Photo Essay – Chugging through a white countryside to Gornergrat, Switzerland

To cap off a perfect day spent in Zermatt, we decided to end it with a trip to Gornergrat. Now Gornergrat or the Gorner Ridge, at a height of 3,089 m, is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south of Zermatt. There is a train from Zermatt, run by Gornergrat Bahn, that is the highest open-air railway in Europe. This train ride is one of the most beautiful train journeys that I have made in Europe – with numerous bridges, tunnels, snow-covered trees, forests & meadows, small houses / hotels interspersed in between and of course the magnificent Alps.The panorama here is also considered to be one of the most beautiful and is almost like a close-up to the majestic Matterhorn, Monte Rosa Massif with the highest Swiss mountain (the Dufourspitze at 4,634 m above sea level), the second-largest glacier in the Alps, the Gornergletscher, as well as 29 peaks higher than 4000 m. Between the Gornergrat railway station (3,090 m) and the summit is also the Kulm Hotel (3,120 m) hosting the new astronomical facility – “Stellarium Gornergrat”

View of the Matterhorn from Gornergrat, near Zermatt

Since images speak much more than words, sharing this journey via a photo essay below –

Wolli, the local mascot

The local mascot, Wolli showing the way to our carriage of Gornergrat Bahn –

The Gornergrat bahn

Chugging through the beautiful landscape with snow-covered trees and forests for company –

The train journey to Gornergrat

Sometime later the snow-covered Alpine peaks themselves join us and make the journey more beautiful –

Alpine peaks

With each new turn of the train, new views come up and one such turn gave us this view of the Matterhorn –

View of the Matterhorn from the train

And then the Sun decided to join us and selectively add color to the surrounding landscape –

Sun’s selective palette

Saw some boundaries and some roads, but not a soul in sight –

some boundaries and some roads

Miles and miles of undisturbed snow actually got me thinking, has anyone ever walked here –

Miles and miles of undisturbed snow

The sheer silence and magnificence of these mountains made me realize the insignificance of my everyday existence –

More from the Matterhorn

I hope that someday I can walk through these hills and discover myself amongst these gorgeous vistas –

The stunning vistas that inspire

And finally, our destination and views from the Gornergrat station –

From the Gornergrat station

Tips for the trip –

1. There is a separate station, right in front of the main train station of Zermatt, for Gornergrat Bahn. These trains have specific schedules for summer and winter and do check them in advance.
2. The Ski Pass of Zermatt includes this train journey to Gornergrat.
3. There are small towns, stations and hotels along the way and you can stay a night here if you like.
4. When you board the train from Zermatt, sit on the right for some fantastic views of the Matterhorn.