# Aletsch Glacier

The largest glacier in the Alps, more than 20 km long, within the Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site. It can be admired from the car-free villages of Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/switzerland/valais/aletsch-glacier · Revisado: 2026-11-12

## Getting there from Spain

Fly to Geneva, Zurich or Milan and continue by train to Brig. There you take the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn train towards Fiesch and get off at Mörel (for Riederalp), Betten (for Bettmeralp) or Fiesch (for Fiescheralp). From each station a cable car goes up to its village. Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp have no cars: if you arrive in your own, you leave it below, in the cable car car park.

## Getting around between the three villages

They sit on the same terrace, at around 2,000 m, linked by paths and by chairlifts and gondolas that go up to the viewpoints: Moosfluh from Riederalp, Bettmerhorn from Bettmeralp and Eggishorn from Fiescheralp. With one base and two days you see the glacier from above and have time left for a long walk or a guided trek on the ice.

## Crowds and what to book

What needs booking in good time is the guided glacier trek, because the groups are small. Cable cars are bought on the day. Bear in mind that a new cable car to the Eggishorn is being built until 2028: the summit circular trail is closed and in summer 2027 it only opens from 5 June to 15 August.

## Where to eat

Restaurant Riederfurka, Valais cooking beside Villa Cassel, at the edge of the forest

Hotel Alpfrieden Restaurant, a sunny terrace in the centre of Bettmeralp since 1954

Hotel des Alpes Restaurant, Goms chouera and its own beer in Fiesch, near the train

## Where to stay

Golfhotel Riederhof, on the Riederalp promenade, with a wellness area

Hotel Waldhaus Bettmeralp, a small hotel 100 m from the gondola, with half board

Fiescher Hostel, a hostel with its own station in Fiesch, for spending little

## Dónde está
- Zonas: Alps
- Cerca: Jungfrau Region (a 21.4 km), Zermatt (a 53.6 km), Lucerne (a 69.7 km), Lavaux (a 102.1 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Guided crossing of the Aletsch Glacier from Fiescheralp** (6 h · From age 10, used to walking · Desde 99 € adult): The Great Aletsch Glacier is more than 20 km long and is the longest in the Alps. This is the way to touch it without high-mountain experience: the guide chooses the route, ties the rope and explains how the ice moves and retreats.
What it is and who runs it
The Aletschgletscher Rundtour is a day excursion run by the Bergsteigerzentrum Aletsch, the mountain guides' centre in Fiesch. It is not a climb: it is a long walk with a stretch of about two hours on the ice, roped up, with a harness and crampons lent by the centre. The guide first gives a talk on how to move on the glacier and, along the way, explains its history and its retreat. Halfway round you eat on one of the great medial moraines, the stripes of stone the glacier carries down the middle.
The approach is part of the charm: you go up to Fiescheralp, cross the Tälligrat tunnel and pass Lake Märjelen before setting foot on the ice.
When it runs
In 2027 it runs on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5 to 27 June and from 30 August to 24 October, and every day from 28 June to 29 August. A minimum of six people is needed for it to go ahead. In July and August many dates fill up: the website marks those that are full.
Price and booking
It costs CHF 99 per adult and CHF 89 per child aged 10 to 16, with harness and crampons included. It does not include the cable car from Fiesch to Fiescheralp, which you pay for separately. You book and pay on the centre's website, or at its office in Fiesch, open every day.
If you want to do it without an early start, the centre has a two-day version, Erlebnis Aletschgletscher: a night in a hotel in Fiescheralp with half board, an aperitif and a picnic, and the crossing the next day, for CHF 239, also without the cable car.
Requirements
No mountain experience is needed, but you do need to be fit enough to walk about six hours and place your feet with confidence. The centre considers it technically straightforward, but insists that it is an alpine excursion. The minimum age is 10.
For children of 8 or 9 there is another option: the Bergsteigerschule Riederalp runs the UNESCO Glacier Tour from the Moosfluh, with the Aletsch Arena as the booking point. It accepts children from age 8, leaves at 9:00 from the Moosfluh valley station in Riederalp and costs CHF 90 per adult and CHF 70 per child aged 8 to 16, without the gondola. It runs on Wednesdays from early July to early October, and also on Tuesdays and Thursdays from mid-July to mid-August, with a minimum of eight people and booking until 17:00 the day before.
How to get to Fiesch
Fiesch has a Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn station, on the line from Brig towards the Goms valley. The meeting point is the guides' centre itself, in the Volken shop and café, inside the valley station of the Fiesch – Fiescheralp gondola, at Fieschertalstrasse 1. If you drive, park there. Sleeping the night before in Fiesch or Fiescheralp saves you the early start.
If the weather changes
The glacier is done in good weather. If the forecast is bad, the centre may change or cancel the departure: leave a contact phone number when you book and allow another day's margin in your trip. Take out accident and cancellation insurance; the centre leaves this to the participant.
- **From Belalp to Riederalp over the Massa suspension bridge** (4 h 30 · 12.5 km · Fit walkers with a head for heights · Independent · you pay for the cable cars): It is the route that best shows how far the glacier has retreated: before, to go from Belalp to Riederalp you crossed over the ice; today you need a bridge over the gorge it left behind when it withdrew.
What it is
A crossing from slope to slope at the southern end of the Great Aletsch Glacier. You start at Belalp, on the Naters side, go down towards the Aletschji, cross the Massa gorge on a suspension bridge and climb the other slope, through the Aletsch Forest, to the Riederfurka and Riederalp. It is 12.5 km, about 4 h 30 of walking, 582 m of ascent and 767 m of descent, between 1,560 and 2,133 m above sea level.
The bridge opened in 2008 and restored the crossing between Belalp and Riederalp that was lost when the glacier stopped covering the gorge. It is 124 m long, hangs 80 m above the torrent and has a metal grating floor: you see the water beneath your feet. From the bridge you can see the glacier tongue, but only a small part of the Aletsch; the great views come later, on the climb to Riederfurka.
How to get to Belalp and return from Riederalp
It is a one-way crossing: you start and finish in different places, so the practical thing is to go by public transport. From Brig station the PostBus goes to Blatten, above Naters, and from there the cable car to Belalp. At the end you go down from Riederalp to Mörel by cable car and return to Brig on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn train.
For that there is the combined Belalp – Riederalp ticket, sold by PostBus drivers, Aletsch Bahnen and Bergbahnen Belalp. It includes the bus from Brig to Blatten, the Blatten – Belalp cable car, the descent from Riederalp to Mörel and the train back to Brig. Note: the Aletsch Explorer pass covers neither the PostBus nor the Belalp cable car.
If you drive, leave the car in Brig or Mörel and use the combined ticket; that way you do not have to go back to the starting point for it.
Difficulty
The official page rates it as difficult. It has no technical passages, but it is long and the ascent is badly distributed: first you descend more than 500 m to the bridge, and then you have to climb about 500 m non-stop via Silbersand and the Bischofsitz with tired legs. The bridge requires sure footing and no fear of heights: it moves with people's steps. If you are unsure, Valais/Wallis Promotion says it bluntly: if you are afraid of heights, better not.
When to go
Without snow, from mid-June to mid-October approximately. July and August are the months with the least risk of snow; in September there are fewer people. Check the path report before setting out: the route page flags closures due to snow, rockfall or works.
Water, shade and food
At Belalp, beside the start, is the Hotel Belalp. On the route there are no bars until the Riederfurka, where the Villa Cassel tea room opens in summer from 10:30 to 17:30, and then Riederalp. The descent to the Aletschji and the final climb have little shade: take at least a litre and a half of water per person and something to eat.
With children and with a dog
With teenagers who walk, yes. For small children it is too long and the bridge may frighten them. If you take a dog, in the Aletsch Forest it must be on a lead; also think about whether it will dare to cross a grating 80 m above the ground.
If the weather changes
In a storm, do not cross the bridge: it is an exposed metal structure in the middle of the gorge. Before the bridge, going back to Belalp is the shortest way out; after it, continue towards Riederfurka without dawdling.
- **Eggishorn viewpoint, at 2,869 m** (2 h · All ages; not wheelchair or pushchair accessible during the works · Aletsch Explorer day pass, CHF 55; CHF 27.50 with the Swiss Travel Pass): What you see from the top
The Eggishorn, at 2,869 m, is the highest of the four viewpoints in the Aletsch Arena and the only one from which the Great Aletsch Glacier can be seen almost in its entirety: the 20 km of ice from the Konkordiaplatz, where the glaciers that feed it meet, to the bend that goes down towards the valley. Behind appear the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau. If you are only going up one viewpoint and want the full view, this is it; if you prefer to see the great bend up close, the Bettmerhorn shows it better.
The building work: what changes until 2028
Aletsch Bahnen is replacing the Fiescheralp to Eggishorn cable car with a new installation. Work began in spring 2026 and is done in the summers so as not to interrupt the winter; the definitive reopening is planned for December 2028, with the 2028/29 ski season. In the meantime:

Winter: the cable car runs normally in 2026/27 and 2027/28.
Summer 2027: it only runs from 5 June to 15 August. After that it closes for building work.
At the top: the circular summit path is closed, and the Grand Tour of Switzerland photo frame cannot be used.
Accessibility: the viewpoint is not accessible by wheelchair, with reduced mobility or with a pushchair during the works.
Toilets: very limited at the summit; use those at the valley station.

Do not enter the building site, follow the instructions and expect noise and the odd last-minute change. Before going up, check the Eggishorn project page on the Aletsch Arena website.
How to get up
The base is Fiesch, in the Goms valley, with a Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn station from Brig. In the village the Fiesch – Fiescheralp gondola leaves, climbing to 2,222 m, a car-free mountain village; if you arrive by car, park at the valley station. At Fiescheralp you take the cable car to the Eggishorn. Allow about two hours from Fiescheralp to go up, look in peace and come down, and half a day from Fiesch.
Tickets
The ticket that pays off is the Aletsch Explorer, the Aletsch Bahnen day pass: it includes the ascents from the valley to Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp, the four viewpoints and the train between Brig and Fiesch. Until 12 December 2026 it costs CHF 55 for adults and CHF 27.50 with the Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass, for children aged 6 to 15 and for young people aged 16 to 19; from 13 December, CHF 56 and CHF 28. With a GA travelcard, CHF 18. Dogs travel free. There are also single tickets from Fiesch to the Eggishorn in the Aletsch Arena online shop. The pass is not sold in Brig: buy it online or at the Aletsch Bahnen ticket offices.
At the top
On the summit there is a small restaurant, the Horli-Hitta. Close by starts the Eggishorn via ferrata, only for those with equipment and experience. The rest is looking: the platform faces the glacier and the four-thousanders. It is cold and windy even in August, so go up with a coat, a hat and sunglasses.
From Fiescheralp, too
If the cable car is closed for building work, do not go without the glacier. From Fiescheralp the route to Lake Märjelen leaves, reaching the edge of the ice, and in Fiesch is the guides' centre that organises the guided crossing of the glacier. From Riederalp and Bettmeralp you have the other viewpoints.
With children and if the weather changes
With children it is an easy ascent by transport, but right now you cannot go with a pushchair and the summit has fewer facilities. If there is cloud above 2,800 m you will not see the glacier: check the forecast and the Aletsch Arena cameras before buying the ticket. In a storm the cable cars may stop; do not stay up there if the sky turns nasty.
- **Bettmerhorn and the bend of the glacier** (2 h · All ages · Aletsch Explorer day pass, CHF 55; CHF 27.50 with the Swiss Travel Pass): What you see from the top
The Bettmerhorn is the central viewpoint of the Aletsch Arena, at 2,647 m. From the platform you see the Great Aletsch Glacier from the side, just where it leaves the straight stretch that comes down from the Konkordiaplatz and begins to curve towards the Massa valley. It is the point that best shows that bend and the dark stripes of the moraines that run along it. In the distance are the Valais four-thousanders, on the other side of the Rhône valley.
The viewpoint is about 200 m from the upper gondola station, along a flat path. The Aletsch Arena describes it as barrier-free and classes it as partly accessible by wheelchair, so with a pushchair or a wheelchair it is the most comfortable of the area's four viewpoints.
How to get up
First you reach Bettmeralp, which has no cars. You take the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn train to Betten Talstation and go up by cable car to the village; if you are driving, you leave the car in the cable car car park. From Bettmeralp station you walk 1.1 km, following the signs, to the Bettmerhorn gondola, or take the Aletsch Express, the village's little electric train.
The gondola climbs in a few minutes. Allow about two hours to go up, look out from the viewpoint, see the exhibition and come down. If you stay for lunch or walk back, half a day.
Seasons and times
The gondola runs in two seasons. According to the Aletsch Arena, winter runs from 5 December 2026 to 3 April 2027 and the following summer from 5 June to 24 October 2027. Between seasons it is closed. Each day's timetable does not appear on the viewpoint's page: check it in the Aletsch Arena's lift timetable before going up, especially at the start and end of the season.
Tickets
There is a single ticket to the viewpoint, but if you are going to several points the one that pays off is the Aletsch Explorer, the Aletsch Bahnen day pass. It includes the cable cars up to Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp, the gondolas to the four viewpoints (Hohfluh, Moosfluh, Bettmerhorn and Eggishorn) and the train between Brig, Mörel, Betten and Fiesch. Until 12 December 2026 it costs CHF 55 for adults aged 20 and over and CHF 27.50 with the Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass, for children aged 6 to 15 and for young people aged 16 to 19; from 13 December, CHF 56 and CHF 28. With a GA travelcard it costs CHF 18. There is a family ticket: two adults take their children up to age 19, and dogs travel free. It is bought in the online shop or at the Aletsch Bahnen ticket offices, not in Brig.
At the top: restaurant and exhibition
Beside the station is the Bettmerhorn panoramic restaurant, with more than 190 seats by the windows and a terrace. Next to it is the Gletscherwelt Bettmerhorn exhibition, devoted to the Great Aletsch Glacier, which is a good plan if there is fog at the top.
Walking down
Two signposted routes leave from the top. The short one goes by the Riederfurka to Riederalp: 7.65 km with barely 51 m of ascent, skirting the glacier and passing the Villa Cassel and the Aletsch Forest. The long one goes down to Lake Märjelen and returns to Fiescheralp or Bettmeralp: 14.58 km and 486 m of ascent, a whole day. Both depend on there being no snow: in June and October check the Aletsch Arena's path report.
With children, with a dog and if the weather changes
It is the easiest viewpoint with small children: the path to the viewpoint is short and flat, and there is a restaurant and exhibition. Dogs go up in the gondolas. It is cold at the top even if it is summer below; take a warm layer. If clouds cover the glacier, check the cameras and the forecast before paying for the ascent, or leave the viewpoint for another morning.
- **Aletsch Forest and the Pro Natura Centre at Villa Cassel** (2 h 30 · Families · Forest, free; Pro Natura centre, CHF 8 adults): What it is
The Aletschwald is a mountain forest growing on the north slope, just above the tongue of the Great Aletsch Glacier, between Riederalp and the glacier. It has been a Pro Natura reserve since 1933: at the start of the 20th century felling, grazing and bilberry picking had left it in a very poor state, and the association then signed a 99-year lease to protect it. Since then dead wood has stayed where it falls and the forest regenerates by itself.
The ruling tree is the Swiss stone pine, the Arve, which withstands the summer drought and the winter storms and lives for several centuries; it is accompanied by larches and Norway spruces. In summer the alpine rose blooms and in autumn you can hear the red deer rut. Deer, chamois and nutcrackers are easy to see; with luck and patience, black grouse, golden eagles or the pygmy owl.
At the entrance to the forest, on the Riederfurka, stands Villa Cassel, the summer house built for the banker Sir Ernest Cassel. Today it is the Pro Natura Zentrum Aletsch, a nature centre with an exhibition, an alpine garden, a tea room and rooms.
How to get there
Riederalp has no cars. You arrive on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn train as far as Mörel and go up by cable car to Riederalp; if you come by car, you leave it below. From Riederalp West you can already see the villa: it is about 30 minutes on foot and about 100 m of ascent on a well-signposted path. You can also arrive by walking down from the Bettmerhorn by the Riederfurka, and it is the end of the suspension bridge route from Belalp.
Three walks through the forest
Pro Natura suggests three routes that leave from and return to the Riederfurka:

Riederfurka – Moränenweg – Hohfluh, 1 h 30, little effort. It follows the lateral moraine left by the glacier at the end of the last ice age, about 11,700 years ago, with the glacier and the Valais Alps ahead.
Riederfurka – Bischofsitz – Silbersand – Riederfurka, about 2 h, medium effort. It is the heart of the forest: old, twisted stone pines, peat bogs and nutcrackers.
Riederfurka – Teiffe Wald – Grünsee – Silbersand – Riederfurka, about 4 h 30, more demanding. It reaches the Grünsee, a lake that a little over 80 years ago was under the ice and that fills only with meltwater and rain.

There are ups and downs on mountain paths, with no difficult passages. Take water and something to eat: the facilities are at the villa and in Riederalp.
Reserve rules
Pro Natura asks that you stay on the paths, keep dogs on a lead, light no fires, pick no plants and bring no bicycles or other vehicles. Infringements can be penalised.
The Pro Natura centre at Villa Cassel
It opens in summer, every day from 10:30 to 17:30; the 2027 season runs from 12 June to 17 October. Inside there is an interactive exhibition on the retreat of the glacier, climate change and the energy transition, with a time wheel that shows the Aletsch in the past, today and in the future, and a tour of the villa's historic rooms. Outside, the alpine garden brings together more than 200 plant species; families can explore it with the "research box". The tea room serves home-made cakes, snacks and drinks.
Admission costs CHF 8 for adults, CHF 6 with the Aletsch guest card and CHF 4 for children aged 6 to 16; children with their family enter free. With the Swiss Museum Pass or a Pro Natura card, also free. Guided visits to the villa last from one hour to an hour and a half; on your own, allow something similar.
Guided visits
The centre organises guided visits of an hour or an hour and a half to the exhibition, the garden or the villa, and excursions to the forest, the glacier or to watch wildlife at dawn, mainly for groups and schools. The 2027 season programme, with departures open to everyone, is published by the end of January at the latest; bookings open then on its website.
With children and when to go
The walk along the moraine and the Bischofsitz one go well with children who walk. The villa adds the garden, the exhibition and an afternoon snack. Go from late June to early October, when the centre is open and the paths are free of snow; in autumn comes the rut. If a storm threatens, stay on the low paths and return to Riederalp in good time.
- **Lake Märjelen through the Tälligrat tunnel** (3 h 5 · 10.6 km · Walking families and teenagers · Free; you pay for the gondola to Fiescheralp): What it is
It is the shortest route for walking from a village to the edge of the Great Aletsch Glacier. You set off from Fiescheralp, cross the mountain through a tunnel of about a kilometre under the Tälligrat and come out the other side, at Märjela, a hollow of lakes beside the east side of the glacier. From there you continue until you look out over the ice, then return. It is 10.6 km, about 3 h of walking and 312 m of cumulative ascent, according to the Brig Simplon Tourismus page.
A lake with a history
The Märjelen lakes, at about 2,300 m, are what remains of a lake dammed by the glacier itself. In the 19th century, when the Aletsch was growing, the ice closed off the hollow and the meltwater formed a lake up to 1.6 km long and 500 m wide. Every so often the water escaped suddenly through the crevasses and ran down the Massa valley: dozens of drainings are recorded between 1813 and 1895. In 1895 a drainage gallery was dug to limit the level. As the glacier retreated, the big lake disappeared; today there is a small lake beside the ice and, higher up, the Märjelen reservoir, built in the 1980s to supply water to Bettmeralp. The Tälligrat tunnel was opened for that project and is now a path.
The route step by step

Fiescheralp (2,222 m). You arrive on the gondola from Fiesch. Follow the yellow signs to Märjela and the Tälligrat tunnel.
To the tunnel mouth. A wide track, with the longest ascent of the route, to the tunnel entrance.
The tunnel. Straight, flat and lit, a little over a kilometre long. It is cool inside: put on a layer before going in.
Märjela. You come out beside the Gletscherstube, the hut beside the lake, at about 2,360 m.
The lakes and the edge of the glacier. A signposted path continues between the lakes to a point from which you see the Aletsch up close, wide and furrowed with moraines.
Return. You go back through the same tunnel to Fiescheralp.

If you have legs to spare, from Märjela you can continue to the Bettmerhorn or do the route the other way round from there: the Bettmerhorn – Märjelen – Bettmeralp circuit is 14.6 km with 486 m of ascent, a full day.
The state of the tunnel
In summer 2026 the tunnel was closed for renovation until 24 July. The Aletsch Arena signposted two detours above, over the Tälligrat and the Unners Tälli, which added between three quarters of an hour and an hour of walking. Before setting out, check the Aletsch Arena's path report.
Where to eat and sleep
The Gletscherstube Märjelensee, at 2,363 m, is the only service on the path. It opens from early July to mid-October, serves meals and has about 34 bunk places; you must book to sleep. Outside those dates take all your food and water.
When to go
From July to September, when the path is free of snow and the hut is open. In early summer there may be snow near the tunnel. Set off early: it is high ground, without shade, and storms form easily in the afternoon.
With children and safety
It is a good route for families who walk: the ascent is moderate and children love the tunnel. Take a head torch just in case, even though it is lit. At the edge of the glacier do not go down onto the ice: it has crevasses and is only walked on with a guide. If you want to walk on it, the guided crossing from the Bergsteigerzentrum Aletsch takes this same approach and continues over the ice in crampons.
If the sky closes in or there is a risk of storm, turn back at Märjela: the tunnel is the quickest way back to Fiescheralp.
How much it costs
The route is free. You pay for the gondola from Fiesch to Fiescheralp, included in the Aletsch Explorer day pass (CHF 55 per adult until 12 December 2026, half with the Swiss Travel Pass).

## Dónde comer
- **Riederfurka Restaurant** (Restaurant, Riederalp, €€€). Qué pedir: the Walliser Plättli of cured beef, sausage, bacon and cheese with its rye bread, CHF 32.50 on the winter menu, or the Binntal cheese risotto
- **Hotel Alpfrieden Restaurant** (Restaurant, Bettmeralp, €€€). Qué pedir: the Valais Chasselas white wine soup, CHF 16, and the Raron perch fillets with lemon and herb butter, CHF 49.50
- **Hotel des Alpes Restaurant** (Restaurant, Fiesch, €€). Qué pedir: the chouera, the Goms pie of potato, leek, apple and cheese, CHF 27, with a flight of three beers and beer and garlic popcorn, CHF 10

## Car-free: Car-free: train to the valley and gondola to the villages
The Aletsch glacier is one of the easiest Alpine destinations without a car, because the three villages on the terrace do not allow cars. The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn train climbs from Brig up the Rhône valley and stops at Mörel, Betten Talstation and Fiesch; at each station a gondola leaves for its village. Up top everything is done on foot, by chairlift or by gondola.
Presupuesto orientativo: 90–220 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir without a car
- **Golfhotel Riederhof** (Hotel): A hotel on Riederalp's promenade
The Golfhotel Riederhof is on the Aletschpromenade, the path that crosses Riederalp from end to end, at about 1,900 m. It is run by Aletsch Hospitality AG and the house presents itself as a four-star hotel. Its name comes from its neighbour: in front of the door begins Riederalp's nine-hole golf course, and behind is a stone pine wood where, according to the hotel itself, you can see squirrels from the north-facing balconies.
It opens two seasons: in summer 2027, from 14 June to 11 October, and in winter, from 18 December 2026 to 29 March 2027. Outside those dates it is closed. For summer 2027 it takes bookings by email.
Rooms, suites and apartments
There are standard doubles, facing the mountain and the golf course, almost all with a north-facing balcony; superior doubles, facing the valley and the Simplon; a family room with two separate bedrooms and no balcony; three suites (the Cassel, named after Sir Ernest Cassel, the banker of the Villa Cassel; the Riederhorn, and the Riederhof, in house B), and two two-bedroom apartments, one of 70 m² for four to six people and another of 60 m² for four or five. The doubles have a shower, safe, television, capsule coffee machine and free wifi.
The price includes the wellness area: saltwater pool with jets, Finnish sauna, steam bath, sensory showers, Kneipp pool and relaxation room. Only guests aged 16 or over are admitted, from 13:00 to 20:00.
Eating at the hotel
Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00. The restaurant is open to the public: regional seasonal cooking, with simple dishes at lunchtime and a longer menu in the evening. Until 31 August the kitchen runs without a break; from September, from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00. There is a dining room, a wooden Stuba and a terrace with views of the mountains. The bar serves Valais wines until 22:00.
Getting there without a car
Riederalp has no cars. You take the train to Mörel and go up on the Aletsch Bahnen gondola to Riederalp Mitte (the large one) or Riederalp West (the small ones). From there the hotel picks you up from 8:00 to 20:00 for CHF 30 return: call ahead and say which station you are arriving at. If you come by car, it stays in the paid car parks at Mörel.
From the hotel you walk to the Villa Cassel and the Aletsch Forest, and you reach the suspension bridge route from Belalp, which ends at Riederalp.
- **Hotel Waldhaus Bettmeralp** (Small hotel): The woodland house of Bettmeralp
The Waldhaus, Waldhüs in the house's dialect, is a small hotel run by the Berchtold family. It is 100 metres to the left of the gondola station in Bettmeralp, slightly raised, at the edge of the village and the woods. The centre is a few minutes' walk away, but here you do not hear the passing of people coming and going from the lifts. In winter the Blausee chairlift leaves in front of the door; in summer, the paths.
It opens in two seasons. In 2026 it was open in summer from 12 June to 10 October, and in winter it opens from 13 December 2026 to 29 March 2027. The summer 2027 dates are not yet on its website.
Rooms for almost every budget
The list is long for such a small hotel. There are budget singles with a tiny north-facing balcony, very small Cozy rooms with a double bed, doubles with views of the woods, of Bettmeralp or panoramic ones, of 22 m² and with a south-facing balcony, the Adlerhorst under the roof, the two-floor Top of Waldhaus suite and the Romantica, in an annexe 60 metres away. The Holz100 rooms are of solid wood cut by the moon (Mondholz), with mountain views, a window seat and Hüsler beds. The price includes the buffet breakfast until 11:00, the sauna, wifi and the Aletsch Arena tourist tax.
Half board and restaurant
In the evening half board costs CHF 45 per person if you take it for the whole stay. It is usually a four-course menu with meat or a vegetarian version, plus a salad buffet, partly organic. On Mondays there is raclette or cheese fondue, and on Wednesdays, fondue chinoise. If you dine out one night, tell them before 11:00 and you are not charged.
The restaurant is open to people who are not staying here too. In summer 2026 it served simple dishes from 12:00 to 16:00 and drinks until 22:30, and closed on Monday at lunchtime. The all-you-can-eat raclette on Mondays cost CHF 45.
Getting there
Train to Betten Talstation and gondola to Bettmeralp: seven minutes in the large cabin, which also carries the luggage trolley. If you send your bags by train, send the hotel a photo of the receipts and they will bring them up. From here the Bettmerhorn gondola is close and, on foot, the path to Riederalp and the Aletsch Forest.
- **Fiescher Hostel (Sport Resort Fiesch)** (Hostel, desde 52 € / bed): A hostel inside a sports village
The Fiescher Hostel is part of the Sport Resort Fiesch, a large holiday complex at the entrance to Fiesch, in the Goms valley, with ten group houses, chalets, apartments and two garni hotels. Schools and clubs come here for their camps, but the hostel is designed for the independent traveller: you book your room online, with no group or hostelling card needed.
It is this guide's budget base for the Aletsch glacier. It has its own railway station, Fiesch Feriendorf, on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, and the gondola up to Fiescheralp and the Eggishorn is, according to the house, two minutes away. It is just what you need if you are doing the guided glacier crossing, which meets in Fiesch first thing.
The rooms
There are 26 rooms with 92 beds, for two, four and six, spread over two identical floors. Most have a shower and WC inside; the rest use the floor's bathrooms. The rooms are large for a hostel, with light wood furniture. Downstairs there are three common rooms, a lockable store for skis and bikes and a drying room. Bed linen and towels are included.
If you want something more like a hotel, the same complex has the Garni Aletsch, with singles, doubles and triples with bathroom and television, from CHF 79 per person in summer.
What it costs and what is included
In summer (1 May to 30 November) a bed costs from CHF 52 per adult in a four- or six-bed room without bathroom, from CHF 57 in a double without bathroom and from CHF 67 in a double with shower. Young people aged 6 to 16 pay less; ages 3 to 6, half the youth rate, and under-3s, nothing. The tourist tax is added.
The price includes buffet breakfast, bed linen, wifi and the complex's indoor pool during its opening hours; depending on the season, also the minigolf and disc golf. There is no kitchen: lunch and dinner are booked at the self-service restaurant, at CHF 19 per person. The climbing wall, gym and tennis courts are paid separately.
Getting there
By train, get off at Fiesch Feriendorf. By car, through the Valais from Lake Geneva, Brig and the Furka road; parking is free. Cancellation is free up to three days before.

## By plane: Fly to Geneva, Zurich or Milan and take the train to the glacier
The Aletsch Glacier has no airport nearby, but the three that serve this part of Switzerland all have flights from Spain and a railway station. From Geneva station there are trains to Brig, and from Brig the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn runs to Mörel, Betten Talstation and Fiesch: Geneva to Mörel takes between two and a half and three hours, depending on the train. From Zurich you come via Bern or via Lucerne; from Milan, over the Simplon. You don't need a car: the villages up above don't allow them.
### Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Golfhotel Riederhof** (Hotel): A hotel on Riederalp's promenade
The Golfhotel Riederhof is on the Aletschpromenade, the path that crosses Riederalp from end to end, at about 1,900 m. It is run by Aletsch Hospitality AG and the house presents itself as a four-star hotel. Its name comes from its neighbour: in front of the door begins Riederalp's nine-hole golf course, and behind is a stone pine wood where, according to the hotel itself, you can see squirrels from the north-facing balconies.
It opens two seasons: in summer 2027, from 14 June to 11 October, and in winter, from 18 December 2026 to 29 March 2027. Outside those dates it is closed. For summer 2027 it takes bookings by email.
Rooms, suites and apartments
There are standard doubles, facing the mountain and the golf course, almost all with a north-facing balcony; superior doubles, facing the valley and the Simplon; a family room with two separate bedrooms and no balcony; three suites (the Cassel, named after Sir Ernest Cassel, the banker of the Villa Cassel; the Riederhorn, and the Riederhof, in house B), and two two-bedroom apartments, one of 70 m² for four to six people and another of 60 m² for four or five. The doubles have a shower, safe, television, capsule coffee machine and free wifi.
The price includes the wellness area: saltwater pool with jets, Finnish sauna, steam bath, sensory showers, Kneipp pool and relaxation room. Only guests aged 16 or over are admitted, from 13:00 to 20:00.
Eating at the hotel
Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00. The restaurant is open to the public: regional seasonal cooking, with simple dishes at lunchtime and a longer menu in the evening. Until 31 August the kitchen runs without a break; from September, from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00. There is a dining room, a wooden Stuba and a terrace with views of the mountains. The bar serves Valais wines until 22:00.
Getting there without a car
Riederalp has no cars. You take the train to Mörel and go up on the Aletsch Bahnen gondola to Riederalp Mitte (the large one) or Riederalp West (the small ones). From there the hotel picks you up from 8:00 to 20:00 for CHF 30 return: call ahead and say which station you are arriving at. If you come by car, it stays in the paid car parks at Mörel.
From the hotel you walk to the Villa Cassel and the Aletsch Forest, and you reach the suspension bridge route from Belalp, which ends at Riederalp.
- **Hotel Waldhaus Bettmeralp** (Small hotel): The woodland house of Bettmeralp
The Waldhaus, Waldhüs in the house's dialect, is a small hotel run by the Berchtold family. It is 100 metres to the left of the gondola station in Bettmeralp, slightly raised, at the edge of the village and the woods. The centre is a few minutes' walk away, but here you do not hear the passing of people coming and going from the lifts. In winter the Blausee chairlift leaves in front of the door; in summer, the paths.
It opens in two seasons. In 2026 it was open in summer from 12 June to 10 October, and in winter it opens from 13 December 2026 to 29 March 2027. The summer 2027 dates are not yet on its website.
Rooms for almost every budget
The list is long for such a small hotel. There are budget singles with a tiny north-facing balcony, very small Cozy rooms with a double bed, doubles with views of the woods, of Bettmeralp or panoramic ones, of 22 m² and with a south-facing balcony, the Adlerhorst under the roof, the two-floor Top of Waldhaus suite and the Romantica, in an annexe 60 metres away. The Holz100 rooms are of solid wood cut by the moon (Mondholz), with mountain views, a window seat and Hüsler beds. The price includes the buffet breakfast until 11:00, the sauna, wifi and the Aletsch Arena tourist tax.
Half board and restaurant
In the evening half board costs CHF 45 per person if you take it for the whole stay. It is usually a four-course menu with meat or a vegetarian version, plus a salad buffet, partly organic. On Mondays there is raclette or cheese fondue, and on Wednesdays, fondue chinoise. If you dine out one night, tell them before 11:00 and you are not charged.
The restaurant is open to people who are not staying here too. In summer 2026 it served simple dishes from 12:00 to 16:00 and drinks until 22:30, and closed on Monday at lunchtime. The all-you-can-eat raclette on Mondays cost CHF 45.
Getting there
Train to Betten Talstation and gondola to Bettmeralp: seven minutes in the large cabin, which also carries the luggage trolley. If you send your bags by train, send the hotel a photo of the receipts and they will bring them up. From here the Bettmerhorn gondola is close and, on foot, the path to Riederalp and the Aletsch Forest.
- **Fiescher Hostel (Sport Resort Fiesch)** (Hostel, desde 52 € / bed): A hostel inside a sports village
The Fiescher Hostel is part of the Sport Resort Fiesch, a large holiday complex at the entrance to Fiesch, in the Goms valley, with ten group houses, chalets, apartments and two garni hotels. Schools and clubs come here for their camps, but the hostel is designed for the independent traveller: you book your room online, with no group or hostelling card needed.
It is this guide's budget base for the Aletsch glacier. It has its own railway station, Fiesch Feriendorf, on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, and the gondola up to Fiescheralp and the Eggishorn is, according to the house, two minutes away. It is just what you need if you are doing the guided glacier crossing, which meets in Fiesch first thing.
The rooms
There are 26 rooms with 92 beds, for two, four and six, spread over two identical floors. Most have a shower and WC inside; the rest use the floor's bathrooms. The rooms are large for a hostel, with light wood furniture. Downstairs there are three common rooms, a lockable store for skis and bikes and a drying room. Bed linen and towels are included.
If you want something more like a hotel, the same complex has the Garni Aletsch, with singles, doubles and triples with bathroom and television, from CHF 79 per person in summer.
What it costs and what is included
In summer (1 May to 30 November) a bed costs from CHF 52 per adult in a four- or six-bed room without bathroom, from CHF 57 in a double without bathroom and from CHF 67 in a double with shower. Young people aged 6 to 16 pay less; ages 3 to 6, half the youth rate, and under-3s, nothing. The tourist tax is added.
The price includes buffet breakfast, bed linen, wifi and the complex's indoor pool during its opening hours; depending on the season, also the minigolf and disc golf. There is no kitchen: lunch and dinner are booked at the self-service restaurant, at CHF 19 per person. The climbing wall, gym and tennis courts are paid separately.
Getting there
By train, get off at Fiesch Feriendorf. By car, through the Valais from Lake Geneva, Brig and the Furka road; parking is free. Cancellation is free up to three days before.

## As a family: Car-free villages with a glacier for a neighbour

Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp are pedestrian villages at about 2,000 m. Children can run free in the street and the viewpoints are reached by gondola.

### What works best
The Bettmerhorn or the Eggishorn by gondola, with the whole glacier in front of you

Villa Cassel and the Aletsch Forest, with guided outings to see marmots

Lake Märjelen through the Tälligrat tunnel, for children who already walk three hours

### Where to sleep
Apartments in Riederalp or Bettmeralp

Valley villages, such as Mörel or Fiesch, cheaper and with parking

### Where to eat
Picnics at the viewpoints

Summit restaurants at the Bettmerhorn and the Eggishorn

### Bear in mind
During the Eggishorn works the summit is not accessible with a pushchair

The glacier treks accept children from 8 or 10 depending on the departure

The weather changes quickly at 2,800 m: take a coat

### Qué hacer as a family
- Eggishorn viewpoint, at 2,869 m
- Bettmerhorn and the bend of the glacier
- Aletsch Forest and the Pro Natura Centre at Villa Cassel
- Lake Märjelen through the Tälligrat tunnel

## With teenagers: Walking on a glacier and crossing a bridge 80 metres up

For teenagers keen to be on the move, the Aletsch has two plans that are not forgotten: walking on the ice in crampons and crossing the Massa gorge on a suspension bridge.

### What works best
The guided crossing of the glacier from Fiescheralp, from age 10

The Belalp to Riederalp route over the 124 m suspension bridge

The Tälligrat tunnel to Lake Märjelen

### Where to sleep
Fiesch, base of the guides' centre

Riederalp, at the end of the bridge route

### Where to eat
Sandwiches for the whole day on the trek and on the bridge route

Supermarkets in the villages

### Bear in mind
The trek lasts about six hours and needs stiff mountain boots

The bridge route is 4 h 30 with a steep climb at the end

### Qué hacer with teenagers
- Guided crossing of the Aletsch Glacier from Fiescheralp
- From Belalp to Riederalp over the Massa suspension bridge
- Eggishorn viewpoint, at 2,869 m
- Lake Märjelen through the Tälligrat tunnel

## Consejos

### Choose your village by what you want to see
Riederalp for the forest and Villa Cassel; Bettmeralp for the Bettmerhorn; Fiescheralp for the Eggishorn and Märjela.

### Go up to just one viewpoint
All three see the same glacier from different angles. One is enough if you are short of time.

### Check the state of the paths
Aletsch Arena publishes a daily report on what is open.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### Can you walk on the glacier?
Yes, with a guide. The Bergsteigerzentrum Aletsch runs a day crossing from Fiescheralp for CHF 99.

### Which viewpoint is best?
The Eggishorn, at 2,869 m, is the highest and sees almost the whole glacier as far as the Konkordiaplatz. The Bettmerhorn has the better view of its great bend.

### Do you need a car?
No. You arrive by train at Mörel, Betten or Fiesch, and from there by cable car.

### Is it a good destination with children?
Yes, with car-free villages, viewpoints reached by gondola and walks in the Aletsch forest.