Europa Hut - Täschalp - Zermatt
- Distance: 22km
- Duration: (with breaks): 8h 30min
- Elevation gain/loss: 850m/1500m
This is it, today we are finishing our trip. I had mixed feelings about it as my body was really done with hiking while I still wanted to stay in the mountains. Two weeks on a trail was the longest I’ve done so far and it tested me both mentally and physically. I felt both relieved and sentimental at the same time as our adventure was coming to an end.
Europa Hut “helped” me to make up my mind and get going as soon as possible… You see, we hiked during Covid-19, meaning that you want to keep your distance from others as much as possible. Every other place we went to had a great reduction in available beds, thus making at least some space between hikers.
There was nothing like that in Europa Hut. We stayed in a small dorm room with another 20 people, I think only 2 places were empty in total. You’d say – hey, you could have gone to rooms with less people. Well, Yves and Jonas stayed in a small room, which in normal circumstances hosts 6 people. Now it was hosting… 6 people.
The “best” part was that someone was constantly coughing the whole morning, so we decided to leave asap. If not for this complete distance ignorance, I would say this cabane was one of the cutest and cosiest we’ve visited in. I just didn’t feel safe anymore, so there are some tainted memories from this last night.
We left the coughing hut around 8:00 to cross the famous hanging bridge. Why famous? It’s 500m long! Edo wasn’t too excited, but to be fair, the bridge is super solid, so even if you’re not comfortable with the height, just keep walking and it’s not that bad. A definite upgrade compared to the sketchy bridge we crossed yesterday (see the comparison pictures below).
Compared to yesterday, the second part of Europaweg was much more packed with day hikers. We could feel we’re getting closer to Zermatt. We could actually see it in the distance already and even Matterhorn was showing up once in a while. Just like yesterday we had great views the whole time in every direction.
I was hoping to enjoy the last hiking day, but the universe had other plans for me. After lunch for some reason I got a headache, so we were pretty slow to hike. I even took a small nap on a bench to rest a bit and get better.
Meanwhile the closer we were getting to Matterhorn the taller and more prominent it felt compared to the ridges around. As if a big brother, it was holding a personal cloud for itself and clearly towering above the nearby peaks. Then we reached an open view point and were blown away by a panorama in front of us. Sure, Matterhorn is clearly the tallest, but now we could also see a wall of white peaks to its left. Really cool.
From that point our descent started and as I was not in my best shape, we decided to follow Europaweg all the way to Zermatt instead of a longer version with classical Matterhorn views via Sunnegga.
Our version led past a few ski areas (the whole area around Zermatt is one giant ski area to be honest) and just spit us into Zermatt at around 16:00. We’re done! We walked 225km from Chamonix to Zermatt.
Imagine the awkwardness we felt when walking through this super fancy town. Everyone moves in their electric bike or cart (cars are not allowed in Zermatt) and smells like roses, while we walk in from another country all sweaty and dirty.
It was hilarious when the receptionist at the hotel asked if we need any hiking recommendations. I love hiking, but no hiking for a bit please! We finished the trip by having a celebratory dinner with Yves and Jonas. It was so nice to have them as our hiking buddies, thanks guys for all the card game evenings!
Overall, it was an awesome adventure. We tried new things such as crossing a glacier or showering in a glacier water, tested our endurance and explored Switzerland’s finest locations.
What’s next? Let’s see, maybe GR5…
Day 14 tips
- Try to get to the hanging bridge as early as possible as it’s a one-way street and takes a while to cross. Even at 8:00 we had to wait a couple of minutes.
- If you’re looking for a tasty vegetarian rusti, go ahead and try one in famously confusing Europaweg hut in Taschalp. Super friendly staff and big portions.