The Bettmerhorn is a peak located in canton Valais, famous for the top station of its cable car which departs from Bettmeralp and from where you will have a magnificent view of the Aletsch Glacier. Its great charm lies in the fact that from here the best view is of the large curve of the glacier coming from the nearby peaks of the Bernese Alps.
The spectacular panoramic terrace with views of the four-thousander mountain of the Alps and a small museum on the glacier make the Bettmerhorn a must.
From Bettmerhorn you can admire the longest glacier in Europe (24 km) and especially the perfect curvature of the glacier.
As with the entire Aletsch Arena, the access to the glacier begins in the valley and particullary in this case from the large parking lot in Betten (826 m). From here you can take the cable car to Bettmeralp (1950 m), a charming and lovely traffic-free high mountain resort with green meadows and beautiful mountain huts.
From Riederalp, you can also set off on a beautiful family walk in half an hour or take the electric minibus named Aletsch Express. To get to Riederalp, if you want to go up by cable car, the starting point is Mörel.
To get to the Bettmerhorn cable car you have to cross the whole of Bettmeralp, the walking distance is roughly 20 minutes.
After a few minutes walk you will be surprised by the view of the Kapelle Maria zum Schnee. With its white silhouette on a small green hill and the snow-covered mountains under a blue sky as background, it is one of the postcard pictures of Switzerland. It is one of those places that will occupy a privileged place in your memory when you return home.
The short walk runs between beautiful chalets, surrounded by flowers and small souvenir shops where you can easily stand and chat a little.
Next to the valley station of the cable car there is an inflatable park which is accessible free of charge. So if you are walking with children this is a good experience to take with you.
The ride is very short, only 7 minutes but you won’t be bored since you can admire spectacular aeriel views from the windows, with Bettmeralp and its lake as the main protagonists. It’s almost a shame that the trip is so short, even though you know that something better is waiting for you.
If you leave the cable car through the tunnel of the restaurant, do so through a wooden walkway suitable for trolleys and wheelchairs. A few blue explanatory panels are the prelude to the large panorama.
After the explanation boards, one can walk to the big flat rocks that is the beginning of the spectacular excursion of the Eggishorns, after that, one gets to another view point of the Aletsch Glacier.
There you can sit back and enjoy the landscape.
Next to the restaurant there is a small but cosy museum dedicated to the glacier: the Bettmerhorn Ice World. This is a visual tour of only 10 minutes through the life in the villages near the glacier.
Finally, before descending you can go onto the magnificent terrace of the Bettmerhorn, from where you have a magnificent view of the most famous peaks of the Alps, among which the pyramid silhouette of the Matterhorn stands out.
