Chris and I took a day trip to Gornergrat to get a closer look at Matterhorn and the surrounding mountain peaks. 

View other posts in this series:

• Secret Trip Preview
• Destination #1 – Clues
  • Lufthansa A380 First Class
  • Activities in Vienna, Austria
  • Food in Vienna, Austria
  • Park Hyatt Vienna
• Destination #2 – Clues
  • Transit – Vienna, Austria to Florence, Italy
  • Activities in Florence, Italy
  • Day Trip to Pisa
  • Hotel de la Villa (Florence)
• Destination #3 – Clues
  • Transit – Florence, Italy to Milan, Italy
  • Activities in Milan, Italy
  • Restaurant VUN
  • Park Hyatt Milan
• Destination #4 – Clues
  • Transit – Milan, Italy to Zermatt, Switzerland
  • Activities in Zermatt, Switzerland
  • Gornergrat (this post)
  • Hotel Matterhorn Focus
• Destination #5 – Clues
  • Glacier Express
  • Activities in Zurich, Switzerland
  • Park Hyatt Zurich
• Destination #6 – Clues
  • Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class
  • Conrad Maldives Complimentary Food
  • Conrad Maldives Dining
  • Conrad Maldives Water Villa
• Destination #7 – Clues
  • Transit – Maldives to Singapore
  • Activities in Singapore
  • Dining in Singapore
  • Grand Hyatt Singapore
• Destination #8 / 9 – Clues
  • Thai Airways Lounge and First Class
  • Activities in Hong Kong
  • Dining in Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong Disneyland
  • Ocean Park Hong Kong
  • Day Trip to Macau
  • Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui
  • Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
• Destination #10 – Clues
  • Cathay Pacific Business Class
  • Activities in Seoul, South Korea
  • Dining in Seoul, South Korea
  • Park Hyatt Seoul
• Asiana A380 First Class

The hotel provided us with a guide book for adventures in the mountains from Zermatt, which included details (length of trail, time for hike and way back, difference in attitude, difficulty level) of summer hiking opportunities. We decided on a hike from Gornergrat (through Rotenboden) to Riffelberg for a two reasons: (1) the hike was downhill and less than two hours, and (2) the view of Matterhorn reflection on Lake Riffelsee looked amazing in the guidebook.

Gornergrat is accessible from Zermatt via the Gornergrat Bahn. We purchased a one way ticket from Zermatt to Gornergrat for 43.00 SFr per person since we were not returning up to Gornergrat after our hike down. We scanned our ticket and, after a short wait in the holding area, boarded the train. We purposefully sat by the window on the right side of the train to see the specular views of the Matterhorn on the way up the mountain.

We disembarked the train at the last stop Gornergrat, 3,089 meters (10,132 feet) above sea level. The panoramic views of the Swiss Alps (including Matterhorn peak) were amazing. Chris and I took pictures of the amazing views as well as with Wolli (mascot of Matterhorn in Zermatt). We also purchased water and a Toblerone (with crushed corn) from a shop at Gornergrat to fuel us during our hike.

The hiking trails were clearly labeled with symbols painted on rocks and signs posted on poles. The breathtaking views throughout the journey down the mountainside made the hike easy and enjoyable. My favorite part of the hike was seeing Matterhorn reflected off Riffelsee Lake. There is something about mountains and trees reflected off water makes the scenery extra soothing and relaxing.

At the end of our hike, we saw the crew dismantling The Matterhorn Story Open Air Theater at Riffelberg. We did not make it in time to Zermatt to view The Matterhorn Story (performances through 2015.29.08) depicting the first ascent of the Matterhorn 150 years ago.

The summer hike was a wonderful adventure away from the city, but we may need to return here again in the winter for some snow activities!