hiking switzerland

**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.

The Seasonal Operating Times 2021 (for up-to-date info go to either a letscharena.ch or sbb.ch):

Summer/Autumn 2021

5. June 2021 until 24. October 2021

Riederalp (Chair Lift) – Hohfluh
3. July until 15. August 2021
Riederalp (Gondola) – Moosfluh
5. June until 24. October 2021

Bettmeralp – Bettmerhorn
5 June until 24 October 2021

Fiescheralp – Eggishorn
5 June until 24 October 2021

Winter 2021/2022

8. December 2021 until 18. April 2022

Daubensee (2207m). Photo by A.Leggett

The Gemmi is a historical crossing of the northern Alpine chain. This north/south crossing – between Kandersteg and Leukerbad, was once a significant route used by the Celts, Romans, and the Alemanni (Germanic tribes). For hundreds of years, it was also a crossing point for nobility, writers and artists alike. Attractions such as its incredible wild beauty, the thermal baths in Leukerbad, and its convenience as a crossing all played parts in its popularity.

Today it is considered to be the “Klassiker der Schweizer Wanderklassiker,” which translates as the classic of the Swiss hiking classics.

The Landscape

The hiking path, popular with the Swiss, passes through an amazing natural environment – from boulder-strewn landscapes, past alpine lakes & rugged cliffs rising abruptly upwards, to soft meadows with ancient trees and the most incredible sweeping views to look at every step of the way.

Getting There

Trains frequently run through the Rhône Valley and are a great way to start your journey up into the mountains, both north and south.

Train & Bus:

Trains run from the main Rhône Valley towns – Sion, Sierre, Visp and Leuk, and from the north – Interlaken & Spiez, to Leuk (731m).

Buses connect at Leuk train station(731m) to Leukerbad(1,411m) – (no train service for this route).

The road up to Leukerbad is steep with numerous switchbacks – approx. 30 mins. From here you can walk for 11 mins or take a connecting bus (see sbb.ch for all train and bus timetables)

The Hike – Leukerbad Cable Car (Valais) to Kandersteg, Sunnbüel Cable Car (Bernese Oberland)

Distance:

8.5 km (+ 2 km diversion for Arven Forest circular walk)

Best Time of Year:

June – Oct (although this pass can also be visited in winter for winter walking and sports)

Duration:

2.5 hrs (3-3.5 hrs incl. circular walk through Arven Forest)

Difficulty:

Moderate, reasonable stamina (and good hiking boots).

Descent/Ascent:

475 m/71m

Status of Pass & Gondolas:

Leukerbad Tourism Website – up-to-date info.

Sunnbüel Cable Car & Gemmi Cable Car – Warning: the Sunnbüel cable car mountain station currently (08/21) only accepts cash.

A Gemmi Pass hiking map can be found at the bottom of this page.

Gemmi Trail

Don’t get the Gemmi Pass hike confused with the Gemmi Trail. The Trail is a difficult ascent from Leukerbad up to the top of the Gemmi cable car. It is extremely challenging (900 metres in 2 hours) but would also be a great achievement. You would be following in the footsteps of some famous names – Goethe, Mark Twain, Lenin and Picasso (according to the Leukerbad Tourism site).

Gemmi Pass Hike

I did this walk a few years ago – it is one I had wanted to do for a while and was well worth the wait. The walk starts at the top of the thrilling Leukerbad cable car (can be done from either direction). From here, you follow the signposts pointing towards Kandersteg. The sign indicates that the hike takes 4 hours, however, that is only if you decide not to take the Sunnbüel cable car & bus at the end of this walk. (I confirmed this with some seasoned walkers).

We soon came across Daubensee which lies at 2207m. Once reaching this impressive lake, you can see the path stretching off into the distance, giving an idea of what is coming up. The main path is on the right-hand side of the lake which was a bit of a relief to me as the other path, which you can also do, looked pretty challenging.

After the lake, you start to go downhill through rocky terrain, past loads of weather-beaten boulders. If you use your imagination, they start looking like strange creatures from another world.

After about 30 minutes you can see the Schwarenbach restaurant in the distance. you can stop here for a drink or snack and, of course, a toilet break. The hiking trail goes between the tables on the terrace and past a small kiosk which sells postcards and, sometimes, sun hats etc. – very civilised.

From this point, the views change with most of the rocks and boulders now covered with plants and trees.

It is possible to do a small diversion into the Arven Forest (Arvenwald) after about 6 km into the walk. The diversion is clearly marked as a Rundweg (circular path) which will bring you back on the trail to Sunnbüel. Make sure to follow the yellow signposts and diamonds that show the way. This will also take you past two small lakes called Arvenseeli – however, these are often dried up in summer.

After the forest, there are several ascents. At this point, it’s pretty satisfying to look back to see how far you have come.

When arriving at the very welcoming Bergrestaurant Sunnbüel you can see views of the Kandersteg region including the impressive Gasterntal (Gastern Valley which I am visiting and will be writing about soon). The cable car is here and it leaves every half hour but, as with a lot of these cable cars, it goes more often during busy times.

There is also the option to walk down rather than take the cable car although I haven’t done this myself. Note: In the past, the Sunnbüel cable car wouldn’t accept credit cards, only cash.

The bus from the valley to Kandersteg (March 2024) leaves every hour (until 18:56 in summer) see sbb.ch for up-to-date information.

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