Short-day hikes in Zermatt, Switzerland: getting the best of Matterhorn

 

In an earlier post, I described my visit to Zermatt in Switzerland and the iconic mountain known as Matterhorn that one should not miss. Zermatt is definitely an ideal tourist destination when one is visiting Switzerland! I usually like to go to a place as a traveler rather than as a tourist, and the features of a place while traveling are better noticed when hiking. 

This time, I will be suggesting some hiking trails around Zermatt that are easy to moderately doable, and enable one to enjoy viewing Matterhorn at the same time! 

The first tip is to check the weather; one may even miss having a full view of Matterhorn even on a slightly cloudy day!

One of the hiking trails that gives a nice view of Matterhorn

A hike that I enjoyed a lot was the trail that starts from Zermatt and ends at Lake Schwarzsee. The elevation gain is around 1 km, but can still be done with intervals in between or even with a steady go! In the end, it is about how much you love the hike and surely one will, because of the amazing views this one offers!

Lake Schwarzsee with a view of Matterhorn

 

One can also take this hiking trail the other way around, that is to descend all the way to Zermatt. This is possible as there are cable cars that go directly from Zermatt to Schwarzsee. No matter what, one will be able to reach the destination by lunchtime. 

Lunch break with a view of the Lake Schwarzsee 

Yet another hiking trail that I liked is called the 'Mark Twain Trail' which turned out to be a fairly easy and short one. If one has less time in Zermatt and still wants to enjoy the best view of Matterhorn in a less crowded atmosphere, I would recommend taking this short hike to Riffelberg and enjoying the view of Matterhorn over lunch from the restaurant there. Of course, the restaurant up on top of Gornergrat, the highest accessible point close to Matterhorn, is the most people-recommended one, but I loved the restaurant on top of Riffelberg as more closer to nature.

The view of Matterhorn on the way from Riffelalp to Riffelberg

My favorite hike among the less strenuous hikes is the 'Five Lakes Walk', because it is a thematic one. Three of the lakes show a reflection of Matterhorn on a clear day and all of them provide nice views while relaxing for a break on their banks. Though it is an easy hike to visit the first three lakes that give splendid views of Matterhorn in the background, the sudden ascent to Lake Stellisee and finally to the cable car station Blauherd requires a medium level of fitness. If one has two days to spend in Zermatt and a sunny day to enjoy, this hike would be the best thing to do! 

Reflection of Matterhorn captured over Lake Grindjisee

Many more easy to medium-level hiking trails are available on the website of Zermatt (https://www.zermatt.ch), out of which I pointed out my personal favorites. There are also interesting and more challenging hikes as well as traveler tips to get the best out of visiting Zermatt that I will be explaining in detail in my upcoming posts. Stay tuned! 

The Tuscan countryside- the outskirts of San Gimignano

San Gimignano is one of those fairytale-like cities that gives one the taste and feel of Tuscany in Italy. Equally interesting is the countryside, which is just outside the medieval walls of the city. 

View of the old city of San Gimignano from our hotel

The hotel where me and my mom stayed (https://www.hoteldagraziano.it/) gave us amazing views of the city as well as the countryside, which was everything that we wanted at an affordable price. After starting to head in the direction opposite to that of the city, we could already see the rolling hills on the horizon covered with vineyards and cypress trees. 

A drone shot of the hills in the Tuscan countryside

We were very excited about visiting a winery and doing some wine tasting, as part of our itinerary. The wines tasted nice and the place was elegant (https://palagetto.it/en/), which motivated even my mom, who was not used to drinking wine, to try a few of the wines 😀 As I like red wine more, I drank a lot of Chianti, and also bought some!

View of a winery along the way

We walked aimlessly along the different roads in the countryside after our winery visit, just to feel the wind brushing past the cypress trees. It is no wonder why movies picture Tuscany as the best place to feel life, even a little slowly. 

We visited the small province of Santa Lucia, where we spent some time walking along the streets and doing some sightseeing. The next day was already planned to be a full day, so we thought of spending this day as leisurely as possible to recharge our batteries.

There was rain in the late afternoon, but that did not spoil our plan. The view outside still looked pretty, I would say even prettier, with the dramatic skies and the pleasant greens. 

The Tuscan sky after the rains

It is very important to taste the 'Tuscan Ragu' (which can be any meat) when in Tuscany. I chose the one with duck meat for that evening, a special cuisine as suggested by the hotel. It was a real treat when tasted along with some nice white wine. 

Spaghetti with Tuscan duck sauce

 

Me and the natural world- the connection

 

One of the coolest attention-pulling words used by travel bloggers and vloggers these days is ‘getting inspired by nature’. Well, I ask myself this question of how much I connect with the natural world every time I come back after a journey. Do I involve myself a lot more in electronic gadgets than I want to?

After I find an answer to that question, I try to make my next travel a lot better than the previous one by involving myself more with the surroundings and absorbing the present.

 

Connecting with nature had helped me on my path to becoming more mindful. In my earlier years, I chose this as an option when I felt stressed at work or with my personal life. Later it turned out to be less of an option. Just like how geology frames my life!

 I find the utmost happiness in hiking or wandering, getting some fresh air from mountains, forests, beaches, or anything natural. This is what doing research as a geologist had always made me.  I had often gaped in awe at intricate details of the natural world, and sometimes the effects of the surroundings on me can even be tiny. Sometimes my whole travel plan turns out to be a flop due to excessive rains (I am a fan of rain in tropical lands, but not in temperate landscapes!), had stressed me out with not getting my visa until the last minute travel, but all these were part of the whole package. Many a time, I had forgotten to take clear and nice pictures or videos of my journeys, and probably that is why they stayed as memories and made a larger impact on my life. 

My Zen

 

About me

I like to travel- small travels, long travels, up a mountain, down a valley, to a sloppy marsh, to smoky volcanoes, to ancient castles, to bustling cities, to fairy tale villages, to Gothic haunts; a visit to Como, a flight to Boston, up the Matterhorn, down Shimla valley, to the bogs of Galway, to the puffy Etna, to ancient Stonehenge, to the Broadway theater. My travels go on.

If you ask me what interests me most, I don’t have a specific answer. Landscape fascinates me; my camera always captures pristine nature. People and their food interest me. I try to understand their temperament through their food- the spicy Andhra lamb curry, the cheesy spaghetti Carbonara, the slurpy Ramen, the huge hamburgers of N.Y. I take care to taste the local food wherever I go.

Looking at the Thun castle I say, this is sandstone, typical of the place. Bending my neck backwards to view the tallest spike in the cathedral of Milan (ancient cathedrals attract me, I do not know why!) I say, oh, Gothic art in marble. I collect rocks from the places I go (when people collect curios and jewellery!).

So, in short, I am an enthusiastic traveler, who travel for the sheer joy of it. I am a photographer (not professional) and a foodie. I appreciate art, ancient and modern. That explains me. Now you might be wondering about my interest in rocks. I am a Geologist too!!