Zermatt - Hohtälli
I did this hike on the 12th of October, 2026. I stayed in Zermatt for two nights at a small and nice hotel close to the church. I had planned to do this hike to Hohtälli already last year in late autumn, but a few days before I went to Zermatt there was heavy snowfall making it impossible. I therefore decided to give it another try this year and had an amazing hike in perfect autumn weather.
Full route: Swisstopo
It was a very beautiful and clear sky morning as I left my hotel and walked through Zermatt. Matterhorn was already lit up by the sun and looked very impressive right from the beginning. After about 20 minutes walking through town, I made it to the forest and began the ascent up towards Mossjesee. I walked this first part of the trail the year before when I did a hike up to Sunnegga.
On my way up walking above Findelbach, I passed by some of the typical wooden houses found in Wallis, which are all standing on poles and stones. The trail was empty for the first hour, so it was a very quiet start to the hike, and I could slowly wake up as the sun moved higher on the sky.
As I got close to Mosjesee, more and more larch trees filled up the area. It was rather early in October and I had not expected the colors to be as great as they were. I really love autumn when everything changes color, so I was already very pleased with the hike at this point. The lake which I had only seen from above on my previous hike the year before, had a very intense blue color and I took a short break here to enjoy the view before continuing.
Leaving the lake, I followed a gravel road for another twenty minutes leading through more larch trees. I was still completely alone on the trail, but could though hear people working in the distance, making preparations for the winter season. Most of the cable cars and lifts were already closed but the Gornergrat Bahn was still running.
I slowly left the larch trees behind, and as I reached Grüensee, the vegetation had become more sparse. I took a break here and had some snacks before continuing. I knew there would be more people the closer I got to Gornergrat, so I made sure to enjoy the quiet early in the day.
After my break, I continued away from Grüensee in direction Riffelalp. For the first half hour, I walked on gravel road which was nice and easy. After passing by Riffelalp, the path turned into a regular hiking trail with few steeper parts but overall easy. Here, I also walked through smaller areas with larch trees before fully making it above the tree line.
I walked towards Gagenhaupt where I decided to have my lunch break and enjoy the views of Matterhorn. On the way there, I saw a few very active Gämse running over the fields below me. I could have walked straight up to Gornergratt from Grüensee follwoing a hiking trail, but I had deliberately decided to walk this longer way so I would have views of Matterhorn from multiple directions.
After my lunch break, I continued up in direction Gornergrat. There were a lot more people on the trail here, and I walked this part relatively fast to get past the crowds centered around Riffelsee. Crossing over the train tracks after Riffelsee, I was again alone on the trail and took a short break to enjoy the views and the quiet.
The trail up to Hohtälli follows a wide gravel road, so it was an easy walk although steep towards the end. I wasn’t sure if I would end up hiking in snow, but for the last half hour towards the top, a thin layer covered the road, but it was not problematic in any way. I finally reached the top and was rewarded with stunning views, which I had completely to myself.
After a longer break at the top, I decided to start the last descent towards Gornergrat. Just after leaving Hohtälli, I ran into two ibexes which were having an afternoon break in the middle of the trail. As to not disturb them, I made a slightly scrambled detour over some of the larger rocks next to the trail before continuing down over the ridge. The trail was in some places narrow and more technical than earlier in the day and it was a fun ending to a day where I had done a lot of hiking on gravel roads.
Just before reaching Gornergrat, I had great views down to Gornergratsee and the mountains above Zermatt in the distance. When you reach Gornergrat from this direction, the buildings look a bit like a space station and I took some time to walk around and enjoy the amazing views up here. The weather was really great, but after half an hour, I decided to jump on the train back down to Zermatt where I was staying for another night.
