Gornergrat Rail

Gornegratbahn took us to the top of Gornegrat. The cafeteria at the top is the best lunch spot to have if you’ve been skiing all morning with cosy atmosphere, good food, decent prices (for Zermatt), and beautiful views. The trail coming down from the top — hmmm… not my favorite. I do like the 36 trail it merges with though. The trails from Riffelalp are really nice if you’re a blue trail with some easy red trail skiier. At the end of the week, I skiied half of a red trail and loved it! The blue trail going towards the igloo village is also really fun to take as well. Good memories spent skiing here. Best views of Matterhorn peak.

Do not think for a minute that this is a tourist trap. It may be one of the greatest days I have ever spent with my family. We took the train to the top of the Gornergrat and were dressed for the cold but layered as we knew we were going to hike back down to Zermatt (estimated to be 4 hours.) At the top it’s chilly and I think more often than not the elusive Matterhorn sits teasing its fans with a cloud coverage that just seems to sit in front of the peak. We started the trek down and enjoyed the postcard views. You truly feel like you have been transposed onto a movie set. The scenery is beyond words. The hiking trails are very well marked for the boundless tourists – so you don’t feel like you can get lost, but you don’t feel too isolated either. Everyone sort of goes their own way and at their own pace so you are on your own.
About a quarter of the way down, the fog burned off and for the rest of our time on the Gornergrat, we had a bucket list view! Invest in a good camera if you don’t already have one.
Of course, you can spend more time than we had in Zermatt and take the train partially up and just hike around the mountain, but if you only have a day, I highly recommend this gorgeous hike. And don’t think it’s not exercise because it’s downhill, our legs were burning and were very sore for 2 days afterwards.

The Gornergratbahn is the highest cog railway in Europe and it takes the traveler from the Banhofplatz in Zermatt almost 5,000 feet up over spectacular scenery to the Gornergrat. It has been one of the top tourist attractions in Switzerland for over 80 years. The railroad was opened for the first time in 1929 and has undergone continuous improvements and remodeling. Today, the rail is open year-​round and carries hikers, skiers and tourists to some of the most pristine and stunning views on the planet. At the end of the rail, the Kulmhotel Gornergrat greets visitors at well over 10,000 feet with views of 29 peaks towering over 13,000 feet, several glaciers, and an observatory.
Departures from Zermatt occur every 24 minutes from sunrise until late evening, as the Kulmhotel is both a hotel and a favorite and spectacular dining destination. The railway stops at the hamlets of Findelbach, Riffelalp (hiking trail heads, ski trails and a five-​star hotel), Riffelboden (hiking, skiing and restaurants), Riffelberg (hiking skiing, and hotel), Rotenboden (hiking and skiing) and the Gornergrat (top of the line, hiking, skiing, glacier access, and a hotel and observatory). The rail has been electrified since its beginning.
One of the most majestic trips on the planet. Hands down…