Zermatt is a great centre for walking. There are trains, funicular railway and cablecars to help you make the most of the walking around here. You may have doubts about transport in the mountains, but it will help you get to places you otherwise wouldn't reach. And with well signposted paths all around, it is a very safe walking environment. Of course due respect for the mountains is always necessary. If you take the train up to Gornergrat you will have no problem finding paths and signposts to guide your way down, but I would always recommend taking a map too. Take note of the timings on the signposts, they are a good guide and you will soon see how your performance compares with the signs.
Very early in the morning, the first trains start operating from Zermatt, up onto the mountain. As this one is empty it must have been coming down. www.gornergratbahn.ch
the trains wind their way up to Gornergratt all day long. With several stations along the way it is easy to pick a walk that matches your level of fitness. Or s some people do, get the train both ways!
Gornergrat Station, at 3089 metres (over 10,000 ft) it really does feel like you are in the high mountains of the Alps. There are restaurants and a hotel here at Gornergrat, but if you prefer the peace and tranquillity of the mountains, you won't have to walk far to escape the crowds.
Looking across the Mattertaal to Dent Blanche.
And in the other direction towards Italy. The mountains from Left to right are, Monta Rosa, Liskam, Castor & Pollux.
The glacres around here are spectacular. It feels like you are watching the landscape being born. The moraines contain great masses of debris as the ice cuts out a new valley. Here you can see moraines at the top of the picture and on the glacier itself, as well as a glacier lake of bright blue water on the surface of the ice.
The landscape becomes greener as you descend. This is the mountain resort of Riffelalp, perched on a ledge high above Zermatt, only accessible by train, or on foot, but if you are staying here I would certainly recommend you bring your bags up on the train! From Riffelalp the path enters the steep sided forest above Zermatt.
Eventually Zermatt comes into view, still a longways down in the valley bottom. It's a real knee jerker of a walk down from Gornergrat, around ten kilometres in distance, but crucially, over five thousand feet of descent. So make sure your boots fit well and your quads are up to it, treking poles can be a real help on such a downhill walk.
As you come out of the forest the path leads you to the village of Winkelmatten. Once a separate village, it is now a suburb of the higher end of Zermatt. With some lovely old buildings you can be forgiven for thinking you are back in Zermatt and the walk is almost over. Beware, it is at least half an hour into the middle of Zermatt from here.
Zermatt. It's a great place to sit with a beer, after a long day's walking, admiring the Matterhorn. And if you are like me, you will wonder what it would feel like to edge your way up the Hornli Ridge to the summit. And if you really are like me, then you will never really know.
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