewing platforms**. *Photo by A.Leggett*

The Great Aletsch Glacier – A UNESCO World Heritage Site

In 2001, the Aletsch Glacier & Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The Aletsch Glacier is over 20km long and the largest glacier in the Alps – however, sadly, it is rapidly receeding. Pro Natura (A Swiss nature & environment organisation) reports that this impressive glacier is retreating by up to 50m in length each year as well as shrinking at the edges.

There are four viewing platforms to see the Glacier. They give brilliant views of the glacier and a 360-degree view of mountains. It is possible (depending on the platform/area) to see Aletschhorn, Matterhorn, Jungfrau, Mönch, Eiger, Dom & Weissmies mountains.

The Hike from Moosfluh to Riederfurka

Length: 4.4 km

Highest Point: 2,333 m

Lowest Point: 1,923 m

Duration: approx. 1 hr 30 mins

Ascent: 3 m

Descent: 410 m

Difficulty: moderate

Time of Year: May – September

See below for the hiking map

This hike takes you along a trail that mostly follows the ridgeway between Moosfluh to Riederfurka. You walk through a landscape of boulders and stones carpeted with alpine plants and moss – some very rare. After passing the Hohfluh chairlift the landscape becomes softer with trees dotted around and a few small ponds.

The whole walk is stunning, with almost constant views of the Aletsch Glacier and the massive mountains on the other side.

Gondolas from Mörel

When I did this trip I was staying in Kandersteg, in a valley south of Interlaken. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to get to the Aletsch Arena gondolas considering there are huge mountains between Kandersteg and the Rhône Valley. The solution: a simple train trip through a long tunnel, a change at Brig and a 10-minute bus trip to the Mörel (Riederalpbahn) stop. I love the Swiss transport system!

The bus stop is right outside the Riederalp Mitte gondola valley station in Mörel. This gondola goes up to Riederalp Village, then the next ride – Gletscherbahn Moosfluh is within walking distance.

When reaching the top of the Moosfluh gondola (2,333 m) you are surrounded by an incredible rocky alpine landscape, and, like the icing on the cake – the view of the Aletsch Glacier and craggy mountains just stuns. For me, this was a definite WOW moment. I couldn’t figure out why everyone around me was just calmy walking around – I felt like jumping up and down and saying, ‘Are you Serious’!

The trail splits and joins up again for most of the hike. You can normally choose which path you want to take as they all end up at the same place. The yellow signposts indicate when the path leads to a different route so it is important to stop and look at the signs before continuing. Also, as I found out, there are often plenty of seasoned hikers who are happy to help point you in the right direction.

If you want to stop the hike here and use the Hohfluh chairlift, I would recommend checking out its seasonal operating times as the summer season is quite short (see the Practical Information tab above).

From the Hohfluh chairlift, the landscape becomes greener with trees dotted around, offering a bit of shade. The path then goes away from the glacier, winding slightly downhill to the Riederfurka area.

The ancient Aletsch forest is home to the oldest trees in Switzerland – according to the Pro Natura Centre Aletsch which is found at Riederfurka. There are hiking trails through the forest from various points along this route.

The Riederfurka area has facilities – restaurants and self-service options. There is also the informative Pro Natura Centre (The building that looks a bit like a castle) with information on the glacier, flora & fauna – including the ancient forest – and the nature protection area. From Riederfurka it is a downhill walk to the village of Riederalp and the Riederallp West gondola station.

At the end of the walk, Riederalp village looked very inviting as somewhere to stop for a while. However, I needed to get back down and figure out where my accommodation was in Sierre.

Hiking around here is truly amazing – I would definitely recommend it but keep an eye on busy times – school holidays, weekends etc. as the Aletsch Arena is popular – as you would expect.

Map and details of my walk in the Aletsch Arena

Viewing areas – from East to West

Eggishorn is the highest viewing area in the Aletsch Arena (2,869m). It offers a 20km view of the Aletsch Glacier plus it is possible to view Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau on a clear day.

Bettmerhorn (2,647 m). Apart from the viewing platform, there is a Glacier World Bettmerhorn multimedia exhibition. Bettmerhorn viewing platform is barrier-free

Moosfluh (2,333 m) & Hohfluh are reasonably close together and there is a stunning panorama hike between the two. Moosfluh offers a higher viewpoint of the glacier when looking one way, and the squiggly hiking trails can clearly be seen when looking towards the west. This platform is about 100 metres from the cable car.

HohFluh viewing point is where you have one of the best views of the glacier’s curves and also the forest nature reserve that slopes downwards toward the glacier.

Some public transport information for travelling up to the Aletsch Glacier, from Mörel, Betten & Fiesch in the Rhône Valley

Public Transport (2021) – please check below for operating times & sbb.ch for times & stops.

Trains operate from:	Visp, end station Andermatt & Brig, end station Fiesh (via Betten)
Buses operate from:	Brig, end station Fiesch
Regular connections:	Sion and Sierre in the west and Bern, Spiez & Kandersteg in the north

Gondola & Cable car connections & operating times

Mörel to Moosfluh lookout and trails	1. Take Riederalp Mitte gondola to Riederalp. 2. Walk to *Gletscherbahn Moosfluh*, (a combination of gondolas & chairs in winter but only gondolas in summer).
Mörel to *Hohfluh* lookout and trails	1. Take the *Riederalp Mitte* or *Riederalp West* gondolas to Riederalp. 2. Walk to *Hohfluh chairlift*. (limited operating times, see below).
Betten to *Bettmerhorn* lookout and trails	1. Take the *Bettmeralp cable car* to Bettmeralp. 2. 15 minute walk to *Bettmerhorn gondola. 3. Take the Bettmerhorn gondola*.
Fiesch to *Eggishorn* lookout and trails	1. Take the *Fiesch gondola* to Fiescheralp. 2. Take the *Fiescheralp gondola* to Eggishorn.