Fascination Matterhorn
04 August 2019
The mountain village of Zermatt radiates a unique ambiance, which is mainly caused by the impressive mountain peak of the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn is omnipresent and looms over the town like its guardian. It thus goes without saying that our journey to Zermatt was also linked to the Matterhorn.
In short:
- Where: region of Zermatt in the canton of Wallis
- When: mid-August
- Accommodation: optional (Bergrestaurant Fluhalp)
- Budget: CHF 26.00 per person from Zermatt to Blauherd and CHF 16.00 from Sunegga to Zermatt
Wishing to prolonge our summer holiday, we decided to further explore the country we call home. Our short weekend-trip led us the mountain village of Zermatt, where - for this time - we mainly wanted to explore the region around the Stellisee. The Stellisee is well known by tourists as it is part of the 5-lake hike. Moreover, it is also popular among photographers, because it perfectly stages the raving beauty of the Matterhorn.
With our relatively heavy bags (lots of photo equipment), we decided to skip the ascent by foot and take the train / cable car to Blauherd (via Sunegga). From there, the Stellisee was only a short 10-15 minutes walk.
When we arrived at the Stellisee, it was already late afternoon and most of the tourists were slowly heading back down to Zermatt. This left us with a crowd of extremely committed photographers at the lake - each one having a bigger camera lense or tripod than the other…Not (yet) our league!
The sunset at the lake was very beautiful, but the sunrise was absolutely breathtaking. The location also had to offer a lot for night photographing. We managed as well to get a nice shot of the milky way shining above the Matterhorn.
After sunrise and a quick breakfast, we headed back towards Sunegga station. On the way, we stopped at Grindjisee, another idyllic mountain lake that was perfectly mirroring the Matterhorn, and spotted some marmots.
The Stellisee certainly offered the most spectacular views on our trip, but also the Grindjisee is well worth a visit and the entire alpine panorama in this region is simply gorgeous!
How to get there:
By public transport: Take an intercity train to Visp, where you change to the regional train (Glacier Express) in direction Zermatt. Zermatt is the last stop of this train. In the village of Zermatt, get to the Sunegga mountain railway. There, you first go up to Sunegga and then, you change to the cable car which takes you to Blauherd. On the way back, we recommend walking to the Sunegga station (rather than the Blauherd station) and take a ride down from there.
By car: Zermatt is a car-free zone. The cars can be parked in Täsch, a village 5km from Zermatt. From there, it is easiest to take the regional train (Glacier Express) to Zermatt. In the village of Zermatt, get to the Sunegga mountain railway. There, you first go up to Sunegga and then, you change to the cable car which takes you to Blauherd. On the way back, we recommend walking to the Sunegga station (rather than the Blauherd station) and take a ride down from there.
Where to stay:
The hike can easily be done in one day, so there is no need for accommodation. However, there exists the possibility to stay in the Bergrestaurant Fluhalp. Unlike in other parts of Switzerland, wild camping is officially not allowed in the Zermatt area.