Today we were going to visit the Matterhorn. It takes about 4 hours to travel by train from Geneva to the town of Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn so we wanted to make sure that weather was nice before heading there. We checked the forecast and it was clear and sunny.
We took the train to Visp where we were going to switch to the scenic train to Zermatt. For the first hour of the journey we were in familiar territory alongside the Lake Geneva. After Montreux the train began climbing and shortly afterwards we entered the canton of Valais. Valais means valley; the valley being the Rhône Valley. The River Rhône has its source there (at the Rhône Glacier naturally) and runs through a valley cut deeply into the mountains for 80 miles before entering Lake Geneva. The early tourist to the area was Julius Caesar who came with an army to conquer the Celtic community living in the valley. Aside from Matterhorn, Valais is home to many other peaks exceeding 13,000 feet and the largest glaciers in the Alps. There are also a lot of vineyards and orchards in the area as we could see from the train window.
In Visp we transferred to a train on the narrow gauge cog railway for a spectacular 1-hour ride to Zermatt. It is western-most stretch of the famous Glacier Express between Zermatt and St. Moritz. The Glacier Express is the slowest train in Europe to bear the name Express, some say it is the slowest express train in the world. It took the train over an hour to cover less than 25 miles but we gained over 3000 feet of elevation and the views were absolutely spectacular. The route went through a narrow and steep mountain valley (the Mattertal valley). The river flowing thru the valley (the Mattervispa River) was very fast and had an off-white milky color from the glacial runoff.
We saw several snow-clad mountains from the window but the first view of the Matterhorn comes only after stepping outside Zermatt's train station.
Zermatt derives its name from the surrounding alpine meadows. "Zur Matte" translates as "at/in the meadow." It became famous after British mountaineers climbed the Matterhorn for the very first time in 1865. To prevent air pollution there are no motorized vehicles in Zermatt. Besides electrically-powered cars and bicycles, the only form of transport allowed is horse-drawn sleighs and carriages. Zermatt is only about 10 km from the border with Italy but it cannot be crossed by road, as it traverses a glacier at an altitude of over 10,000 feet. The proximity, however, may explain why Italian cuisine was so popular at local restaurants. The menu at the outdoor café where we had lunch had mostly Italian dishes. After lunch were took a short stroll around town and were ready to get up close with the Matterhorn.
The best way to see the Matterhorn is to take the Gornergrat railway. The journey is a very slow ride up to the Gornegrat ("Gorner ridge") peak at 10,134 feet. By the time we boarded the train it was early afternoon and there weren't many people on the train. We could pick any seats and move around to get the better views. Richard certainly took advantage of this opportunity with so many great views coming up on both sides.
Entire journey to the top takes around 40 minutes. The rack railway winds its way up the mountain letting the Matterhorn appear ever larger and more magnificent. Train goes thru the pine and larch forests and across alpine meadows, over the bridge high above the gorge and through an 800 m gallery built to protect from avalanches and heavy snowdrifts. The gorge had a spectacular waterfall.
On the way up, the train stops at several stations. Some of them have hotel and restaurant. Even the top station has a hotel. It is called Kulm Gornergrat and is the highest hotel in the Alps. Talk about a room with the view! There are also two restaurants, shopping and one of the silver domed towers houses an observatory.
The view from the top is simply breathtaking: 29 snow and ice-covered mountains over 13 and 14 thousand feet high including the highest peak in the Swiss Alps (and the second highest summit in the Alps) the Dufourspitze ("Dufour Peak").
Most people do not realize that the Matterhorn is not the highest peak in the Swiss Alps but it is still the most famous and probably most dramatic. It also has three quite different names. German (and English) speakers know it as the Matterhorn; it is called Mont Cervin in French, and Monte Cervino in Italian. To the locals it is simply Horu. The German name seems to be the most fitting as it does look like the giant horn sitting in the meadow.
On the way back down we saw the marmots but they weren't gracious enough to pose for the pictures.
This was our last night in Geneva and last chance (at least during this visit) to see the night-time views of the city. We walked from out hotel to the lake and then along the promenade by the lakeside. The illuminated Water Fountain (Jet d'Eau) and multi-colored reflections in the lake made for a stunning sight.
