Where to start/end your Tour of Monte Rosa hike?
The Tour of Monte Rosa is a circumnavigation of the Monte Rosa and Mischabel group massifs. There are 4 popular locations to start/end your hike on the Tour of Monte Rosa - Saas Fee, Zermatt and Grächen in Switzerland, and Alagna in Italy.
ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND
The car-free village of Zermatt draws mountain lovers and adventurers from all over the world. It has a massive range of accommodations, international cuisines, specialty stores, and all the other shops and services you'd expect from a world-class resort. The iconic Matterhorn towers above, constantly drawing attention from people in the village and surrounding mountains as the sky changes throughout the day. It's a worthy destination to bookend and celebrate your epic Tour of Monte Rosa hike.
Zermatt: A popular start/end location for the Tour of Monte Rosa
Choose Zermatt as your start/end location in our planning app for accurate daily hiking stats.
Transport: Easily accessible by train from international airports in Switzerland including Geneva, Zurich and Basel. Travel time from all 3 airports are between 3.5 and 4 hours. Trains depart once or twice per hour and will cost between 100-130 CHF. It is also possible to travel from Milan-Malpensa airport in 4-5 hours. See SBB.CH for schedules, prices and online ticket purchases. Pre-purchasing your ticket is not required. You can purchase at the train station upon arrival.
Supplies & Services: Plenty of outdoor stores to buy any last minute hiking or camping gear and supplies, and well stocked supermarkets to buy food and snacks.
Acclimatisation: Population of 5,800 and located at 1,600m / 5,275ft elevation, it is a full service village town (restaurants, supermarkets, bars and shops to buy all the Swiss souvenirs your backpack can hold!). It offers a large range of day hikes to acclimatise prior to your tour.
Saas Fee (Switzerland):
Saas Fee, known as “The Pearl of the Alps", is a glacial village located at 1800m / 5,900ft on a high alpine plateau and is most renowned for the 13 four thousand meter peaks and their glaciers that surround it. It offers a wonderful variety of day hikes to acclimatise prior to your tour, gondolas/cable cars/funiculars to whisk you up to restaurants on the edge of glaciers and plenty of outdoor stores to buy any last minute hiking or camping gear and supplies.
Saas Fee: A popular start/end location for the Tour of Monte Rosa
Choose Saas Fee as your start/end location in our planning app for accurate daily hiking stats.
Transport: Easily accessible with a combination of train and bus from international airports in Switzerland including Geneva, Zurich and Basel. Travel time from all 3 airports are between 3.5 and 4 hours. Trains depart once or twice per hour and will cost between 85-110 CHF. It is also possible to travel from Milan-Malpensa airport in 3.5-5 hours. See SBB.CH for schedules, prices and online ticket purchases. Pre-purchasing your ticket is not required, however, you may be able to secure a cheaper price if you buy in advance. You easily can purchase at the train station upon arrival.
Supplies & Services: Plenty of outdoor stores to buy any last minute hiking or camping gear and supplies, and well stocked supermarkets to buy food and snacks.
Acclimatisation: The glacial village is located at 1800m / 5,900ft on a high alpine plateau and is most renowned for the 13 four thousand meter peaks and their glaciers that surround it. It offers a wonderful variety of day hikes to acclimatise prior to your tour. Gondolas, cable cars and buses are free for visitors staying in the valley.
Grächen, switzerland
The mountain village is situated on a broad sun terrace in the Mattertal Valley, which focuses on being a family-friendly resort. Grächen has a reputation as a hiking destination due to the famous Höhenweg and Europweg trails connecting it to Saas-Fee and Zermatt, respectively, and a broader network of trails through the forest, to mountain lakes, along irrigation channels, and even to the edge of a glacier. It is a full-service village with many hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and a bakery.
Grächen: A popular start/end location for the Tour of Monte Rosa
Choose Grächen as your start/end location in our planning app for accurate daily hiking stats.
ALAGNA VALSESIA, ITALY
This small mountain town is located at 1,191m /3,907ft within the Valsesia alpine valley, a UNESCO World heritage site since 2013. The town has several buildings built around 1500–1600 in a pure "Walser Style" using local wood and stones, still in perfect condition. There are several hotels, restaurants, small supermarkets, and ATMs available.
Alagna Valsesia: An alternate start/end location for the Tour of Monte Rosa
Choose Alagna Valsesia as your start/end location in our planning app for accurate daily hiking stats.
Transport: The closest international airport is Milan-Malpensa. From here you can catch a combination of buses and trains to reach Alagna. Options include train and bus via Novara, or buses via Milan. The frequency is varied by day and time. Approximate travel time is 5 hours and will cost between 20-35 EUR. Rome2Rio provides a good overview of the transport options by day, time and type. Some trains and bus tickets can be pre-purchased. Private transfers start from 190 EUR and will take ~2 hours. These can also be found on Rome2Rio.
Supplies & Services: A small mountain town with limited options. There is one small supermarket to buy food and snacks before your hike.
Acclimatisation: Located at 1,191m /3,907ft within the Valsesia alpine valley, it is a UNESCO World heritage site since 2013. It offers a mixture of culture and hiking opportunities prior to your tour.