Location: Valais

At 3,089 m above Zermatt, the Gornergrat offers one of the grandest mountain panoramas in the Alps, with views of the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa and a ring of over 20 four-thousanders. The Gornergrat Railway, the highest open-air cog railway in Europe, has led up since 1898. At the top stand a hotel and an observatory.HighlightsPanorama of the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa massifGornergrat Railway (highest…

Leukerbad is the largest thermal-bath village in the Alps; every day millions of litres of around 51-degree spring water bubble out of the mountain into numerous baths. Above the village, the historic Gemmi Pass leads on foot or by cable car into the Bernese Oberland. A backdrop of vertical rock faces frames the village.HighlightsLargest alpine thermal-bath offeringAround 51 °C warm…

The Lötschental is considered one of the most unspoilt high valleys in the Alps. Long reachable only by mule tracks, it preserved old customs such as the terrifying Tschäggättä masks of carnival. Today trails and the Lötschberg open up the valley before the backdrop of the Bietschhorn and glaciers.HighlightsUnspoilt valley landscape and customsTschäggättä carnival masksHigh trail with glacier viewsKühmatt pilgrimage siteGood to knowLocationnorthern…

The Matterhorn, at 4,478 m, is one of the highest and at the same time the most famous mountain in the Alps. Its almost free-standing, pyramidal shape on the border between Swiss Zermatt and Italian Breuil-Cervinia is one of the most photographed mountain motifs in the world. The first ascent in 1865 by Edward Whymper's party ended on the descent…

The Great Aletsch Glacier is, at around 20 km long, the longest and largest glacier in the Alps and the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch. From the Aletsch Forest and the viewpoints Eggishorn, Bettmerhorn and Moosfluh you look out over the mighty stream of ice, fed by the firn fields of the Jungfrau region. Like all Alpine glaciers…

Saas-Fee lies at 1,800 m at the head of the Saas valley, surrounded by thirteen four-thousand-metre peaks, among them the Dom (4,545 m), the highest mountain lying entirely on Swiss soil. The car-free village is regarded as the Pearl of the Alps and is known for its year-round glacier ski area and the world's highest revolving-restaurant view, reached by the Metro Alpin…