Switzerland Travel Notes: Matterhorn Five Lakes Hiking

At 2:50 in the afternoon, we arrived at Riffelalp, the starting point of this Five Lakes hike, and started the extreme hiking operation.

This trip includes a total of 5 lakes. The original plan was to take the cable car up the mountain from Sunnegga. The journey took about 3 hours and was a relatively leisurely introductory route. But after arriving, I discovered that this cable car line has been stopped recently.

Things are starting to get awkward, because according to the current useful information, you can only go up the mountain from Riffelalp. There are several routes you can take, but no matter which route, the distance and total time will become extremely challenging, and there are problems There are some sections where I can't estimate the time at all. You know, if you miss the train down the mountain, you will hardly find anyone here; it is not a place to laugh and laugh at night in the snowy mountains in winter.

So when I arrived at Riffelalp at 2:50, my idea was to take one step at a time, visit the first two or three lakes first, and then make a decision based on time. But from the beginning, we picked up the pace.

Although the pace is hurried, it still does not prevent us from enjoying the scenery on foot. In fact, many times, for some stunning views, speechless is the norm.

Arrive at the first lake Grünsee.

Continue towards the second lake, Grindjisee.

The third lake, Stellisee, is really too high. It took a long walk uphill to reach it.

After seeing the third lake, it was already past 4:20, and we had been walking for more than an hour and a half. The other two lakes are farther away. At this time, there are still about 2 and a half hours before the latest train back. Of course, choosing to go back is the safest option, but after seeing the idea of ​​​​the five lakes, we decided to give it a try. .

I used Google Maps to estimate the time, which added up to just enough time to get back to the starting point and catch the latest train. Of course, this is under the most ideal circumstances. Although there are some risks, everyone decided to give it a try at this time.

The fourth lake, Leisee, is not close and the journey is estimated to take more than 40 minutes.

The fifth lake, Mosjesee, is not far away, only a 10-minute walk.

After completing the Five Lakes check-in, the most difficult part is to return to the starting point, which requires more than an hour of walking. And it gets dark early at night, around 6 o'clock, it's completely dark.

We walked on the road with only the moonlight for about 30 minutes. Sometimes we lost our way because we took the wrong road. Fortunately, Google Maps was quite accurate. In the end, we arrived at Riffelalp Station more than 10 minutes ahead of the last train. It can be regarded as invisible.

It was thrilling. This route, which was estimated to take at least 5 hours, was successfully completed in 4 hours. The speed of more than 4 kilometers per hour was really a bit like walking on flat ground.

The benefits of hiking have been summarized in the previously written "Paris Travel Notes: Hiking in the Forest of the King of Fontainebleau". For me, taking a cable car always feels a bit boring. After hiking at scenic spots or traveling freely in the city, I feel that I have truly visited a place and gain a sense of accomplishment.

I really envy the Swiss for having so many great places to hike. There seem to be many places with beautiful scenery suitable for hiking in China, but the operating standards are still far behind those in Switzerland.

In short, the five lakes hike on the Matterhorn is another memory worth collecting.