The official summer holidays may have ended, but planning a summer or autumn weekend away in the mountains might help ease the transition back into reality. For inspiration, I am here to share an excellent late summer weekend my family spent in Bettmeralp, including a hike along the longest glacier in Europe. It will include all the details you need (and a few you don’t – apologies in advance).
So what is this Bettmeralp place you speak of?
Bettmeralp is a small mountain village located in Vallis, not far from the town of Brig. It is part of the Aletsch Arena, which comprises of three small villages along the Aletsch glacier (Bettmeralp is the biggest, along with Riederalp and Fischeralp). The stunning views (including the Matterhorn in the distance), the charm that comes from being car-free and the absence of nearly all international tourists, are just a few of the reasons why it’s one of our favourite places in Switzerland, winter and summer alike.
First, the logistics
Booking accommodation in summer is a joy (compared with the slightly politer version of the Hunger Games that you face when trying to book for peak season in winter). The Aletsch Arena website includes nearly all the chalet rentals, and if you prefer a hotel, I strongly recommend Hotel La Cabanne.
Whether you are arriving by train or car, you will end up at the Betten Talstation, piling luggage onto big luggage carts (silently judging those who have clearly over-packed), and then squishing into one of the gondolas that take you up to Bettmeralp. The only vehicles in Bettmeralp are the small ones driven by locals, and when you arrive up the top, there will be some there working as taxis, especially if you happen to be one of those people who over-packed.
Not sure what to wear? Our complete Switzerland summer packing guide has
you covered.
The pretence may be hiking, but we’re really here to eat & drink
With priorities firmly in place, let’s cover food next. There is a well-stocked and reasonably priced Coop close to the gondola station – for us, this is where we picked up breakfast, picnic and raclette supplies (because the mountains mean raclette, regardless of season). There are then several restaurants along the main road, which share fairly similar ‘gutbürgerlich’ menus but each having their individual charm. Our favourites are Hotel Aletsch (their terrace has an incredible view and they very cleverly have a toy room to keep kids begging to go back), Walliserstübe and Hotel Alpfrieden. If you enjoy carbohydrates, meat and cheese, you will be delighted in any of them.
Oh yeah, I guess we should go for that hike
The purpose of our summer weekend was a Saturday hike along the Aletsch glacier. We started by taking the (very steep, very long) gondola up to Bettmerhorn (at 2647m), where we began the walk down and across to Moosfluh, getting regular glimpses of the incredible glacier along the way. We had a bit of a picnic here before continuing to Riederfurka. If you’re tired or you can’t take the kids complaining anymore, you can take the most direct route, but if you’re feeling energetic, then I recommend taking a detour down through the Aletschwald, a beautiful old forest. At Riederfurka you can have a well-deserved drink and something to eat (the casual, relaxed restaurant is always open & a fancier, modern one is open during high season). From here it’s a pleasant, slight decline as you walk back to Riederalp and then continue onto Bettmeralp. This route, including breaks and with a toddler on our backs (I say ‘our’, but actually only my husband’s) took us around six hours.
It’s a hike that delivers so many beautiful views so early that you will worry you have peaked too soon and might struggle to maintain motivation for the rest of the day. However, there is no need to worry; the incredible landscape and views continue to change and impress the whole day. And while it’s quite a long hike, it’s not too strenuous (my husband with the 19kg toddler backpack may disagree) and therefore is close to my idea of a perfect summer day in the mountains.
In case you have hours between the hiking and eating
I’m not sure if ‘àpres-hike’ is really a thing, but it’s undoubtedly practised in our house. In Bettmeralp we always head to Albis for that super satisfying post-hike drink; it’s a bar in the middle of the main street where all the young and cool people go, which we still pretend we are, even many years and two kids later.
If you have any other time to fill there is a small lake which is lovely to walk around, a high ropes course in the nearby forest, a few little shops to browse and countless other smaller and easier walks you can do around the town.
It is one of those places where you feel a million miles away from ‘the real world’ and even just a couple of days can fill up that holiday tank enough to carry you all the way to Christmas!
