Matterhorn walking holiday in Switzerland

The bustling Alpine town of Zermatt has attracted trekkers and climbers for many years offering some of the most spectacular and varied walking in the Alps. Using Zermatt as our base, we make 2 expeditions staying at well-run traditional and locally owned Swiss mountain huts with their generous hospitality and picture-perfect locations.

There is also the opportunity to climb the Breithorn where a local Swiss guide assists our ascent of the Breithorn on Day 7, a non-technical Alpine peak rising to 4164m and giving wonderful views of the region. The hotel we use environmental policy includes changing its sheets and towels when clients leave and the mountain huts cook at set meal times for the whole hut (serving up to 60 people at the time) – both sets of accommodation are owned and run by local Swiss families who have passed on their skills down the generations.

We trek through great larch forests, past glaciers and gushing rivers, and through open Alpine scenery. There are numerous high peaks including the Monte Rosa massif, which is the second highest peak in Europe, and of course the majestic and omnipresent Matterhorn. There is also the opportunity to visit the Hornli Hut, which is the base camp for climbers attempting the Matterhorn.

Other environmental policies include; minimising the group size to 14 which allows for minimal impact on the community, sticking to marked paths when walking, taking all picnic rubbish back to the town (none is ‘thrown to the birds’ in the mountains) and Mountain Leaders are duty-bound to keep the mountain environment well protected.