wanderlust – Vanie's View

If you visit me and don’t have any preference where to go in Switzerland, you most likely will be taken for a hike to see the longest glacier in Europe – Aletsch. I have hiked and camped with family, friends, and colleagues to see this UNESCO World Heritage site 11 times! The views amazes me every time. Not to mention the SBB Day Pass or Coop Tageskarte includes the gondola rides, which is mostly not the case everywhere else. Now that I think about it, it’s probably the main driver why I take guests here. 🙂

There’s plenty of trail options in this area, but I always do a variation of this Summer Hike starting (more often) or ending at Fiescheralp.

Technical details: 17.54 KM, 1044m up / 840m down, Time: 05:52 (not including breaks)

Depending on the appetite for the day, we may end at Riederalp or Moohsfluh if we started from Fiescheralp. We did an overnight stay at Bettmeralp when we did the walk above. Though if one starts early enough, it could be done as a day trip from Basel. This hike includes a 1 KM long, usually very cold, foot tunnel which leads to Märjelensee. Don’t ignore the small ponds in this area, they make for interesting photos. Aside from the tunnel, it’s mostly walking under the sun, so make sure you are up and prepared for that.

During autumn, there are wild blueberries along the way. I also somehow associate alpine roses with this hike. My favourite lunch or snack break is somewhere along the trail just above Märjelensee where you can enjoy a view of the glacier connecting to the surrounding mountain range. On a clear day, you can see Matterhorn from the trail (it’s very small though, but still very recognizable). Also from Märjelensee, there’s a there and back trail that would take you to the glacier level where you can be close enough to touch it. It’s a red trail, but I found it not safe enough to take everybody (myself included). It’s a bit slippery and the trail is not always obvious. Do this only if you know what you’re doing.

In winter, we took the gondola to one of the view points and walk from there to Riederalp through Riederfurka or simply to one of the closer gondola stations.