Violenhorn - Moosalp
I did this hike on the 19th of October, 2026. I was spending a few days in Visp in Wallis with the purpous of finding a hike with golden larch trees. I had heard about Moosalp and also seen autumn pictures from this area, but as I wanted to do something a bit longer, I decided to start with a hike up to Violenhorn and therefore ended with the hike below.
Full route: Swisstopo
After a 10 minute walk to the train station in Visp, I only had half an hour bus ride in the morning up to Bürchen where I started this hike. Right after leaving Bürchen, the trail got very steep and went through fields and skiing areas towards the golden larch trees. As it was only mid October, the larch trees below 1800 m were still relatively green, so I had specifically designed the hike so I would come up higher.
After reaching the first larch trees, the trail went in and out of forest for a while and I had amazing views to Bietschhorn and the surrounding mountains on the opposite side. It was a slightly grey morning, but the sun slowly came through, and it had already cleared up a lot during the first hour of hiking.
I walked for about an hour along this relatively flat trail with extraordinary views and autumn colors. I knew it would be a nice hike, but I was still surpriced about the amount of larch trees along this part. I did not meet a single person for the first four hours of hiking and therefore had it all to myself.
The weather also got better, and as the sun got higher on the sky, the colors of the trees stood out even more. The last couple of years, I have mainly been in Engadine in October for autumn hiking, but Wallis also have some great areas that I surely need to explore more in the coming years.
After an hour walking along this relatively gentle hiking path, the trail turned off, and I started the ascent towards Violenhorn. First, I walked through a part of the forest with clearly older trees before I again reached younger and more golden larch trees higher above. This part was again quite steep, and I took a longer break changing into shorts as it was getting quite warm.
As I made it above the tree line, the views to the areas around slowly opened up. The last part up to the top followed the Hienergrätji, which in parts was narrow and steep, but not difficult. I finally made it to the top around lunch time, where it was very windy and cold. I therefore only stayed for a short while before I started the descent towards Moosalp in search for a warmer lunch place.
The descent from Violenhorn was relatively gentle, and I could enjoy the views to all sides. On the way down, I met the first people of the day, all coming from Moosalp on their way up to the top. After about half an hour, I found a great less windy viewpoint where I decided to have my lunch. From here, I had great views back up to Violenhorn as well as to the larch trees, glaciers and snowy mountain peaks in front of me.
After lunch and with more energy, I continued down towards Moosalp. I again entered areas with larch trees just before reaching Moosalp, and they were just as colorfull here as at the start of the hike. Moosalp is a popular place, so there were quite some people on the trail even though it was a Monday afternoon.
I followed the Moosalp Panoramaweg which leads you through the larch tree forest and past great viewpoints. Although at lower elevation, the larch trees here were also beautiful and many of them peak orange and yellow. It is an easy path gently going up and down, and I followed it towards the main viewpoint at Stand where you have great views into the valleys leading towards Zermatt and Saas-Fee.
From Stand, I continued for a short while on the Moosalp Panoramaweg towards Breitmattusee. The trail again went in and out of forest until I reached the lake. As there was no wind here, the lake beautifully reflected the surrounding larch trees and the sky, and I took a short break by the lake before continuing back to Bürchen.
The descent to Bürchen first went through dense forest before I again was out in the open and back with views towards Bietschhorn. It was a really lovely end to a beautiful autumn hike, and as I reached Bürchen again, I walked for about 10 minutes to the same bus stop where I had started in the morning. From here, the bus took me back down to Visp and my accommodation for the night.
