In the early Autumn I made a trip to Switzerland, where I not only made over a dozen new friends but also got to explore with Visit Switzerland & the Adventure Travel & Trade Association the sustainable adventure travel possibilities of Ticino, the Valais, Andermatt and Interlaken Regions! Here are some impressions to make you wanna pack your bags & hop on a train to Switzerland 🇨🇭
Disclosure: This trip was hosted by the local Tourism offices and ATTA. As you know: I’m keepin’ it real and tell you how it is - I maintain full editorial control of the content published on Hiking in Finland. Read the Transparency Disclaimer for more information on affiliate links & blogger transparency.
As usual this is just a photographic feast of my most recent trip, to get you in the mood for planning a visit to Switzerland. I will follow it up with more in-depth articles of the visit, and show you what kind of great hikes and adventures you can have in the Ticino, Andermatt, Valais and Interlaken areas! Lets start in Ticino - the sunny southern part of Switzerland, where Italian is spoken by a majority and you find an Mediterranean environment and usually lots of sun - unless you have a bit of no-luck with the weather, and it’s raining the whole time! Nevertheless, that’s not a problem for us outdoor people - hardshell on and outside!
Truth be told, after some rainy days in Bellinzona, Locarno and the Maggia Valley I also experienced an absolutely beautiful morning in the Balvona Valley, where we hiked through many picturesque villages before taking the Postbus and local trains back to Bellinzona.
The visit to Andermatt also started off wet, with plenty of rain, and continued the next day with climbing a Via Ferrata in the rain and mist, before exploring a “Cairngorn-esque” Valley (that’s what it looked like in the clouds 😆) on some sweet eMTBs with Jessie and Fredrik. Our final day in Andermatt we got to see the small village in the sun, and it looked fantastic, to say the least!
On this trip we only used public transportation, so the fantastic Swiss trains - punctual, clean, and a joy to ride in. Especially in the Glacier Express with it’s large windows!
In love I felt with Saas-Fee and it’s amazing views - add in that this is a car-free village, and I am considering moving there! We arrived there in the evening by Postbus, and then had something very typical Swiss: Raclette 🧀!
The Postbus took us to Leukerbad, another small village with impressive views, as it is surrounded by 900 m high rock walls. Here you can find Thermal Springs and the longest Via Ferrata of the Alps.
A beautiful morning hike took us up the Gemmipass and to Sunnbüel in the Canton of Bern. Here we continued our trip via Kandersteg, an ice-climbing Mecca in winter, to Interlaken. In this pretty town you can experience various kinds of adventurous activities, from Paragliding to Kayaking and Bungee-Jumping, or simply make a trip up the Jungfraujoch!
Expect detailed and in-depth articles in the not-too-distant future, but for now - head over to My Switzerland to start planning your trip!
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