Zermatt Attractions

There is a spectacular trip on the highest cableway in Europe from the Trochenen Steg to the north face of the Kleines Matterhorn (3,820 m/12,537ft). From the upper station there is a lift to the summit of the Kleines Matterhorn (3,884 m/12,747ft). A cableway from Furgg leads to the Schwarzsee (restaurant).

20 minutes above the Zum See huts on the road to the Schwarzsee take a road on the right which ascends through beautiful mountain forests, high up on the right bank of the Zmuttbach, to the Staffelalp (2,206 m/7,238ft: restaurant), with a magnificent view of the Matterhorn and the Zmutt glacier, littered with rock debris. The Smuttbach has been dammed and harnessed to produce electric power.

The road from Visp, in the Rhône valley, is open to cars only as far as Täsch (30km/19mi), which has a large parking area (fee) at the station. In winter, depending on weather conditions, it may be advisable to take the railroad from Visp or St Niklaus. The railroad from Visp to Zermatt (the Brig-Visp-Zermatt or BVZ narrow-gauge electric line; 35km/22mi, journey time 1.25/1.5 hours) runs alongside the road into the Nikolai valley. In 7km/4mi we come to Stalden-Saas (803 m/2,635ft), at the junction of the Saas valley (through which flows the Saaser Vispa) and the Nikolai valley (Matter Vispa). The old timber houses in Valais style cluster around the white parish church on high ground. A cableway ascends the east side of the valley to Staldenried and the Gspon plateau (1,893 m/6,211ft); a road on the west side leads to the mountain village of Törbel (1,491 m/4,892ft, 8km/5mi northwest). The Zermatt road now climbs up the Nikolai valley through the Kipfen gorge and in another 8km/5mi reaches St Niklaus (1,130 m/3,708ft), the largest village in the Nikolai valley which is closely hemmed in by mountains. It has a fine parish church of 1964 with a medieval tower and three beautiful Baroque altars. From St Niklaus, a narrow and winding road climbs 8km/5mi northeast to Grächen (1,617 m/5,305ft), which stands on a commanding mountain terrace traversed by irrigation channels (bisses). It is a village which attracts both summer visitors and winter sports enthusiasts and it has an indoor swimming pool. There is a cableway to the Hannigalp (2,110 m/ 6,923ft; skiing). 26km/16mi further on you pass through Randa (1,410 m/ 4,626ft) at the foot of the Mischabel group, before reaching Täsch in 29km/ 18mi, a picturesque little village. The peak of the Matterhorn now comes into view.

In Zermatt's Mont Cervin Hôtel is the very interesting Alpine Museum, with an extensive display of material concerning the climbing of the mountains around Zermatt (local guides and famous alpinists). The cartographic and folkloristic exhibits are also notable and include furniture, minerals, indigenous flora and fauna.

The life of Zermatt is primarily on the main street, which runs from the station to the market square, with a charming contrast between hotels and elegant shops and old village houses.

At the bridge over the Vispa, on a strip of land between that river and its tributary the Triftbach, is the Zermatt cemetery, with the graves of many climbers who met their death on the mountains, including Whymper's guide Michel Croz and his companion Hadow. Higher up in the village a few of the old larch-wood storehouses still survive, with large circular slabs of stone on the supporting posts to deter mice.

Above the Zermatt Alpine Museum are the guides' and ski school office and the English church (1871), built by the Alpine Club (founded 1857), which has the graves of climbers in the churchyard. Farther up the village is the Monte Rosa Hotel (1852), for 30 years the headquarters of all climbers in Zermatt, which has preserved much of its original character. A bronze plaque (1925) commemorates Edward Whymper, who made a series of attempts on the Matterhorn between 1860 and 1865. The neat little parish church to the left of the hotel dates from 1576.

Around the Zermatt market square are the Gemeindehaus (communal council house) and six characteristic old village houses, on one of which is a tablet commemorating Whymper's guides, the two Taugwalders (father and son). Here, too, is the charming Marmot Fountain (1902). The handsome church of St Maurice, rebuilt in 1914, has a tower modeled on that of the earlier church.

In the gardens of the Mont Cervin Hotel is a stone pyramid (1902) with marble plaques of Alexandre Seilder and his wife, to whom the development of Zermatt as a resort was due.

Zermatt provides facilities for skiing throughout the year, with skiing grounds all lying at an altitude between 2,500 m/8,250ft and 3,900 m/12,800ft. They are accessible by numerous lifts: Schwarzsee-Trockener Steg-Theodul, Riffelberg-Gornergrat-Stockhorn, Sunnegga-Blauherd- Unterrothorn; in summer it is possible to ski on the Breithorn plateau (cableway to the Kleines Matterhorn) and on the Plateau Rosa (3,500 m/11,487ft) near the Theodul Pass. A special thrill can be had with heli-skiing or by taking part in a high-altitude ski-tour. There are delightful cross-country ski-runs (including a night-track of 3km/nearly 2mi, from Winkelmatten to Tutra) and about 50km/30mi of ski-tracks. In addition there are two natural-ice skating rinks and several curling rinks.

Dominated by the Matterhorn, the picturesque, car-free town of Zermatt has long been a winter playground. And because it is far enough away from major centers it doesn't attract the big weekend crowds. Zermatt offers three ski areas on one pass, Switzerland's highest vertical drop (more than 7,000 feet) and the Klein Matterhorn glacier that allows skiing year-round. Descending from the glacier, skiers can stop for lunch in the Italian town of Cervinia before heading back to Switzerland for dinner.