Discover Germany | Travel | Cover Feature
Photo: Chantal Stucky
meditate, or enjoy some of the local culinary delights such as cheese fondue or raclette. And, if you think you can’t go skiing without a car, think again. Since last year, the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway has been running down into the new Fiesch public transport hub, and the brand-new mountain railway floats out at the top. A comfortable journey by train is possible via the train station located directly in the mountain railway building. All mountain railways are operated exclusively with renewable energy. A SPECIAL EXPERIENCE We came for something a little different, however. We wanted to enjoy the beautiful nature of the Aletsch Arena on a snow hike on skis. In the Aletsch Arena, beautiful destinations like the Konkordiahütte and the Märjelensee await. And here, the ‘base camp’ is at 2,000 metres: the villages of Bettmer, Rieder and Fiescheralp are there with their offering of cosy chalets and family-run hotels. These come at moderate prices, and most of them with direct access to the slopes. 34 | Issue 89 | January 2022
The car-free Aletsch Arena is a UNESCO World Heritage site: a sunny plateau with guaranteed snow in the Swiss Valais. Brand new here this season is a guided round tour on the back of the mightiest glacier in the Alps, where ski hiking can be done somewhere truly special, with a history going back thousands of years and a landscape garnished with dream descents through the beautiful flanks of the high mountains. Photo: Marco Schnyder
It is noticeably quiet in the Aletsch Arena, up on the snowy high plateau with its rustic mountain villages of Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp. As the villages are car free, there are no traffic jams, no emissions and no noise, with around 300 sunny days a year. Thanks to the altitude and the favourable weather conditions, the snow lasts well into spring. From the front door of most of the accommodations, you can get on your
