France & Switzerland: Hiking from Chamonix to Zermatt 2023

Since we love the mountains, we decided to hike the iconic Haute Route from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland. This trip was with a small group of 11 and 2 guides organized by ALPENWILD. We enjoyed the challenges of hiking some of the towering peaks with views of pristine landscapes and other mountains. We also learned a little about the alpine history and culture along the way.

We arrived early in Chamonix to acclimate to the high elevation, and hiked the Lac Blanc trail which gave us amazing views of Mount Blanc, Aiguille du Midi, Aiguille Verte and Aigulle du Chardonet. The next day we started our tour with the rest of the group and took the cableway to the summit of Aiguille du Midi which is 12,600 feet. The views of the French and Italian Alps were stunning!

Our second day of our adventure took us to Champex which was a beautiful village along a calm lake. Next, we hiked to La Sage and then, hiked over the Col de Torrent Pass to Lac de Moiry which was an amazing hike that lead us to turquoise colored lakes and amazing views! We stayed in Grimentz, one of the historic villages in the Alps. Today, it still has old Granaries, churches, cave cellars and the saw mill which was built in the early 1800’s.

During our hike to St Luc, we enjoyed seeing views of the Val d’Anniviers and the crown of four 4,00 meter peaks which included the back side of the Matterhorn. St. Luc was a small resort town which was a great place to enjoy the food and the comforts of the first hotel in town, Bella-Tola Hotel. The seventh day of our hike took us up to the Meidpass to Gruben where we left the French side of Switzerland and entered the German side. Our final day lead us over the Augstbordpass which gave us wonderful views of Dom, the highest peak within Switzerland, Weisshorn and Aletschglestscher. After hiking down to Jungen, we all enjoyed a drink to celebrate our completion of the Deluxe Haute tour.

Our hiking tour ended with a couple of day hikes in Zermatt. We took the 120 year old Gornergrat Bahn Railroad up for amazing views of the Matterhorn and then, hiked to the Riffelsee Lake where the Matterhorn is perfectly reflected in the still waters. We then started to hike down the mountain and came across a sheep herder and her flock and then, had lunch at Alphitta, which not only had amazing food but a wonderful view of the Matterhorn. We continued all the way down the mountain to our hotel in Zermatt. Our last day in Zermatt, we hiked through the valley visiting the village Zmutt and down a path through canyon of the Gornergorge.

The next day, we took the train to Geneva and spent the day in Old Town Geneva. We climbed the many tower stairs in St. Pierre’s Cathedral for views of the city, and also, enjoyed the lovely music from the bells which chime every 30 minutes. We ended our trip with delicious chocolates from Laderach and a wonderful dinner with wine!

Below is a summary of the trip itinerary, day by day:

Day 0 – Chamonix – Hike to Lac Blanc

Day 1 – Chamonix - Aiguille du Midi Summit

Day 2 – Chamonix to Champex - Col de la Forclaz Pass

Day 3 – Champex to Sembrancher, La Sage

Day 4 – La Sage to Lac de Moiry, Grimentz – Col de Torrent Pass

Day 5 – Grimentz to St. Luc

Day 6 – St. Luc

Day 7 – St. Luc to Gruben - Meidpass

Day 8 –Gruben to Zermatt - Augstbordpass

Day 9 – Zermatt Gornergrat cogwheel railway and Matterhorn area hike

Day 10 – Zermatt to Geneva