Walker's Haute Route hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Walker's Haute Route is the summer hiking version of the famous Haute Route between Chamonix and Zermatt, the two great mountaineering towns of the Alps. It starts below Mont Blanc in France, crosses into Switzerland at the Col de Balme and then goes east through the side valleys of the canton of Valais, from one valley to the next over high passes, until it reaches the Matterhorn at Zermatt. The Cicerone guide calls it more demanding than the Tour du Mont Blanc: it crosses 11 passes and climbs close to 14,000 m in total, but all the passes are below 3,000 m. Nights are spent in mountain huts (cabanes), gîtes and small hotels in the villages.

The route

From Chamonix the trail follows the valley to Argentière and Le Tour and climbs to the Col de Balme on the French-Swiss border. It drops to Trient and crosses the steep, rocky Fenêtre d'Arpette next to the Trient Glacier to reach the lake at Champex. An easy day leads down through Sembrancher to Le Châble in the Val de Bagnes, and then a long climb above Verbier leads to the Cabane du Mont Fort. The next days are the highest and wildest: the Col Termin, Col de Louvie and Col de Prafleuri (about 2,965 m, the highest point of the walk) lead to the Cabane de Prafleuri, then the Col des Roux, the shore of the Lac des Dix and the Col de Riedmatten lead to Arolla.

After Arolla the route passes the Lac Bleu and the old villages of Les Haudères and La Sage, crosses the Col de Torrent to the Lac de Moiry and the Col de Sorebois to Zinal. The Forcletta leads into the quiet Turtmanntal at Gruben, and the Augstbordpass into the Mattertal at St. Niklaus. The last two days follow the Europaweg, a balcony path high above the valley, past the Europahütte and over the Charles Kuonen suspension bridge to Zermatt.

This guide follows the walkers' route as mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 12 stages, about 17.0 km each. The line is about 204 km long. Published figures range from about 180 km to more than 225 km, because guides use different variants and stage ends. In 2026 a section of the Europaweg is closed, and the line follows the marked detour (see "When to walk").

Highlights

• Col de Balme: the first pass, on the border between France and Switzerland, with a refuge right on the col
• Fenêtre d'Arpette: a steep, rocky notch above the Trient Glacier
• Col de Prafleuri and the Lac des Dix: a stony high-mountain world, then a long walk beside a big reservoir below Mont Blanc de Cheilon
• Arolla and the Val d'Hérens: Pigne d'Arolla and Mont Collon above Arolla, the Lac Bleu and the old villages of Les Haudères and La Sage
• Lac de Moiry and Zinal: a reservoir between two high passes, then views of the Weisshorn and Zinalrothorn above Zinal
• The Europaweg: a high path above the Mattertal with the Charles Kuonen suspension bridge and, on the way down to Zermatt, the first full view of the Matterhorn

When to walk the Walker's Haute Route

The usual season is late June to mid-September. Most huts open in mid or late June and close by the end of September. From mid-June to early July snow often lies on the high passes, such as the Fenêtre d'Arpette, the Col de Prafleuri, the Col de Riedmatten, the Col de Torrent, the Forcletta and the Augstbordpass, and you may need an ice axe and crampons. July to mid-August is the busiest time, with a real chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Mid-August to mid-September is often the best time, with fewer people and less snow.

In 2026 the Europaweg is closed between Springelboden and Eggenstadel (between the suspension bridge and Täschalp) because of rockfall risk after storms in June 2024. The marked detour drops to Täsch and climbs back up to Täschalp, which adds about 5 km and 700 m of climb to the last day. Check the latest status with Zermatt Tourism before you go.

How many days do you need?

The 12 stages in this guide are a common plan for 12 walking days. The Cicerone guidebook uses 14 stages: it adds a short first day from Chamonix to Argentière and takes two days from La Sage to Zinal, with a night at the Cabane de Moiry. That long day over two passes can also be split by taking the bus from the Moiry dam down to Grimentz for the night. Most hikers take 12 to 16 days. Many people walk only part of the route, for example from Arolla or Zinal to Zermatt, or finish at St. Niklaus and take the train up the valley to Zermatt.

Getting there and logistics

Geneva Airport is the nearest big airport for Chamonix, about 1.5 hours away by bus. Zermatt is car-free and is reached by train; trains run every half hour, and Geneva Airport is about four hours away. Buses and trains reach many points of the route (Trient, Champex, Le Châble, Arolla, Les Haudères, Zinal, St. Niklaus), so it is easy to join or leave the walk in the middle.

Switzerland uses the Swiss franc (CHF), not the euro: carry some francs in cash for the huts. Book every hut and hotel ahead for July and August; some huts only take online bookings. Most huts offer half board (dinner, a bed in a dorm and breakfast) and ask you to bring a sleeping-bag liner. The Relais d'Arpette in the Val d'Arpette is closed in 2026. Wild camping is not allowed in most of Valais, except a one-night bivouac above the tree line, and it is banned in Chamonix, Trient and Orsières (Champex).

Difficulty

This is a hard mountain trek. Most days climb about 800 to 1,800 m, and three days (Chamonix to Trient, La Sage to Zinal and the last day to Zermatt) take 9.5 to 10.5 hours of walking. The paths are clearly marked almost everywhere, but the passes are steep and rocky, with snow early in the season, and the weather can change fast. Parts of the Europaweg are exposed and protected in places by fixed cables, and stones can fall on it. In Switzerland helicopter rescue is not free: make sure your insurance covers hiking and mountain rescue.

History

The first High Level Route between Chamonix and Zermatt was a summer mountaineering route over glacier passes. It was completed in 1861 by members of the Alpine Club and their guides. In January 1911 a party of skiers made the first winter crossing, from Bourg-St-Pierre to Zermatt, and since then the French name "Haute Route" has been used. The Walker's Haute Route links the same two towns on hiking paths and passes below 3,000 m. Kev Reynolds described it in a Cicerone guide first published in 1991, and it is now one of the best-known treks in the Alps.