Away.com Travel Blog: The Best Cross-Border Hiking in the Swiss Alps

July 15, 2009

The Best Cross-Border Hiking in the Swiss Alps

By Gerry Wingenbach
07/15/2009

ON THE BORDER: Hikers along the Swiss border (Gerry Wingenbach)

Usually the trail signs posted where I hike warn me about bears. This was different. “Beware: Route leads through Austria, carry identification.”

Switzerland may have the greatest train network in the world, but no visitor should cannonball through the extraordinary scenery. The Alps, which show no respect for national borders, were made for walking. And Switzerland offers some of the greatest alpine walks in the world, bringing everything you’d ever want to the game—friendly villages, easy-to-understand signage, dreamlike accommodations, and fuel for tomorrow's dining.

Our hike began in a meadow full of lively cows in Switzerland’s land of Gruyère and Emmental. The scenery was as rich as a Swiss chocolate bar and as easily consumed. It was the perfect overnight hike—one of those through-the-looking-glass adventures. And, yes, we crossed into Austria, then back into Switzerland.

A hut in sight (Gerry Wingenbach)

Our point of departure was the duty-free Swiss resort of Samnaun, which is billed as “Europe’s highest shopping mile.” Our destination was the Heidelberger Hütte in Switzerland’s Lower Engadine region, a mind-blowing stretch of remote glaciers and high-mountain passes in the Silvretta Alps. The elevation rambles from 6,000 feet in Samnaun to 9,000 feet at the hut. The route follows small, stone-walled terraces built by Cistercian monks in the 12th century.

The hut, open mid-June to October, actually belongs to the German Alpine Club and sleeps about 150 in double rooms and dorms. We dined family-style on fondue with a polyglot group of overnight hikers and mountain bikers. (The hut is a stop on the Trans-Alp mountain bike route.) The laughter was fueled by Italian wine. The dorms were clean and quiet. Breakfast was a full-on buffet. The all-inclusive overnight cost was about $40 per person.

Switzerland offers numerous opportunities to hike across national borders that link similar worlds. Here’s a sampling of some of my favorite cross-border experiences from this legendary Alpine nation. Maps and additional information are available from Switzerland Mobility.

1. Samnaun: The route to the Heidelberger Hütte, which traverses a corner of Austria, is a relatively easy five-hour hike from Samnaun.

2. Zermatt: In this ancient, carless village, nestled hard on the edge of the Matterhorn, it’s easy to forget that Switzerland’s best-known mountain also borders Italy. The day-long hike to the Italian resort of Cervinia, where the trail gets thin and beautiful (not unlike the locals), is one of the most scenic walks in the Alps.

3. Basel: Located along the Rhine, at the point where the river becomes the great European navigator, Basel is Switzerland’s center of commerce and industry. But next to its rectangles of extraordinary architecture is the starting point for the Basel-Dreiland-Wanderwag trail, which leads wanderers on a 40-mile, three-country (Switzerland, Germany, and France) river walk with distant castles and the scent of grapes down vineyard roads.

4. Lugano: This is a fun day for families. You begin with a boat ride across the lake to Cantine di Gandria (don’t miss the Smuggler Museum when you dock), and hike across the Italian border.

5. Geneva: From Geneva, travel to Chamonix via the Mont Blanc Express. This adrenaline capital of the Alps is a platform from which to launch a go-far-see-deep, multi-day hike around the rugged gorgeousness of the Mont Blanc massif, leaving footprints in France, Italy, and Switzerland. Glacier travel is part of the route so mountaineering skills or a guide are required. If travel can turn you into a new person, this is the place where it'll likely happen.

There are many more cross-border experiences in the Alps. Tell me of your favorites or any other hikes in Switzerland that you've done in the comments section!