TOUR OF THE
MATTERHORN NORTH
This northern section of the Tour of the Matterhorn is also the eastern section of the world famous 'Haute Route', offering stunning mountain scenery and challenging terrain. This alpine route is particularly renowned for its beauty, but it is demanding and requires a very good level of fitness. Starting in the picturesque village of Zinal, located in the Val d'Anniviers in the canton of Valais, the trail takes us initially through alpine meadows, but we'll very soon have the iconic Matterhorn in our sights and we'll pass over the world's longest pedestrian footbridge to get there!
We will pass through Gruben, a small hamlet nestled in the mountains and we'll have panoramic views of glaciers and high mountain peaks. About half way through the trek, we'll join a section of the Alps often considered to be the most beautiful, called the 'Europaweg' or 'Europe Trail'. This stunning and high 31km section of our route will include a (by then) much needed restful night's stay at the splendid Europahütte (Europa Hut).
Our climax will be the walk into Zermatt, a world-famous mountain resort town situated at the foot of the Matterhorn. Zermatt is car-free, and visitors often explore its charming streets and enjoy breathtaking views of the surrounding peaks.This route requires a very good physical fitness and is typically undertaken by people who are used to walking distances of 20km in a day with significant ups (more than 1000 vertical meters on most days) and downs. While most days will cover between 10 and 18km, the gain in height means a moderate to good level of fitness is required.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is mostly in hotels on a shared room basis, but also at least one alpine hut, typically called an, 'auberge', 'refuge', or 'cabane'. The huts provide dormitory (shared) rooms and outstandingly good food and refreshments, even for those of us with specialist dietary requirements. Hotels can often provide separate/single rooms. Please enquire if this is of interest to you, subject to availability and surcharge.
The core package includes 6 nights with full-board in a mix of shared hotel accomodation or moutain hut dormitories, but please note that it depends on hut availability, party numbers and what you, as the customer, ultimately wants. Mountain Coach will bespoke arrangements to your needs, to the extent possible.
Full board means breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner
On request, the tour can be customised to include additional summits or a difference pace.
The typical route is shown in the map below, but usually routes can be somewhat adjusted to your needs, for example walking along the valley floor if the weather is poor or if the group is especially tired.
