Walker's Haute Route East, Arolla to Zermatt, guided 2024

Day 1: Meeting in Arolla
Arrive Arolla and meet with your guide in the afternoon for welcome, equipment check and a day-by-day briefing on your Haute Route trek ahead. (D)

Day 2: From Arolla to La Sage
Today we have a wonderful walk through Swiss country side from Arolla to the village La Sage. We traverse high above the valley to a small lake with it's magical green colour. We then drop down to Les Hauders before a short ascent takes us to the village la Sage. (B&D)

Day 3: From La Sage to Zinal
From La Sage we have a long day ahead. We ascend through Swiss mountain pastures to the Torrent mountain pass. Descending from the pass, we keep an eye out for the rare edelweiss, which flowers in this area. The descent takes us to the beautiful Moiry lake and dam where a cafe provides refereshments before our second climb of the day. This time, our climb takes us to the Sorrebois pas and we descend through the Zinal ski area to the village center. It's possible to shorten the descent by taking a cable car. (B+D)

Day 4: From Zinal to Gruben
From our charming hotel in Zinal, we traverse upwards through pine forest to the Forcletta pass. From the pass we descend into the small Turtmann valley, which is the beginning of the German speaking part of Switzerland. We stay at the historic Schwarzhorn Hotel in the small village of Gruben. (B+D)

Day 5: From Gruben to St Niklaus
The walking trail starts directly outside our hotel and takes us up to the Augstbordpass. At the pass, we can look into the large Mattertal valley where we’ll be hiking for the rest of our tour. We may even catch our first glimps of the Matterhorn today. A wonderful descend takes us through the old hamlet of Jungu before we reach St. Niklaus. It's a long descend so it's possible to take a small cable car from Jungu to St. Niklaus. (B+D)

Day 6: From St Niklaus to Zermatt
We leave St Niklaus for the final leg of our journey towards our end-destination Zermatt. Today takes us on a relatively gentle walk along a gushing stream in the Mattertal valley. We pass through green meadows and small, traditional villages before, all too soon, we arrive at Zermatt and the end of our journey. The night is spent in a traditional, family run hotel in historic Zermatt. (B)

Day 7: Depart Zermatt
Breakfast in Zermatt and the official end of our Haute Route trip. (B)