There are mountains in Switzerland. The land of skyscraping peaks, glaciers, forests and lakes of piercing blue will make you want to hit the trail and zip up to the heights.
You will be part of a larger group. The Swiss are born with one leg up a mountain and hiking is the fastest way to get to nature. Every inch of the country is mapped, and even the trails leading you deep into the country are marked.
Immerse yourself in the best experiences the world has to offer with our email newsletter delivered weekly into your inbox.Are you talking about Switzerland? What's little? It isn't for hikers The country's 62,500 km of trails is enough to wrap around the world 1.5 times. The trails in the Bernese Oberland and Graubnden are some of the most challenging in the world. The vineyards of Valais and Appenzell are accessible year-round.
Picking Switzerland's best hikes is kid-in-a-candy-shop stuff.
15 km is one way and takes 5 hours.
The Bernese Oberland has a lot to offer, and the Faulhornweg is the most popular day hike. You are thrown in the scenic deep end of the ridge hike. Beginning and ending on a high, you will take in the full sweep of Thun and Brienz lakes, as well as huge peaks like the dagger-shaped Wetterhorn and the big three of Eiger, Mnch and Jungfrau.
The trail can be followed easily. The walk takes you over rolling pastures before you reach the high moors. You will make a traverse along a broad ledge between cliffs to the ridge of Winteregg, before descending to the summit. It is possible to see the Black Forest in Germany and the Vosges in France on clear days. The grassy basin of the Bachalpsee has a steel-blue lake contrast to the peaks of Wetterhorn and Schreckhorn.
One way, eight hours, moderate.
The nature-gone-wild Swiss National Park in Graubnden is one of the best places to see the Swiss Alps before tourists arrive. This off-the-radar national park punches high on every level and is often so silent that the only sound you make is your own.
The full day hike from Lavin to Zernez has the edge, as it weaves up to the glaciers of Macun with almost two dozen lakes of azure and turquoise blue. Bernese, Silvretta and Ortler Alps are covered in snow. Ibex are present in these peaks, and with luck and patience, you can find them. Fuorcletta da Barcli is a gap in the range of 2850m (9350ft) with top-of-the-world views. You can either stay the night at Zernez or take the train back to Lavin.
It's important to get an early start in planning. Some sections of the walk are lofty and exposed, requiring a good head for heights. The snowfields can last into the summer.
The 13 km is one way and is challenging.
Travelers who crossed the Gemmi Pass as part of Thomas Cook's first trips into the Swiss Alps in 1863 should not be underestimated. The hike from Leukerbad to Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland can be done in a day, but it presents a proper challenge with a height of 3450 feet.
The reward for reaching the pass is a bleakly beautiful lake and a clifftop lookout platform. The trail goes through flower-freckled pastures. Leukerbad has some of the best thermal hot springs in the world.
It's a good idea to check the forecast before going up the path.
One way for 20 days.
An epic 20-stage trek taking you from the castle-topped principality of Liechtenstein in the east to the west is called the Via Alpina. You will need to be sure-footed, have a head for heights and experience in navigating using a map and compass because you will be dealing with 14 Alpine passes, the highest of which is Hohtrli at 2.
The descent is even more dramatic, dropping more than 1000m to Lake Oeschinen above Kandersteg, a view of cerulean blue ringed by snow-streaked mountains.
Via Alpina is a proper journey into remote wilderness, with nights spent camping beneath starry skies or at rustic mountain huts, plentiful chances to spot wildlife like chamois, ibex and golden eagles.
The best time to hike the route is in June and September, when the weather is nicer and the snow is less dense.
The 17 km is one way and is challenging.
Few places in Switzerland leave you speechless like the Aletsch Glacier, which is 23 km long and runs through some of the highest mountains in the Swiss Alps. On a sunny day when great daggers of peaks razor 2000m (13,123ft) above the ice into a bright blue sky, you can't suppress the gasp of wonder.
It's one of the most amazing day hikes in Switzerland, taking you from Fiescheralp to Bettmeralp, with stunning views of the peaks. The big one is preceded by the Fieschergletscher. The second biggest glacier in the Alps is located down from the eastern flank of Grosses Fiescherhorn. From here, the route winds around slopes and up through a rock-strewn Gully, which leads to a mountain hut and a turquoise lake.
The trail skirts the deep crevassed ice of the Aletsch Glacier. Swiss stone pine forest and tarns make up the Alpine picture as you travel along a ridge to the grassy slopes of Moosfluh, where you can see the glaciers. You will reach the glass blue lake soon. It is a stone's throw from here.
It is one way and easy to do.
Turner was so enamored with Rigi that he painted the mountain in three different colors. It is possible to see the peak in the pink blush of sunrise or sunset. You can see Mt Titlis on a clear day.
The ridge trail from Rigi First to Rigi Scheidegg is wheelchair- and stroller- accessible and is a great place to stop for a picnic or barbecue.
There are sections for wheelchairs that are steep, but there are other ways to shorten the trail.
Round trip of 11 miles.
If you want to get up close and personal with the mountain, you need to take this circular hike in Zermatt.
The trail goes through a larch forest on the way up. If you want to split the hike into two days, you can stay overnight at the foot of the glacier.
The high balcony of Hhbalmenstaffel is where the onward hike takes you over the Alpine meadow. Heading west will take you close to the north face of Matterhorn to reach the walk's highest point.
It is a descent over the mountains of Arben. The path leads to a walking track next to the Zmutt Glacier. You can follow this down in zigzags through the rubble and then return to Zermatt.
Pick a good weather day and get an early start for this full-day trek, which embodies all that is unique about the Swiss Alps. Hhenweg Hhbalmen is hikeable during the summer and fall.
The round trip is easy.
The Appenzell Alps are a great place to raise a family. You can walk through dairy country and flower-freckled meadow. The mountains are easy to get to, and the towns look like they're ready for a story.
A cable car takes you up to the summit of the mountain, which is a great place for a family hike.
You can go to the water park, adventure playground, zip line course and bobsled run if you plan on making a day of it.
It is a 5 mile round trip.
In Valais, the producer of Switzerland's most feted wines, many vignerons open their cellars to the public for tasting and buying. Sion is the best place to walk, taste and appreciate the grape because of its cinematic twinset of castles.
Hiking around Sion isn't the only thing to do there. These vertiginous terraced vineyards hemmed by stone walls are one of the reasons why this part of the Rhne Valley is unique. The Bisse de Clavau, an irrigation channel that carries water to the thirsty, sun-drenched vineyards and commanding views of hilltop chateaux, is one of the highlights of this half-day hike.
You can sample Valaisian Dle and Fendant wines over lunch at Le Varone. On a golden fall day, when the grape harvest is in full swing, you can sample the traditional harvest feast built around chestnuts, cheese, cold meats and vin nouveau.
The article was last updated about 4 hours ago.
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