The Matterhorn Glacier Paradise (3,883m), or Klein Matterhorn, is the highest sightseeing point in Europe and is accessible by cable car. Klien Matterhorn is actually a small peak on the Zermatt alps.
The ground station of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise is located at the far end of the Zermatt town, it is accessible by electric bus leaving at the entrance of the Zermatt or by foot. The exciting ride from the ground station to the Klein Matterhorn takes about 40 minutes.
1. The Matterhorn at the ground station
The ground station of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise is located at the far end of the Zermatt town, it is accessible by electric bus leaving at the entrance of the Zermatt or by foot. The exciting ride from the ground station to the Klein Matterhorn takes about 40 minutes.
1. The Matterhorn at the ground station
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2. Morning 8 o'clock at the ground station
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3. Spectacular view of the Matterhorn from the cable car. This is the classic view looking at the north face (towards your right hand side) and the east face (towards your left hand side) of the Matterhorn.
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4. View of the Zermatt Valley from the cable car
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5. The first leg of the of the ride is from the ground station to the Furi station (1,867m). At the Furi station, you can choose to alight and change to the cable to Schwarzee paradise (which we visited the next day) or continue the second leg of the ride to the Trockener Steg (2,929m). Panorama from the Trockener Steg - Matterhorn (east face) and her surrounding mountains.
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6. The Zermatt Valley from Trockener Steg.
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7. Skiers outside Trockener Steg. The small peak at the center of the photograph is the Klein Matterhorn.
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8. Panaroma from Trockener Steg. From left to right - Zermatt valley, Dufourspitze (4,634m), Breithorn (4,164m), and Klein Matterhorn.
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9. The gondola lift of the third leg of the ride from Trockener Steg to Klein Matterhorn station. From the Klein Matterhorn station, you take a lift up to to the Glacier Palace and viewing platform.
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10. "The most fascinating glacier palace in the world".
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11. After visiting the Glacier Palace, it was a short climb up the stairs to the viewing platform - the highest in the Alps at 3,883m.
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12. Matterhorn from Klein Matterhorn viewing platform. Towards the right is the east face while towards the left is the south face, facing Italy.
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13. Panorama west from Klein Matterhorn On the left hand side you can see the Italian and French Alps, including Mount Blanc (which would visit the following day), the highest mountain in the Alps. In the centre is the Matternhorn.
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14. Panorama north from Klein Matterhorn. On the left is the Matternhorn. In the centre is the Zermatt valley and on the right is Breithorn.
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15. Climbers on the summit of Breithorn.
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16. Close up view of the peaks.
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17 & 18. A last look at Breithorn and Matterhorn before returning to Zermatt.
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19. The next morning we visited Schwarzee Paradise, where there is closer view of the Matterhorn from the "classical" angle. There is also a small lake here with a small chapel beside it. Unfortunately the Matterhorn was partially covered by clouds that day. In this sense, we were also very fortunate to have arrived in Zermatt one day earlier, otherwise we would not have such great views of the Matterhorn at Klein Matterhorn and Gornergrat!
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