Visiting The Aletsch Arena, Switzerland

As an Amazon Affilate, I earn commission on qualifying purchases.

Planning a trip to Switzerland? Here’s why you need to put the Aletsch Arena in Switzerland on your list! I wish I could condense everything there is to do and see in Switzerland into just a couple of posts, but it’s nearly impossible.

The climate and sites of Switzerland  are so varied, you really need a few weeks to experience just some of what Switzerland has to offer. (Disclosure: I was hosted by Valais-Wallis Tourism and the Panorama Restaurant, Bettmeralp). 

Switzerland’s Cantons

Switzerland has 26 cantons. Just as the topography and geography of Switzerland varies, so does the food and language.

Switzerland map.

What language do they speak in Switzerland?

Getting to the Aletsch Region

map of southern switzerland
You can see the proximity of Brig and Bettmeralp, in the top left of the map, to Lugano, Switzerland in the lower right. The grey line is the Italian border. (Credit: Google maps)

The Aletsch region is located in southern Switzerland, and a short train ride from Domodossola, in northern Italy. In my last post, Christina and I were in Brig, in the Valais-Wallis region of Switzerland. Brig is a great place to stay if you’re planning on visiting the glacier, as it’s less than 20 minutes by train to the base of the Aletsch Arena. We met David, our guide at the Betten train station. From Betten we took a gondola to Bettmerlap which is about half-way to the Aletsch glacier.

gondola in Bettmeralp
Gondola to Bettmerlap

Bettmerlap is everything you think of when you envision a quaint Swiss village. The wooden structures are built right up against the mountain, and each one had gardens and window boxes over-flowing with flowers.

Bettmerlap village collage
Bettmerlap village.

During the ride up, I was reminded of one of my favorite childhood stories,

gondola to Bettmeralp
Gondola to Bettmeralp reminded me of the book, Heidi.

Heidi, the book suddenly all made sense as David described what life in these villages is like. Heidi and her grandfather lived off what was grown in the Alps during the summer and during the winter they lived off cheese, butter, and cured meats and sausages.

Swiss houses in Bettmerlap.

Bettmeralp is only accessible by cable car. That means that everything the village needs, everything, has to be transported up the mountain by cable car. This includes food, water, any sort of supplies, as well as any vehicles.  The tiny, truck-like vehicles transport luggage, guests, food, and anything else to and from the cable car station around the village. The views from Bettmerlap are stunning. Cable car to BettmerhornBut we weren’t done yet. We had one more cable car to take to get to the top of the Aletsch Arena and Glacier when we would truly be on top of the world.

The Aletsch region is home to the largest glacier in the Alps

It’s also a Unesco World Heritage Site. Once we arrived on the top of Bettmerhorn we were blown away by the incredible views in every direction.

Aletsch arena glacier views.
Stunning views in every direction.
Aletsch glacier, (photo credit, Christina’s Cucina)

Although it was early summer, it was still a bit chilly (in the low 40s F.) While I could have used one more layer, we managed. It’s tricky packing for 3 weeks in a carry-on! The top of Bettmerhorn has a truly spiritual quality. Those of us who were there were speaking in hushed voices akin to a museum or church. A little further on and we came across a meditation spot complete with prayer flags and large stones for solitary prayer or meditation.prayer flags aletschI could have sat and enjoyed the peaceful view for hours. There was a pink tinge to the glacier which David told us was sand that had blown in from the Sahara desert. That was mind-blowing.

David Swiss guide with What A Girl Eats
With David, our guide to the Aletsch glacier.

The fog that had threatened our view in the morning had disappeared as though on command and we could see hundreds of miles.

pink sand at aletsch glacier
Pink sand blown in from the Sahara desert!

Sometimes there are things that are so awe-inspiring that words and even photos just don’t do them justice. This was one time that I just wanted to stop and record everything I saw not only in photos, but in memory as well.

Bettmeralp and Aletsch offer year-round activities

Of course Switzerland is well know for winter activities; skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and glacier walks.

Collage of the Aletsch glacier.
Aletsch has meditation and energy spot guides, panoramic views, and stone stacks. Christina and I couldn’t get enough of the views!

The rest of the year Bettmeralp is popular for hiking, mountain biking, mountain climbing, para-sailing, and even golf in the summer.

Meditation spot aletsch
In addition to active sports, the Aletsch glacier offers spots for quiet solitude and meditation.

Regional dishes

We didn’t want to come down from the top of the mountain, but we still had more to do and eat. David took us to the Panorama-Restaurant where we would experience a dish unique to the Valais-Wallis region; cholera.

Collage of Bettmeralp
Valais wine, delicious rye bread with great view, Cholera, the traditional dish of Valais , David our guide, lambswool seats at the Panorama Restaurant.

We were a bit chilly from the glacier, so we started with some hot Ovomaltine, (just like our American Ovaltine) to warm us up. We started our meal they way we started every meal we had in Switzerland, with a simple plate of locally cured meats and cheese, traditional rye bread and Swiss butter.  This one was called the Valais platter.

Valais meat platter.
The Valais platter, an assortment of local cured meat and cheese.

We also had some delicious Valais wine. The Swiss produce surprisingly good wines!

Bettmerlap wine
The local Bettmerlap wine.

So let’s go back a bit to Heidi. Remember they lived in grandfather’s hut all winter long and had to subsist on what they had grown or produced during the summer. Cholera is a dish similar to an American pot pie, except the filling consists of potatoes, leeks and cheese. It got it’s unique name from the disease. Swiss dish choleraWhen a cholera outbreak happened in 1836, the locals stopped trade and stayed away from their neighbors in an effort to stop the spread of the disease. So families would use whatever they had grown or raised, such as, apples, leeks, potatoes and if one was lucky, there might be a bit of sausage or cured meat.

Toast and wine
Toasting with Valais wine from Bettmeralp.

The cholera we had was filled with leeks, raclette and potatoes, and was very tasty indeed. Cholera is a dish that isn’t well known outside of the Valais-Wallis region. I imagine Heidi must have eaten a pie very similar to cholera.

Hérens Cows

Herens cattle
Those bells seems really heavy, but these are very strong and sturdy cattle!

After our filling and delicious meal, we were warm enough to continue exploring. We headed down to see the Hérens cows of Valais. The cattle provide meat and cheese to the locals, but they are also used for fighting. Herens cattle bettmeralpWhile it sounds a bit brutal, it’s a local event, similar to a county fair, with competitors coming from all over the region. What makes this cow fighting unique, is that only cows or heifers are used, no male cows participate. Why? Because the female cows will fight until one gives up, whereas the male cows fight to the death.

Bettmeralp chapel bettmeralp switzerland
Alas our day in Bettmeralp and the Aletsch glacier had to come to an end. We would descend the mountain and make our way to Zermatt!

I hope you’re intrigued by all that the Valais-Wallis region of Switzerland has to offer and will consider adding both Bettmeralp and the Aletsch glacier to your next trip!  You can read about Christina’s post on Brig and Aletsch glacier here.

Pin it on your Pinterest bucketlist!collage beautiful switzerland

For more photos and information on visiting Switzerland. You can visit these links.

My Switzerland, Aletsch Arena

Valais-Bettmeralp

Panorama Restaurant-Bettmerhorn

Aletsch Arena Sports 

Similar Posts

7 Comments

  1. I’ve been to Switzerland and loved it. This is an area I’d love to explore. Thanks so much for your detailed trip review. Makes me want to book a flight right away!

  2. Truly another post that makes me miss Switzerland! It is absolutely one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I love the mixture of cultures – the food is really fantastic. And those cows! My first year working in Switzerland my office was close to a farm and when we had the window open in the spring we could hear the cowbells, I loved it so!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *