Five lakes, five colours, one mountain that keeps showing up in all of them.
Riffelsee
The reflection of the Matterhorn in Riffelsee is worth waking up early for.
At 2,757 metres, Riffelsee sits below the Gorner Ridge, a short walk from the Rotenboden station on the Gornergrat railway. The lake is small, easy to overlook from the platform, hidden just behind a rise in the land. Ten minutes on foot changes that.
On calm mornings, before wind disturbs the surface, the Matterhorn appears twice: once against the sky, once inverted in the water. The Riffelseeweg, trail no. 21, continues from the lake down to Riffelberg, past Riffelhorn, a rock face where climbers rehearse before attempting the Matterhorn itself.
The lake freezes over in winter and stays under snow well into spring. Between June and October, it opens again, and the crowds with it. Early risers who take the first train up from Zermatt still get the water to themselves.
More in Zermatt
The locals' mountain. Less crowded, more authentic, same stunning view.
A neighbourhood bar with gluten-free pizza worth seeking out. Hard to find, easy to stay.
The Matterhorn arrives twice here, once overhead, once in the lake below.
Guides for Riffelsee
Routes and itineraries featuring Riffelsee.
Switzerland has over 5,000 kilometres of railway. Most of it is ordinary. These five lines are not. These are not journeys you take to get somewhere faster. They are journeys you take because the train itself is the point. Because the valley below deserves more than a glance. Because some landscapes only make sense when you move through them slowly, from a window, without a plan for what comes next.