Aletsch Arena: Why You Need to Visit This Hidden Gem in Switzerland

Switzerland is known for its jaw-dropping scenery, but if you want to experience one of the most stunning and underrated spots, you need to visit Aletsch Arena. Home to the Great Aletsch Glacier, the longest glacier in the Alps, this breathtaking region is one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Switzerland. 

In this episode, I’m chatting with David Kestens, a local expert, to uncover what makes Aletsch Arena so special. We talk about the car-free Swiss mountain villages, where you can truly disconnect and enjoy nature, and explore the best viewpoints to see the glacier up close. You’ll also hear about the exciting activities available year-round, from hiking along scenic alpine trails in summer to skiing and snowshoeing in the winter months.

We break down the best ways to visit Aletsch Arena, including Glacier Express stops and the easy connections from Brig. Plus, if you’re traveling with a Swiss Travel Pass, you’ll love hearing about the Swiss Travel Pass discounts available for cable cars and other transport options in the area.

If you’re planning a Swiss adventure, this is the perfect destination to add to your itinerary. Whether you love outdoor adventures, peaceful alpine getaways, or just want to explore beyond the usual tourist hotspots, Aletsch Arena is a must-visit. Tune in to hear why this is one of the most unique places to visit in Switzerland and why it deserves a spot on your Switzerland bucket list!

Safe travels,

Carolyn

👉 Show notes - Episode 126

🚞 Get your Swiss Travel Pass here

📖 Free guide 21 useful things to know before you visit Switzerland - Get your copy here

Where to get more Swiss travel tips and inspiration:

•On our website

•Subscribe to our newsletter

•Join our private Facebook group

🇨🇭 Take advantage of our exclusive Switzerland trip discounts.

Transcript

Are you dreaming of visiting Switzerland? Planning a trip to Switzerland is very exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. How do you choose which of the many scenic cities, towns and villages to visit? Which mountain top excursions should you take? And what's the best way to get around Switzerland, and of course how much of the country can you realistically see within your time frame? If you've asked yourself any of these questions, this is the podcast for you. This is the holidays to Switzerland travel podcast and in each episode, your host Carolyn Schönafinger chats with Swiss travel experts to answer your most commonly asked questions, provide practical tips and take you on a virtual visit to the most popular destinations, and of course some hidden gems to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. And you'll hear plenty of conversations about Swiss cheese and chocolate too. Are you ready to plan your trip to Switzerland? Well, let's get started.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Hello Grüezi. Welcome to this week's episode. Switzerland is well known for its spectacular scenery and that's probably one of the reasons why you want to visit. But it's not only the more famous locations like Zermatt and the Jungfrau Region that offer breathtaking views. In fact, around just about every corner in Switzerland, you'll be faced with incredible beauty, and it's often those lesser known destinations that surprise you the most. One of these lesser known destinations, well, at least it's lesser known to non Europeans, is the area known as the Aletsch Arena, which I was fortunate to visit last June. I'll let today's guest, David Kestens, tell you all about it, and I'm sure he'll leave you in no doubt as to why I fell in love with the region and why you will too. Hello, David. Thank you very much for coming onto the podcast. It's great to have you here with us today. Would you like to start by telling us a little bit about yourself? 

David Kestens 

Well yeah, it's quite a story actually because I'm originally not Swiss. I'm a young guy who used to travel quite a lot and actually a mathematics teacher, so nothing to do with tourism. But by coincidence, after traveling quite a lot of time, I landed up in Switzerland for one year with my wife, and then fell in love with the country, and that's how I landed into tourism, first serving in a bistro, working for a hotel, and then, well, just got stick in paradise here.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

It sounds like such a terrible place to be living. I'm sure that many of our listeners probably haven't actually heard of the Aletsch Arena, with most of our listeners sort of being from outside of Europe. So can you start by telling us what's so special about this part of Switzerland? 

David Kestens 

Well, it's not the Arena part. It's actually the Aletsch part, because that's the name of the biggest glacier of the whole Alps. It's the great Aletsch glacier, which is the longest glacier, the biggest glacier in the whole Alps, with its 20 kilometers length. And it's so very impressive in the middle of the Alps, UNESCO World nature heritage that's actually the real USP of the whole area. Very impressive. And then the Arena is actually the area around that's Great Aletsch Glacier offering such spectacular views and nature. While it's definitely worth coming. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Absolutely, I can attest to that. So why do you think it is perhaps that people from outside of Europe aren't very familiar with the area? Are you like all keeping it all a secret or something? 

David Kestens  

Well, we did and we still do a little bit, because most of our clients, actually more than 70% of our clients, they're Swiss, and the Swiss know what is good in their country, so they keep on coming towards us, which doesn't give us the need to do too much marketing publicity abroad. And after the Swiss, we got the surrounding countries, like the German ones, the Benelux countries, which makes already, like over 95% of our overnights. They're just coming from those three key markets. And then while to fill those other 5% it's good to go to travel a little bit abroad and to have the right mixture. So that's why we didn't start making big campaigns in overseas countries, like 10 years ago, but economical crisis, Coronavirus, they changed quite bit a lot. So that's why we think it's good to give that secret, also a little bit to some foreign countries, giving a better mixture of our guests. And we don't want to hide that beautiful place to everybody actually.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

And I guess that helps you spread the tourist load, I guess across the year, because people from different nationalities would have their peak vacation period at different times of the year, so that could help with a more regular flow of tourists, I guess.

David Kestens  

Correct, especially that. Our main season is going on now. Now a lot of people are skiing in the area. It's a fantastic ski area. So our main season is winter still, and then you've got the summer, where we still have some holes to fill with some other guests. And then you've got autumn and springtime also, where the cable cars are also, not all of them, but most of them are also running, and we do have the strategy to try to be able to offer work to people in the area, in those small villages for a whole year. And for that, we do need some other countries, because the Swiss, they're not so keen on traveling in high alpine mountains in springtime, say, because they had their winter holidays already, and they're waiting for a little bit of so the in between seasons there, that's where we can really offer a spectacular view to some more guests. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Great and I must say, when I was there in June last year, it was kind of refreshing, because I wasn't hearing English wherever I went, like you do in many other parts of Switzerland these days, with so many international tourists, it was actually nice to walk down the street and everyone, more or less, was speaking Swiss German. So it was a very nice change.

David Kestens  

That's still the charm, actually, that we do have those 70% Swiss and then the German on top. So you still feel in the real Switzerland as it is not so touristic in the far away countries. So it's Europe, it's Switzerland, and you're still in the middle of it, correct?

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Absolutely. Okay. So for anyone wondering, can you tell us exactly where about in Switzerland? We'll find the Aletsch Arena. 

David Kestens 

Well, I think that's exactly what the most of people are asking now, speaking about the  Aletsch Arena, not knowing where it is. Well, actually, most people that went already to Switzerland, your audience, that have probably seen it, are from far, far away, not really realizing are from close by, because the glacier, it's actually starting on a very famous spot, the Jungfraujoch. So when they take a train from the other side, from Interlaken Grindelwald, up to the top of Europe Jungfraujoch, that's actually the start of the glacier. But they are all year round, beautiful spots in the middle of the snow without realizing that it's actually the start of the biggest glacier of the whole Alps. And you don't see the whole thing because it's turning around the corner afterwards when you look from the top of Europe down. So to have the full view, you have to get over that mountains from Grindelwald landing up in the valley area. And there, the most known place is definitely Zermatt Widac Matterhorn so we're actually located in between the Matterhorn and Zermatt, and then Grindelwald Interlaken. That's where it's located. And if you're on Gornergrat on Matterhorn, and you look direction the other side, then you might see a little bit of that glacier too, but far away. So location in Grindelwald and Zermatt in the valley area.

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Excellent, so I'll ask you in a little bit more about actually getting to the region. But can you start by telling us some of the highlights, of course, the glacier. What can you tell us about that and some of the other highlights that people can see when they come to Aletsch Arena? 

David Kestens 

Yeah, so the glacier is omnipresent from the moment you go up the mountain, because the glacier, it's actually hidden behind the mountains. If you're in the valley, which is actually one valley, the valley is one valley. It's the Rhône Valley. So starting with the Rhône Glacier a little bit further up to the east from here, and it's cutting, actually the mountains in two parts. If you go down on the left hand side, where you go up to Zermatt and Matterhorn then on the right hand side, actually you've got the mountains going up there. And then it's a plateau here where you can go up by cable cars, up to the ridge to see the glacier on the other side. So it's a little bit hidden, and then you have that spectacular view on 20 kilometers, which means, like that's over 13 miles of glacier length. So it's impressively long with two big middle moraines that's actually stones in the middle of the glacier falling down on the glacier. So the view from up there is very spectacular. And if you're standing on one of those viewpoints, it looks actually quite flat and not that big as it is, but it is two kilometers, so over one mile wide. And on the deepest point, it's called the Konkordia place, like in Paris, but then much bigger with instead of streets, actually glaciers coming together. It's still 800 meters thick. So it's huge, impressive, but it is UNESCO world, nature heritage, so totally protected. We cannot build anything on it. We can almost not do anything apart from going for a glacier hike with a mountain guide on it. So just seeing it, it's so impressive, so energizing, that's already worth coming. And then the other highlights is that you well, you have to go up the mountain. Only way by getting up the mountain is by cable car, landing a big car, free villages. So it's also then the spectacular view once you're in those villages. It's a spectacular view on all, or most, of the 4000 meter peaks in Europe. Even you see them all quiet peaceful, not too many people, not over crowded, but small villages. That's actually another highlight, also facing south. You're in the valley, as I explained, like in between two 4000 meter peak ranges. We have the best weather of the whole Switzerland, with 300 sunny days in the year. And the whole area, it's actually facing south. So you got sunshine from morning until the evening most of the time, luckily, not always so, because otherwise we wouldn't have snow for skiing.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Well, I must say, I was there for three days, I think that we might have had sunshine, maybe two. So, yeah, we lucked out there. We had a pretty good ratio. But yeah, the views, as you say, are just absolutely spectacular. And I think I don't know, personally for me, seeing the glacier from this end, the Aletsch Arena end, is much more impressive than seeing it from Jungfraujoch. I don't know you seemed you can see further. You can really get to the impression of just how huge it is. Yeah, it's mind blowing.

David Kestens  

Yeah, it's a totally different view. And also, well, from the Interlaken area, very beautiful. It's actually leading to one viewpoint on the Jungfraujoch with us, such a whole ridge so we've got like, four different cable cars going up to the mountain. You've got choices, so all the people that are actually divided a bit. So it's all, it's quite on such a viewpoint. You've got plenty of stones to make that perfect Instagram picture with only you and the big, big glacier behind. So it's, yeah, it's a totally different feeling, totally different view. Very inspiring and, yeah, worth definitely a few days for visiting all the different views on that glacier.

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Yeah. So what about the effects that climate change is having on the glacier? Like, how much is it shrinking every year? Is that a big concern? 

David Kestens 

It is a big concern, actually, for the future generations, for ours, it's still okay, because with the 20 kilometers, we still have some left over. But actually, an average, the glacier is melting about 15 meters per year in length and about five meters in thickness. So which means if you come and you come back in 10 years, then it will be like more than half a kilometer already shorter. So it is noticeable. And I was with a mountain guide last summer. I was on the glacier, and he told me, David, if you would have joined me yesterday, actually we would have been like 35 centimeters higher. It was a very sunny day and a very warm summer. So actually, in one day, over a surface of 80 square kilometers, the glacier melted 35 centimeters. So it's very impressive to see how quick it goes, and that our water storage, it's actually shrinking every year, with some consequences, also in building constructions and everything. So we do feel it very strongly, the the global warming, but there's still some leftover for the next few generations, so nothing to worry about, heuristically, say, for the moment, but we do have things to worry about in global things.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Absolutely. All right, so you mentioned just a bit earlier about the car free villages that are on top of that plateau. And I know, of course, there's villages down in the valley as well, but what can you tell us about those three car-free villages? How do we get there? And I know there's, as you said, there's some great viewpoints from each of those. So can you give us a bit more info about each of those places?

David Kestens

Yeah, so in general, I explained it. We've got, like, the valley with the bottom, where there is only one street, and there is also a train line just one. It's actually the very famous train line, it’s the line of the Glacier Express. So actually, the Glacier Express passes here, just behind me at the moment in summertime, like six times a day for the three trains from each direction. Unfortunately, they don't have time to stop just here to get out and go up the mountain to see the glacier, but it's just before you arrive or after you arrive in Brig, where the train, Glacier Express continues to Zermatt then that's where you can get on the local train, which is connecting Brig then with Andermatt. And there is even a direct train from our bottom stations to Zermatt every hour. So you could come from Zermatt actually, as a de- excursion towards even with public transport. So our public transport with three train stops where, every time you've got, like the cable car station very close, or even in the train station itself. So you get off out of the train, and then you take a cable car, which brings you from about 700-1000 meter elevation, directly up to over or around 2000 meters elevation, and that only in 10 minutes. So it goes very quick that you go up the mountain up to 6500 feet high. People traveling with a car, with a rental car, they can also just park next to the cable car station and then get into that cable car. So very quickly, you're up to that plateau at 6500 feet. And there we've got those three charming villages in Switzerland. When you go up the mountain where the cows makes their summer holiday, it's called Alp. So we've got Riederalp, we've got Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp. So originally, actually places where the cows spend their summer holiday with a beautiful view. So now we do have a cable car, and only the cable car. So actually, to get to that car free villages, you need the cable car, but not only for you and your luggage. Actually, everything is transported by cable car. All the food, all the bed linen, if there is a construction, all the material to construct the chalet. It's all done by cable car. So very impressive, even that. And then you've got, like the plateau south facing, beautiful view from everywhere, actually, view on the Matterhorn. It's not close by, but you it's omnipresent, not only the Matterhorn, also the Wise or on the dome, all the 4000 meter peaks on the south. You've got those ones. And then it's suddenly totally quiet because there are no cars, just a few electric cars and summer that do the transportation of all that material. But people just walk when they're around that villages. So we’re not, like, 120 hotels. We actually on the plateau, in total, on the three villages, we only got like 15 hotels, one five, not 50, huh, only one five and then quite a lot of chalice that you can rent to stay in with. Also the shops that you need for food and the sport shops for the ski, ski equipment and winter time are the gear in summertime, but that's also about it. As we have this ways they're not looking for souvenirs. Too many souvenirs. So even souvenir shops you don't find too often, no glamorous brand. So the luxury of the Aletsch Arena, it's actually the view, it's the peace, the quietness, the glacier. So that's actually the luxury, which means also five star properties are missing. We don't have them because there is no request, because people feel good, okay, like this. Most of the hotels three star, I don't know in which one you stayed. 

Carolyn Schönafinger 

I stayed at La Cabane.

David Kestens 

La Cabana Well, that's the only four star on the mountain that we have.

Carolyn Schönafinger 

There you go! Very nice it was too.

David Kestens

Yeah. Well, only 12 rooms. So that's about the size of our hotel. So normally it's around 20 rooms, small, family owned, local family owned properties. A lot of charm in all of them, good traditional foods, most of them three stars. But if you check on the website, you check the rooms of the Bedmerhoff are of the wild house to just to mention, too on booking.com they're three stars. But if you check the rooms, they're, they're like five stars. I mean, they prefer being the best three star, which Bedmerhoff is in ranking, you know, than being a non good for our five star, where the expectations are then too bigger. So luxury. It's like the nature the view on the balcony of the hotel with view on Matterhorn most of the hotels have, so that's it. And then from each village, you have some cable cars, from the Valais going up the ridge from Riederalp it's going up to Hohfluh, our most fluh which means, like a green place. So it's still green at an altitude of about 8000 feet. Splendid view on the glacier that still turns around the corners on a view on Jungfrau. From there, a perfect place to start hiking in the protected forest that we also have. We, by the way, have a very beautiful castle on the ridge which is called De Villa Castle, historical building built by the British who else? in the 19th century, and it's now pro nature Switzerland, who's owning it and organizing a lot of sensible projects with the nature so the forest is protected. They were on the glacier, explaining what global warming is doing into it. So very nice program, close to nature. From the Riederalp Moosfluh side, from Bettmeralp, actually very charming. The central village, the biggest one where you stayed with a very beautiful chapel. Also the chapel Maria to the snow, now covered with snow. There you can take gondolas to the viewpoint Bettmerhorn and on top there, at about over 8000 feet, we've got a top mountain restaurant where you can have lunch with view on the Matterhorn on one side, and then the viewpoint on the glacier the other side, also very spectacular. And the third one, when you go up from Fiesch to Fiescheralp, first step and then you go to the Eggishorn viewpoint, that's the highest one over 9000 feet. 2000 so almost 3000 meters from there, you see the full length of the glacier. And you got a view on the Jungfrau, Mönch, Eiger from the other side, inclusive Jungfraujoch, and then the other side the Mont-Blanc, the Matterhorn, a spectacular 360 degrees view. Very, very spectacular It is, yeah, so actually, three, four viewpoints from the three different villages, all three car free. And then in total, it's about 300 kilometers of marked hikes. Now we have only on that area in winter time, all covered with snow. So then it's skiing and winter hiking we do.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, those viewpoints  are very impressive..I. As well as going from Bettmeralp to Bettmerhorn, we also went down again on the cable car, along on the train, and up from Fiesch up to Fiescheralp, and then up to Eggishorn. And, yeah, that view from up there was just incredible. You can see so much of the glacier. It's amazing. And everything's just so well connected with the cable cars, the trains, etc. So it makes it really easy to get from one village to another, to go and see the other viewpoints.

David Kestens 

It does. And actually going to a viewpoint doesn't take so much time. The quickest one, from Fiesch to Eggishorn, it only takes you 25 minutes, starting at 1000 meter elevation, going up to 3000 less than half an hour. So goes very quick, too.

Carolyn Schönafinger

It does well, yeah, you're just looking out the cable car at the amazing views everywhere around you. So the trip actually goes quite fast, as you said. Are those viewpoints? Are they accessible all year round?

David Kestens 

Well, it's Switzerland. So we are a very safe country, which means we d-- we do need to check every single screw of every little cable car and gondola station twice a year after the busy winter season, which is going now, it is just after Easter that we stopped. So this year, Easter is quite late 20th of April. So we stopped with the winter season the 21st of April. Then we close, actually, all the cable cars to the viewpoints. And apart from one, because we're also welcoming quite a well, not a lot, but the few Asian groups, U.S groups that we have are, even the German ones that want to come. We open one viewpoint in springtime, which is Hohfluh at the moment, and all the rest. We do the checking of all those crew cable cars, but we keep one open that everybody can see the glacier, can enjoy the view on the glacier, at least also in springtime. And then summer season starts, always beginning of June. So this year, it's the sixth of June, where everything is open again, apart from that viewpoint, Hohfluh, because that has been running and needs to be checked for high Summit. So then all the other viewpoints are open in our summer season. We call it summer goes until end of October, which means it's already two months of autumn season into that summer season. So we have to close the end of October, because that's the moment where the snow starts falling, and we need to prepare for winter time, and we need to check all those gondolas again. We open Hohfluh again, but only for groups, because for individuals, while individual travelers, we don't have too many in the month of November, even not internationally. So there, when there is a group request, we open only one. And then in winter, starting always beginning of December. Next year it will be the fifth of December. And then it goes to Easter. Again, I think it's the 11th of April. It's like a Saturday after Easter. Everything's open again, all the viewpoints are open. So viewpoint accessible, actually, for groups all year round, for FIT, from beginning of December until the end of October. Okay, that's something about the viewpoints. Because the cable cars to the villages. They're open all year round. Because doors mountain villages, car free, they are living villages. There are 250 respectively, 350 people living all year round in those villages. And the cable car, it's the public transport. So those cable cars are running from six in the morning until almost midnight to bring those local people also back home if they want to go somewhere else.

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Okay, great. Now that's good to know. 

David Kestens 

Maybe one change to mention, our cable car to the Eggishorn from Fiescheralp going up to that beautiful viewpoint, Eggishorn, it came into the years. And also there, with the global warming, there is everywhere in the whole Alps, there is a problem of permafrost. You've heard about permafrost. Permafrost is the mountain that is frozen inside. So actually, the mountain is just a pile of stones glued together with ice from a distant height. Now, as it's always getting warmer, that line of permafrost, of frozen mountains, it's actually always getting higher, and a lot of cable cars in the whole Alps, they're built like around 3000 meters elevation. And now that stable mountain before glued together with ice, it's actually not so stable anymore, because the ice has melt, so not only out of security, but also because it came in the years we're going to build a very beautiful, modern cable car, new one from Fiescheralp to Eggishorn, starting next summer. So the viewpoint Eggishorn when everything goes well will be closed from the 18th of August on, and then we have to start building in half a summer. For winter, it will be open again, but then it will be closed the whole summer of 2026 one summer, we have to build the whole thing with a beautiful panoramic restaurant. We will have also on top opening december 2026 and then we will be able able also to open the whole year round, because it's a totally new cable car system when we can let run one and check the other. So good news, then we will be opened full year round, also for FIT travelers to the Eggishorn from December 2026.

Carolyn Schönafinger 

That's an exciting new project, something to definitely to look forward to. Okay, so what about. Some of the other villages in the area. Are there other villages that are worth visiting?

David Kestens 

Well, all the villages are very beautiful. And the whole area, the whole Switzerland, is beautiful view, you know, the best you're making, visiting for it the whole time. So it's beautiful everywhere in in the valley. If you rent a car, or you want to discover the whole area, going to Zermatt also has a day excursion and then traveling around. Also the valley villages have a lot of charm, small ones, typical Valley ones, all wooden, small hotels, too in the valley, and even in between here and then the mountain villages, the Alps, you've got some charming small Alpine villages only would not too much tourist to walk around to see the valley goats, the valley cows, the sheep, the blacknose sheep. And some hotels, even if you go to my biggest hotel, which is hidden in the Fieschertal, it's a dead end valley. There is only one hotel, one restaurant, but a beautiful hotel. It is actually the Alpenblick you feel also totally comfortable there, and a little bit more central, because not blocked by cable car, say. And then you've got from Fiesch, you've got the Binntal. I don't know if you've heard from it. It's a regional national park, and it's even more a secret than the Aletsch Arena on the plateau is. Very remote, very beautiful. Not too many tourists, even non Swiss. So that's a beautiful area to go into, but just from Brig, if you go up there, you've got Belalp a little bit the same one, also car free village up the mountain with a historical Hotel Belalp up there. Very beautiful people while traveling on the Glacier Express, stopping in Brig without knowing that even the historical center of Brig is very beautiful with like the Castle Stockalper with the historical route going up to the simpler so a lot of things to discover, some historical ones, some remote ones, cultural ones. A lot of things to do, actually in the whole Aletsch Arena area, but not known to Australians, the North Americans, they never heard because they quite stick to their highlights, Grindelwald, Zermatt and without knowing what beautiful places are just next to or even in the middle of it.

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Yeah, absolutely. Well, as I said, I only visited Bettmeralp last year for the very first time. I'd been through the area before, but had never stopped. And yeah, it's it really is well worth a visit. So if someone's listening to the podcast and they decide that they'd like to visit a number of the different villages or Brig even, is there a special ticket or a pass that they can buy to use the public transport, particularly the cable cars in the area? I know a lot of the listeners will probably be traveling with a Swiss Travel Pass. Does that cover the cable cars? Or is there any discount for them using those?

David Kestens 

Yeah, the Swiss Travel Pass is a good ticket. They have to use all that Swiss public transport, but our cable cars, they are half priced with the Swiss Travel Pass. If they don't have the Swiss Travel Pass, they should buy the Swiss Half Fare, because then also there all the rates of all the cable cars. They're actually half priced as well for a return ticket or a single ticket if they start hiking afterwards. But the ticket to have if you're staying a little bit while, also for one day and you want to discover different things, that's, I suppose. That's also the pass you had. It's called the Aletsch Explorer, and that's a ticket for using all the cable cars in the whole Aletsch Arena. So as well going up to Riederalp, Bettmeralp, Fiescheralp, all the viewpoints, and even the local train that connects Brig then with Mörel, Bettmeralp Talstation, Fiesch, and even to the suspension bridge of Fürgangen, that's a stop at Fiesch. It goes. It's the whole connected. So you can use, actually all those things during one day. Are more days if you buy it, and it's very affordable. So with the Swiss cover pass, you would pay only 27 and a half Swiss francs, which is actually very cheap for using everything during a full day. If you buy for more days, say four days, you stay like three overnights. Here it would cost you, if I remember, well, only 57 Swiss francs for four days in use of all the cable cars and the local train with the Swiss travel pass so very affordable, actually, and then worth having it, because then you got a flexibility to travel everywhere, and don't think about taking your wallet again and buying a single ticket. And you say, is it worth doing? So it's the ticket to have if you stay here for more days or even for one day excursion, it's actually worth having. 

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Yeah, you can't get too much for 27 Swiss francs in Switzerland can you?. So to be able to use all those cable cars is great. And people might find like I did that when I had first gone up to see the view Bettmerhorn. I just loved it so much that we went back a couple of days later, because, you know, the weather was a little bit different. So why not go back up and have another look, so that that's, uh, the flexibility.

David Kestens 

correct? And there is actually a special offer, uh, last year and next summer, we also will have it. It's actually the Matterhorn meets the Aletsch Glacier, and it's actually a pass. You find it online, and it's actually two for one. So you buy one, you got two. So even half price on the half price of the Swiss Travel Pass, and it's a ticket with a three days Aletsch Explorer in there, plus the train, not just to Brig, but to Zermatt with one time Gornergrat inclusive. So actually, if you would stay in the area here, then you've got the full flexibility to travel around during those three days in the Aletsch Arena with inclusive one day excursion from Zermatt going up the Gornergrat. Very affordable, it is, and two for one, so.

Carolyn Schönafinger

That's fantastic, all right. Well, I'll put the link to your website in the show notes, because I'm sure people will be keen to find out more about that. So what are some of the top things to do during each season? Obviously, there's skiing in winter and hiking in summer. But are there other things that people come to the region, particularly for at certain times of the year? 

David Kestens 

Well, now we are in winter time, so we let's, let's start with winter. The whole Aletsch Arena. It's actually one big plateau, connecting those three mountain villages with each other, with cable cars and ski lifts everywhere. With a total of 104 kilometers, we do have the luxury that we start there where other destinations would stop skiing. So actually our lowest point, it's 1850 meters, which is about 6000 feet. That's the lowest point of the ski area going up to over 9000 feet. So all the Eggishorn is the highest point, with 2869 meters. And then it's south facing, so sunshine from morning until evening, not only for 104 kilometers of ski slopes, but we also have 75 kilometers, which is like 50 miles of prepared winter hikes. And also there the mountain villages, they're connected with each other with prepared winter hikes. But also some going to the viewpoints, mostly where you can start hiking with view on on the glacier. So even if not everybody is skiing in wintertime, you can meet on the middle of the ski slopes, once hiking to the restaurant, the other skiing to the restaurant. So it's much more than just the skiing. And then also very lovely is going for a snowshoe hike. You know, on the other side in the UNESCO World nature Heritage Area, being alone with your snowshoes, with a guide. We do have packages with a guide feeling lonely, alone with the Aletsch glacier. It's just fantastic. That's winter. We also have sledging and other activities, what you'll find everywhere, but it's actually the combination of the skiing, the hiking, the view on the glacier, Sunny view on the Matterhorn the whole time. That's what winter makes. Our winter, by the way, it's ski and ski out as you have the mountain villages and the slopes through. So you go shop, if you rent an apartment, you go shop with your skis. So you just ski to the coop supermarket. You buy your stuff, your skis outside. You come outside, click in your skis again, and you ski to your apartment or to your hotels. A real funny experience, it is. And then in springtime, well, springtime, it's a bit in between the two seasons. So then on the mountains, as our local people, they work very hard during the winter season, they like to go on holiday themselves. So then in the mountain villages, it's actually very, very quiet, and all cable cars are, you know, in revision only, hopefully open. So then there's not to, not to do too much, apart from that viewpoint, because in that season, everywhere, also in the Zermatt or Grindelwald, you've got too much snow to start summer hiking and not enough snow for the skiing, so it's a little bit in between. So that's more the excursion periods are you stay a little bit more in the valley. And in the Valley at 1000 elevation, their spring time is just flowering, giving lot of colors. So that's the moment where you don't stay on the Alp, but you stay a little bit lower. And then making that the excursions to the viewpoint all throughout the Zermatt, the Matterhorn, but you stay a little bit lower, because on top of the mountain, there's not too much to do. Summer starts, all hikes when snow disappears, so one hike after the other opens. You have to imagine, we've got 300 kilometers of prepared, well checked hikes. And all those 300 they're checked because due to winter snow avalanches, actually we have to check them their fallen trees. There are stones. So local people do check 300 kilometers of hiking trails every summer, back again to prepare it for our summer clients. But then, yeah, we start hiking with you on the glacier, through the forest, the protected forest. But apart from the hiking, there is also a lot of biking, but it's in the valley area. And the Valley area going up to 4000 meters on both sides, it's actually going up or down. So we are a mountain bike area the whole valley. The proof of it is actually that next summer, we will have the. World Championship in the whole valley area of all different disciplines of the mountain biking, and we in the Aletsch Arena. We will have the Enduro, the E-enduro and the E-mountain bike cross country with us in the Aletsch Arena. So it's big, big, big events. So everybody who's a little bit into the mountain biking will have that view on the Valley area, but also cross country is in Zermatt. And then we've got in Crans Montana, we've got one discipline. We've got in Verbier a discipline, all the other famous names in the valley area you hear. So it's a big, big event, end of August, beginning of September, coming up, which is the proof that the Valley area, including the Aletsch Arena, it's a perfect area for the mountain biking, but going up and down, we do have the E-mountain bike version. If that going up 1000 elevation is a bit too hot for the normal people, like we are, then you just take the E-mountain bike version to cycle around. But for the rest, on 2000 meters in the villages, like on Bettmeralp you saw it, we've got also lakes. So the Bettmer lake just behind the villages, such a lovely place you can jump into. I have a refreshing jump in the lake at 2000 meter elevation. But we have also the subbing on it, the pedalos, the fish, yeah, next to it, you've got the beach for Lake court. So it's actually the advantage of the valley. In summer, you can choose your temperature. What temperature Do you like? Do you like 20, 25? 30 or 35? and actually you can choose, choose your lodging, or there, where you go to because in the valley it's very sunny. Actually, it can come up to 35 degrees Celsius in the valley area in high summer. But then on Bettmeralp, you've got the nice 25 degrees, or go up to a viewpoint for the 20 degrees, so you can really choose it. So having, like almost beach holiday at 2000 meter elevation, it is possible in the car free village of Bettmeralp, not as many people as a Mediterranean, not as warm as a Mediterranean, you don't have to fight for your place next to the water. So very lovely, too. And then you've got adventure parks in the forest. You've got mountain cars to chase down the mountain. That's a bit what you find everywhere in the mountains now in summertime, because to convince children for a hiking holiday and only hiking during a whole week, it's quite difficult right now. So you have to motivate it to give them, actually, as a reward, a mountain cart or a Trotti chase down the mountain after they hike. And in the whole area. Also in summer, we've got some barbecue places next to the Blue Lake, next to the Bettmer Lake, everywhere in the area where even the wood is there and the grill is there. So you just need to bring your soul such. And then you can have a grill party with your friends, actually in the middle of the nature with you on Matterhorn and the other mountain. So also very lovely. That's summertime, and that goes actually up to the end of October, so into the autumn colors. And then autumn is so lovely. Colors are changing. We've got a Canadian summer actually, in the valley area because our forests, most of it, it's also the is it called lurk and the kind of tree, Larch, Larch, yeah, it's the largest. That also changed, yeah, into yellow, orange, reddish. So beautiful. Also, our Alpen rose. And the blueberries that we have, they turn into red. The colors are so amazing. From September on, if you go high alpine, also so lovely. And then November, except that's like a big change. Snow is coming. People rest from the heavy summer season. Again, that's again, this period where you have to stay in the central villages, like break, where you have the culture, you've got the castle, you can visit a viewpoint somewhere, but you don't stay up the mountain in the November area.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, so you mentioned earlier about the accessibility of getting to the area. It's very close to Brig. What are sort of some rough travel times from some of the other destinations that people might be visiting in Switzerland. How long does it take to get, let's say, to Brig from Zurich, for instance.

David Kestens 

Well, it's very accessible, because Brig is like the end station before the train continues into Italy. So we do have direct trains from Zurich airports to Brig, passing, well direct into the valley. First stop is Visp, where you then you go up to Zermatt or Brig. So the end station of a direct train from Zurich airport, but as well from Geneva airport. So two direct trains actually from the main cities Zurich and Geneva that stop in Brig, and they take about two hours, even not so, about two hours from each of the airports to Brig, and from Brig, then you change on that regional train that goes from Zermatt to Andermatt, or from Zermatt to Fiesch or from Brig to Andermatt every half an hour a connection. So very easy to get out of the train station and get into one of those red trains. By the way, that train, they have exactly the same view as the Glacier Express. They just don't serve your glass of wine or a coffee in the train, but you can enjoy with your Swiss Travel Pass that line actually every half an hour without booking the Glacier Express, because. That most of the time is fully booked. And connection from Brig after 10 minutes train only, you're already in Mörel, where you go up to Riederalp 15 minutes to Bettmeralp Talstation, where you go up to Bettmeralp, or 25 to go to Fiesch, where you go up Fiescheralp or stay in Fiesch. So they're very well connected. And then I set a direct train from all those stations straight up to Zermatt. You know, it's not so far, but that's the train track of the Glacier Express, the slowest express train in the Alps that also takes you two hours, actually. So from us to Zermatt, it's a two hour train journey, but on the line of the Glacier Express, with spectacular views, so also their connection very well. And I just came back from an Asia tour to get some Asian people too, being able to see that glacier. And I flew from Milano, Milano Malpensa. It's actually my closest airport. So from Brig, you have the simple process into Italy. So also from Italy, direct trains from Italy, Milano centrale, to break you have so very easy accessibilities by cars, it's about the same. 

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Okay, so there's definitely no excuse for not coming and visiting the area, that's for sure. Well, a

David Kestens 

Well, a small tip I have there, because a lot of North Americans, they're actually coming for the real highlights in Switzerland, sticking to Grindelwald and Zermatt and then all beautiful places. And nothing against them. But actually, on the day they change from Grindelwald  to Zermatt or from Zermatt to Grindelwald. They don't do anything. They check out, they travel to the next place. They check in, and it's too late to do something else during that day. So that might be the perfect day excursion, actually, if they planned it already, and they say what to do on that day, where we travel from Zermatt to Grindelwald. Well, stop and break, put your luggage in the luggage storage and make a day excursion to see the glacier, which is so close by, from Brig to the top of one of the viewpoints to see the glacier, and then go back, pick your luggage and travel to Zermatt or to Grindelwald. And it makes your day actually perfect. A return ticket from Brig with your Swiss Travel Pass would only cost you 24 and a half Swiss francs, or less than 25 Swiss francs for having a perfect day filling in between your traveling in Grindelwald and Zermatt, 

Carolyn Schönafinger

Fantastic idea. Very good. So what if someone was to ask you, what is your favorite season in Aletsch Arena. What would your answer be? 

David Kestens  

All four - while we have the luxury living in the middle of it. And then, you know, after the end the podcast, I can just take my skis and go skiing. I just have to take the cable car here next to my office. I'm in the middle of the snow. So we enjoy every season, but after those four months of winter season, which is very lovely. It's so nice to see come out those flowers again, in the lovely spring, taking out your bicycle, storing the skis away, and then enjoying the springtime, cycling here in the valley, around with a racing bike. And then after that, when snow disappears from the tops, you've got the summer and you can go higher Alpine, climb a peak, do an adventurous high alpine hike with those views only possible in summertime. So so beautiful. Then to have that summer views, and then it turns into the colorful autumn, with the views that come even closer, you know, then you stand on a viewpoint, and it looks like you can grab the Matterhorn due to the breaking light with all the colors. Autumn is so lovely. Where you go for autumn hiking. And then after that Autumn, you long for winter again. And then when the first snow comes, you're so happy to take out our skis again, or our snowshoes and go for a winter experience. So I really don't have a preferred season. I have the luxury that I can enjoy all four of them. So very difficult to say, anytime you can come and anytime will be specific, very beautiful. In fact, the glacier, if it comes really to the glacier view in summer, autumn, most beautiful, most spectacular, because then you've got the contrast of an icy glacier with the two stone lines the middle moraines in the middle, with the contrast with the colorful mountains, you have the snowy peaks in the background. So then there is much more contrast where you realize how big and impressive that glacier is. In winter it's covered with snow, impressive too. But then everything is white. So the contrast is a little bit less in winter time than in summer time, if it comes to the beach.

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Okay, how good that you get such or such unique seasons that you can appreciate the beauty of all of them there?

David Kestens

Yeah, I enjoy it every day, actually, every single day. I do. 

Carolyn Schönafinger 

I'm sure you do. I think I know the answer to this next question. But who would you say that the destination Aletsch Arena is best suited for.

David Kestens 

Well, everybody should have seen the glacier from this point, from this side of the mountains, but especially what I explained in between Zermatt and Grindelwald are so the excursion, the tour through Switzerland, should definitely have a stop here in the area and see that glacier, and the proof of that, that touring people have to stop. Actually, we got two official photo points of the Grand Tour of Switzerland. So one is standing on Bettmeralp, a little chapel in the background and the Matterhorn behind. And the other one is standing on the viewpoint of Eggishorn with the total view of the glacier. That's already the proof that touring people should stop here, take a cable car ticket up the mountain and enjoy those two spectacular viewpoints. And then for really staying, if I look at you, you know, you're the perfect type target group to stay longer in the Aletsch Arena. So it's we've got, like, say, the 50 plus that are traveling already with other children, the others would be during enjoy that peaceful atmosphere of the car free villages, spectacular view, repeating people coming to Switzerland, not only wanting the highlights so good gastronomy, not needing the snobbish five star because we don't offer the luxury shopping, the five star hotels. It's an other luxury thing that you find at Aletsch Arena, sunshine, beautiful view, the glacier, small family owned, personalized atmosphere, the hotels or the apartments, small sized, not overcrowded, Swiss atmosphere. So the 50 plus. But then, as we have that many Swiss we also target the families very much, because in those car free villages, the families can just run around in security, enjoying it. So also our ski slopes, they're very family oriented. It's a lot of Swiss families learn to ski here, because we've got a ski slopes and ski schools in all three car free villages. A lot of blue slopes, red slopes, not too many black. We do have a little bit of black and some free riding, but that's not a focus. If you want free riding, go to Verbier, you know, there are other places we don't have in winter time, neither in summertime, the big, oppressive parties that go into the night. You know, it's enjoying more the peaceful atmosphere, yes, doing some Apres ski altogether, having an Aperol spritz instead of tons of beers, no loud music. So it's a calm atmosphere that you can enjoy here with families, well as a couple more generations, even, you know, finding each other centrally, that's a bit what we target. If you want to come over Christmas and New Year, especially, or during the Swiss ski holidays, you have to be quick to find such a ski and ski out lodging, because it's actually mostly very quickly fully booked in high season. In January, you find availabilities. And then March, April, that's wintertime. In summertime, we still don't have a problem. We still have availability for everybody. So you even don't have to hurry up that much to find the ideal lodging. 

Carolyn Schönafinger 

Okay, well, that's great to know. All right. So before we finish up, I just want to ask you, if someone only had one day to spend in the region, how would you suggest that they spend the day to get the best experience? 

David Kestens 

Well, there I would take one perfect day for a sportive one, and one for a non sportive one. The non sportive one, it's obvious, then you just buy that Aletsch Explorer and enjoy at least two of those viewpoints in one day. To have a little bit the atmosphere of the different viewpoints. Walk a little bit around, but especially enjoy that spectacular view of the glacier from the viewpoints Eggishorn, Bettmerhorn, Moosfluh, they're all three different so it's worth checking them out. And with the Aletsch Explorer, you can easily do and also the villages on the mountain Riederalp, Bettmeralp, Fiescheralp, they're easily linked to each other, also by foot. So from Bettmeralp to Riederalp itself a good half an hour of walking with view on the Matterhorn always actually, so you could combine a little bit of hiking with those viewpoints. Spend some time on a mountain restaurant, enjoying the view with real typical Swiss cuisine. One of those dishes, by the way, is a typical local speciality. Is called the cholera, like the disease, historically, it came from that area. It's like a vegetable pie, very tasty to try. So that would be for the non sportive people and for the sportives, there you should go on the glacier, because in summertime, we offer a daily excursion with an official mountain guide walking towards the glacier, and then with a two, three hours trek on that biggest glacier of the Alps, and then you feel so, so small. You know, you have to imagine in the middle of the glacier where you have 10 kilometers of glacier on each side with big, big crevasses. It looks flat when you stand on a viewpoint, but if you're there, it's like mountains of ice where you can go to so there, I would say, book a glacier tour on the Aletsch Glacier guided with a mountain guide, even not that expensive in the Aletsch Arena, possible four days a week before high season, and every day during the season. And then after that hike, hurry back to Fiescheralp to go on the top of the mountain, to see Eggishorn the glacier from above, and to try to see where you walked before with a view also on intro on Matterhorn, that would be a perfect day. Then while before leaving, sit on in one of the car free villages on a sunny terrace with view on the Matterhorn with an Aperol spritz or a beer or a glass of local Valais wine, that would be the perfect end of such a day.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Well, I think that's the perfect way to end this interview, because it can't get much better than that, I'm sure. So thank you very much, David for coming on and sharing all that with us. I hope we've encouraged a lot of our listeners to include a visit to Aletsch Arena in their Swiss vacation.

David Kestens

I hope too. Thanks a lot for this podcast. Thank you.

Carolyn Schönafinger

What more can I say? The Aletsch Arena is a destination that every visitor to Switzerland should consider visiting. And if you don't have time to spend a couple of days there, why not take David's advice and enjoy a day excursion when you travel between the Jungfrau Region and Zermatt? The public transport network makes it super easy to do just that. To help you start planning your visit to this beautiful part of Switzerland, I'll include a link to the Aletsch Arena website and a really helpful map of the region in the show notes for this episode. There's also a link to get my free guide. 21 Useful Things to Know Before You Visit Switzerland in the show notes, too. You'll find them at holidays to switzerland.com/episode126. Thank you so much for joining me today. Don't forget to share the podcast with your family, friends and colleagues who are also planning a trip to Switzerland. And if you enjoyed the show, I'd be super grateful if you could leave a five star rating or a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks so much! Until next week. Tschüss!