Alps Things to Do

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One of the most famous (and touristy) places to visit in the Swiss Alps is the Zermatt, gateway to the iconic Matterhorn. One of the most famous and recognizable peaks in the world, there are few finer sights when the weather is clear. Hiking trails abound, allowing you to get your exercise while taking in the scenery. While there are many trails on or near the Matterhorn, it's better to hike on the opposite side of Zermatt. That way, you can SEE the Matterhorn. For those less inclined to physical activity, you can also take the rack railway to the Gornergrat, with an excellent observatory to enjoy the surrounding peaks.

One final recommendation: if the weather is forecast to be bad, you might want to go elsewhere. If the Matterhorn isn't out, you've come a long way for an expensive tourist town.

For more information, you can take a look at my Zermatt page, or look through the Zermatt VT Travel Guide.

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In Central Switzerland, not far from Lucerne, there's the town of Engelberg, situated in a hanging valley with an amphitheater of mountains all around. In addition to the scenery around Engelberg itself, the main draw is the series of gondolas taking tourists to the top of Mount Titlis for a magnificent panorama of the area. Be warned: Engelberg is a favored destination for tour groups, especially from India and Japan. Try to avoid the area in July and August if you don't like crowds.

For more information, you can take a look at my Engelberg page, or look at some other tips in the Engelberg VT Travel Guide, or the Engelberg Tourism website (hey, they stole my tagline! :)

Snowy and sunny unlimited pleasure around the Alps...

What I like when skiing is that you could easily free your mind and just enjoy the scenery...

Take a deep breath, forget your hard week and ride the Alps...

Choose your skiing/surfing rythm and keep in mind that it should be above all a pleasure.

Check the Swiss forecast and adapt your activity depending on the news... especially if you're going in altitude. I would recommend the Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology website. You could have detailed forcast by entering the postcode or the name of the place. Forcasts are generally quite accurate for the Alpine region where I live.

Enjoy your sunny (I hope;-) Alpine stay.

Click on Swiss meteo

If somebody whistle for you on the Alps, don't worry it is certainly a marmot. You will able to observe some typical Alpine fauna during your stay as marmots, ibex, chamois, mountain hares, white fieldmouses, hawks, eagles,…

More about the marmots, which eat the different types of grass growing at this altitude in the mat-like vegetation and alpine meadows. They hibernate in winter in their tunnelled burrows, living on the fat reserves they have accumulated during the summer. The dry leaves they collect to line their nests make their homes extremely cosy. Marmots are solitary animals and emit a short, piercing alarm call (danger on the ground) or a long drawn-out call (danger from above). The golden eagle is their greatest enemy.

Another Alpine athlete, the chamois can run along a 60° steep rockface, jump down easily from a height of 8 metres and overcome an altitude of 1,000 metres in 15 minutes, a trained person would take 3 hours to do the same thing.

Lately we have a polemic especially about the reintroduction of the wolf (and soon bear?) in our Swiss Alpine region due to repetitive attacks against local sheep herds. So do not be surprise to met some around, although you will be very lucky ;-)

Edelweiss is probably the best known flower on the Alps. As you will discover during your Alpine tour, many others are perfectly adapted to this hostile environment.

Be aware that many of Alpine flowers are rare and protected by Swiss law, so respect the nature.

Plants have deployed many inventive resources to survive at these high altitudes.
The bright colours of the mountain meadow flowers are not there by chance, they are vital to their survival and reproduction. In the first place, the pigments protect them from the intensive ultra violet rays found at high altitude. Secondly, weather conditions often prevent insects from flying, so the plants cannot afford to waste a moment of precious pollination time. The colours attract the insects without which they could not reproduce.

As glaciers melt, they leave behind unstable, stony ground, with no water and no nutrients. And yet within just a few years, specially adapted plants manage to colonise this apparently hostile terrain. Mosses move in first, producing a thin layer of humus when they die, which gives a chance to another species to take root. The greatest problem for these pioneers is not so much the lack of soil as the constantly moving ground: even the tiniest plants anchor themselves with roots that can be a meter long, and their underground shoots are always ready to put out new sprouts if they find themselves buried by rolling stones.

Plants growing on rock faces have developed various strategies to deal with water shortage. The poor soil is unable to retain moisture, and the sun beating down on the cliffs soon removes what is left. Strong winds, common at high altitude, would dry out the leaves of normal plants. But the ones here have developed different coping strategies. Some are covered in hairs, which deflect part of the sun's rays, and also form a layer of air which traps moisture, while others have a waxy coating.

Why not to climb a Swiss peak this summer... The Breithorn climbing for everyone...

The Breithorn (4'164m) is the easiest four-thousand-metre peak in the area. Its snow-capped peak is rather flat and is thus easier to handle than most other mountains. A guide helps one get to the top in about two hours and the descent about 1 1/2 hours.

On the top, the view is absolutely breath-taking, you will feel dominating all alpine peaks surroundings as the Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Dent Blanche, Obergabelhorn, Zinal Rothorn, Weisshorn, Mischabel and of course the Breithorn itself...

You take the cable-car from Zermatt to the Klein Matterhorn and the tour starts at the mountain station of the Matterhorn glacier paradise (3'883m). Please note that one needs to be in good shape.

Reservations at the "Alpin Center" located in the middle of the Bahnhofstasse.

Alternative the Allain in Saas-Fee area:

Your dream could also become true in Saas-Fee region thanks to the Allalin, which is probably the easiest 4000m peak in Valais. It can be undertaken safely with a local guide by almost anyone.

The Great Aletsch glacier and the UNESCO World Heritage site Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn

No matter whether you are at Moosfluh, Bettmerhorn, or Eggishorn, the view of the Aletsch glacier is unique: you can admire the glacier from up above with a gorgeous view of the enormous stream of ice. This is quite unusual because anywhere else in the Alps you usually have to look up to a glacier. Another impressive fact about the Aletsch glacier is its length: at 23 kilometers (75,463 ft), the Aletsch glacier is the longest stream of ice in the Alps. The catchment area in the Jungfrau region lies at about 4,000 m (13,124 ft) above sea level; the glacier cave in the Massa gorge is about 2,500 m (8,202 ft) lower. More photos under my travelogue Aletsch - Bettmeralp hiking

Good value tip:
For a one day trip, ask for the Bettmerhorn package which includes a round trip to the Bettmerhorn and the special of the day at the Bettmerhorn mountain restaurant (from July to September CHF 39.-/ CHF 30 with Half-fare Card/CHF 20 for children).