Alpine Passes Trail

The hike starts high up in car-free Gspon, at an altitude of almost 1,900 metres, at the exit of the Saas Valley. Gspon is easy to reach by cable car from Stalden train station. The impressive Balfrin summit catches your eye at the start of this high-altitude hike. Straight away there is a view of the famous Valais 4000-metre peaks of the Mischabel massif, with the Dom being the highest mountain located entirely in Switzerland. The Balfrin is around 3,800 metres high.

The hiking trail meanders high above the Saas Valley along the mountain slope, undulating gently through mountain forests and over alpine pastures to Heimischgarten. After a hike of around three hours, the peaks of the Allalinhorn and Strahlhorn and their glaciers now reveal themselves. From Heimischgarten, the path leads down to Saas-Grund through the protected Löübinobodme natural forest reserve. Sites such as this are not managed. Trees are allowed to go through their life cycle here and then remain as dead wood. The wood forms an important habitat for numerous creatures and promotes biodiversity.

Passing through the forest reserve, you arrive in the heart of the village of Saas-Grund. Besides the wide street and modern infrastructure, you will be enchanted by the village itself with its old houses and narrow streets. Saas-Grund is smaller than Saas-Fee in terms of population, but it is the main place in the Saas Valley.

From here, there is an altitude difference of about 200 metres up to Saas-Fee. Along the Saaser Vispa river, the path branches off to the right first of all past the campsite. The start of the Chapel Trail sees the final ascent. 15 small chapels illustrate the life story of Jesus Christ, and the centrepiece is the pilgrimage chapel “Zur Hohen Stiege”. The ornate chapels were built in the early 17th century.

Set in an impressive landscape, the winding trail continues up towards Saas-Fee, where the valley opens out and reveals a view of some of the thirteen 4,000-metre peaks and their glaciers.