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Hi everyone, I have a son who is very prone to altitude sickness, so anytime we travel from point A to B in a mountainous region, I have to do some scouting in advance to make sure that the elevations along the planned route are within the limits he can tolerate. If someone is familiar with the train line from Zurich to Visp and then from Visp on to Zermatt, could you please tell me what types of elevations we would encounter along the route? Doe anyone know what the highest elevation the train would climb to on this route? Does the operator of the train provide access to elevation tables or maps along the route?
I read on a website that the trip from Visp to Zermatt runs through the Matter valley where the rock faces on the sides of the rail track rise above 4,000 meters (of course, that does not necessarily mean that rail line itself is at that altitude). My son is generally OK in altitudes of 1,800 meters (6,000 feet) or less. Anything in excess of that poses a problem for him.
I would greatly appreciate if anyone that is thoroughly familiar with this train route can chime in with their input. PLEASE, NO GUESSES. This is a medical situation, so the information needs to be factual and reliable.
Thanks in advance for you help.
RK
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Zermatt village lies at 1600 metres above sea level (asl). However most of the main attractions of Zermatt are much higher that that. Are you sure it is worth going to a high altitude resort given the issue?
Between Zurich and Visp via the Inter City route, you will not travel at a higher altitude than 800 metres asl
You might be better sticking to lower altitude areas, but where you still see nice mountains by looking up at them, rather than actually traveling up them. The Lake Luzern area is good for this, as you can have some lovely boat rides around the lake looking at the surrounding mountains. The Lake Geneva area would be similar.
Hi RK,
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
Zermatt is located at an altitude of 1600m whereas Visp is at 650m. The journey by train takes about 1.5 hours at a reasonable speed. I think that this gives you time to progressively acclimatise despite the substantial elevation gain.
In Zermatt, if you are planning excursions to Gornergrat and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, you might want to make alternative plans if you are prone to altitude sickness at more than 1800m elevation. Both these mountain destinations have elevation of about 3000m. My recommendations would be to do hikes in the valleys and neighbouring towns or villages such as Täsch and Randa. You can also do a day trip to Brig.
For more sightseeing options in Zermatt: http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/activities
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Anna
Hi 1960Man, many thanks for the excellent suggestions you provided, especially the tip on Lake Lucerne. I did some looking around and will definitely be adding that to my itinerary. Do you think staying there a day and a half (2 nights) will be sufficient to take in most of the scenery and points of interest?
Also, our intent in going to Zermatt was to enjoy the scenery along the way and to get a first hand look at the Matterhorn from the Zermatt village. We were not planning on doing any other activities or sightseeing there that would take us to higher altitudes because of my son’s condition. You had pointed out that the train ride from Zurich to Visp should be of no concern as far as altitude, so the only concern now is what kind of altitudes we would encounter going from Visp to Zermatt. I researched altitudes of some of the villages along the train route (Tasch, Randa, Bergfreund, St. Niklaus, Stalden) and Tasch was the highest point at 1,450 meters. So those are all fine, except I’m not sure if there are climbs and descends involved between those villages that would take us to much higher elevations. If you happen to have any info on this, please let me know. Thank you once again for your valuable input.
RK
Hello Anna, thank you very much for the very useful info you provided, especially the available sightseeing options. Looks like the altitude in Zermatt itself will not pose any issues. We will not be venturing into doing any of the higher altitude excursions due to my son’s condition, but being able to see the Matterhorn first hand from Zermatt would be a worthwhile experience for us. I did some looking into Brig following your suggestion and it certainly looks beautiful. Do you know if we would be able to get a view of the Matterhorn in the distance from Brig or Visp?
Just from a purely precautionary perspective (and for peace of mind), I’m assuming that since Zermatt is a popular tourist destination and they must be encountering more than a handful of people experiencing altitude issues, they would hence have medical facilities in the village that are equipped to handle those types of situations?
Thank you once again for your valuable input.
RK
Hi RK,
You’ll get some of the best views of the Matterhorn from Zermatt, and quite unlikely from Brig or Visp.
There are several private clinics and various pharmacies in Zermatt if you have health concerns during your trip. You can get a list of the medical facilities from the Tourist Centre at the train station. In case of a medical emergency you should call 144: http://www.myswissalps.com/aboutswitzerland/practical/websites.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Anna, thank you once again for your input. If we do end up making the trip to Zermatt, I will certainly make it a point to stop at the tourist center at the train station like you had suggested. One more question – since Zermatt is car-free, how would we get from the train station to our hotel? Is there some type of shuttle service?
Thanks,
RK
Hi again,
Zermatt is a compact destination. In fact you’ll find everything is within walking distance. But some hotels do provide shuttle service if you have a lot of luggage. You should check with your hotel. In addition, there is also an electric bus service in Zermatt. You can also hire private taxis located outside the train station.
Be sure to check this out for more useful information about how to get around in Zermatt: http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/travel
Regards,
Anna
Thank you very much Anna for addressing all of my concerns and for providing such useful information and being such a valuable asset to potential visitors to Switzerland. Thanks and God bless you.
RK
I didn’t give you elevations of any places on the railway route up to Zermatt because the railway starts at low altitude in the Rhone river valley and climbs steadily (just like this: / ) to Zermatt at 1600m. Unfortunately I know the route so well I didn’t think to make this clear you!
Instead of cars in Zermatt there are electric buggies (and a two route battery electric bus network).
Most hotels have there own buggy, there are also electric buggy taxis (and lots of municipal and worker versions and supermarket vans) they are great fun to watch.
Thanks 1960man for your input. Really appreciate it.
RK
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