We Walked Across Switzerland on a Four-Month-Long Hike of a Lifetime

Sonja and Jakob’s ‘Hike of a Lifetime’ across Switzerland was 20 years in the making. Their epic walk wasn’t a single route but a connected network of long-distance trails forming east-west and north-south traverses through some of the most amazing parts of the alpine nation.

About Hiking Across Switzerland

Covering more than 1,400km and 175,924m of altitude, our journey leads from the Jura ridges through multiple alpine regions to the hills above Lake Constance. Travelling on foot, it’s about visiting high passes, valleys, cities, and quiet villages.

Each stage reveals distinct terrain, climate, and regional character. Rather than a linear crossing, the walk becomes a layered passage, shaped by geography, weather, and Switzerland’s dense trail network. Starting in Selzach and finishing in Rorschach, it provides a stunning set of highlights along Switzerland’s major long-distance routes. A connection between sections is always provided by Switzerland’s excellent public transport (Swiss Post buses and Swiss National Railway).

Skill Level

Advanced

Swiss trails range from T1 (easy) to T6 (very demanding). Most of our route was T3, marked white-red-white, requiring good balance, surefootedness, and a head for heights, occasionally with ropes or chains. Three sections were T4, marked white-blue-white, demanding alpine experience and confidence on exposed, rocky, or landslide-prone terrain during challenging alpine weather conditions at times.

Read more: How to Hike Off-Track

How to Get to Trails in Switzerland

All start and end points are accessible through public transport (trains and buses) or by car. As an alternative, ferries can be used to cross lakes. Vertical transport is available in many areas and shouldn’t be discounted for the views and engineering feat.

Where to Stay When Hiking Across Switzerland

We used a variety of accommodation options throughout the trip, depending on the route. Free or wild camping is tolerated in some areas and officially only allowed in a few areas. Wild camping is only allowed in the mountains above the tree line, while camping in nature reserves, inhabited areas, or within view of houses, valleys, wild rest zones, and hunting ban areas is prohibited. It’s worth checking with the local authorities. We free camped where it was allowed and at local campgrounds. We also stayed at managed Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) huts (pre-booking necessary, shared accommodation only) and un-managed huts and refuges, and small hotels and Airbnbs in the cities and towns.

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A note on the SAC huts accommodation and eating: many of the huts are only accessible by foot, meaning that all supplies are helicoptered in and waste is helicoptered out at significant cost to the operators. It’s good to keep that in mind when booking.

Where to Eat When Hiking Across Switzerland

Eating out in Switzerland isn’t for the faint-hearted; a steak will set you back about A$70-80 per person in most cities and larger towns. Local restaurants offer affordable Swiss dishes like roesti (potato pancakes in multiple varieties), cheese fondue, raclette, or Flammkuchen (a Swiss variety of pizza). We found them good value thanks to the high calories. Pizza was another budget-friendly option and readily available. Asian restaurants can be found in most large cities, although not as common as in Australia.

The managed SAC huts provide dinner and breakfast (half-board). The meals are typically three courses, consisting of salad or soup, a single main course (vegetarian options available upon request), and dessert. The dinners are high quality, often representing the local cuisine, cooked fresh on premise daily and very satisfying. The huts also offer fresh cakes almost every day.

When we had to feed ourselves we generally bought muesli for breakfast, amazing local cheeses, sausages, and bread for lunch, and quick noodle dishes that were supplemented with tinned tuna.

It’s worth checking whether restaurants in smaller towns are open. Many run on a tight summer schedule and some places, like Ronco, don’t even have a restaurant and the next town is 10km away.

Essential Gear

• SwitzerlandMobility platform and app –We designed our route using this desktop platform, then transferred the tracks to our Garmin GPS. We used the app on our smartphone as backup
• Single-person tents: finding two narrow, level spots on a mountainside was easier than one large one
• Sleeping bag warm enough to camp at an altitude of 2,800m
• Sleeping mat
• Ultralight pack – we used the Whippa Overland 60 Ultralight Packs from Summit Gear
• Trangia Stove or other lightweight hiking stove
• Reliable hiking boots – Sonja wore La Sportiva Ultra Raptors and Mammut Sapuen GTX and Jakob wore Scarpa Mistral
• Hiking poles
• Rain jacket and pants
• Fleece and merino layers
• Water bladder
• Sunglasses
• First aid kit
• PLB
• GPS
• Smartphone
• Camera
• Spare batteries
• Food supplies

Read more: Navigating With a Map and Compass

What was it like to hike through Switzerland?

Our journey was shaped by distance, terrain, and continuity rather than dramatic and isolated moments. Travelling on foot created a sense of connection across landscapes that are often encountered in fragments only. From the Jura ridgelines through high alpine passes and onto the lower hills above Lake Constance, the route allowed each region to be experienced in context and sequence.

Read more: Remember to Leave No Trace

Weather, seasonal change, and physical demands set the rhythm of each stage, while moments of comfort and connection provided balance. In the end, the walk stood not as a test or an escape but as a measured, immersive way of travelling through a country – one step at a time.

Section 1: The Jura Crest Trail

Distance: 195km
Duration: 8 days
Start point: Selzach
End point: St Cergue

The Jura Crest Trail is Switzerland’s oldest long-distance route. We chose an eight-day section (14,513m ascent/descent), from Selzach to St Cergue. We crossed varied landscapes, including the famous Bettlachstock, dense forests, the widely known walls of Creux du Van, rich meadows, and some rugged ridges.

It offers breathtaking panoramic views of the Swiss Alps, the Jura Mountains themselves, as well as valleys, lakes including Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Geneva, and picturesque villages like La Sagne and Vallorbe. Accommodation is provided by a mix of B&Bs, refuges, and Swiss Alpine Club huts.

Section 2: Zermatt Area

Distance: 27km + 53km local day hike
Duration: 2 days + 3 days for local hikes
Start point: Grächen
End point: Randa

After a short stop in Geneva, we shifted focus to the high Alps and the Monte Rosa region of Zermatt. Progress wasn’t entirely straightforward – recent rockslides had closed parts of the Swiss Tour Monte Rosa, forcing a few route adjustments early on.

A day hike to the Britanniahütte SAC (3,003m) offered a first real hit of altitude. From there we committed to a two-day stretch on the Tour Monte Rosa from Grächen to Randa via the Europa Hut and the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge – 494m long and suspended 85m above the valley floor. Once the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world, it still holds the title in Switzerland.

From Randa, a short bus ride delivered us into Zermatt, where the Matterhorn finally came into view. We spent several days in the area, visiting the Gorner Glacier and walking both the Five Lakes route and the Höhbalmen Track, with the Matterhorn a constant presence. From there, the transition into the higher mountains felt complete.

Section 3: Alpine Passes Trail

Distance: 224km
Duration: 18 days (including one rest day)
Start point: St Niklaus
End point: St Gingolph

This section of the Alpine Passes Trail – one of Switzerland’s wildest long-distance routes and linking high passes across the Grisons and Valais Alps – was all about what lay on the other side of each pass. Long climbs, brief moments on the crest, then straight back down – repeat for 16 days.

From St Niklaus to St Gingolph, we covered 36,537m of elevation, crossing 17 passes, including three above 2,900m. The terrain stayed exposed and demanding, with each day averaging 14km but seldom feeling routine.

The landscape hardly let up – we witnessed near-continuous views of 4,000m peaks, a night beneath the stars below Maid Pass (2,789m), first light catching Lake Lona, the sweeping expanse of the Glacier de Corbassière, and the immense presence of the Grande Dixence Dam, the tallest gravity dam in the world. Highlights ranged from the historic hospice at Grand St Bernard Pass to the chain-secured descent at Col de Riedmatten, with the remote glaciers of Cheilon and Mont Blanc de Cheilon reinforcing scale and isolation.

Section 4: Caux (Montreux) to Seedorf / Altdorf (Self-Curated)

Distance: 295km
Duration: 20 days (including Interlaken and Rosenlaui)
Start point: Caux (above Montreux)
End point: Seedorf

This stretch ran on contrast – big, demanding days on the trail, broken up by planned breaks to slow down. Over 20 days, we covered nearly 47,000m of ascent and descent, with effort shaping the experience as much as the landscape.

Some days pushed hard. One 19km stage packed in close to 4,000m of elevation, with a forced detour onto an exposed, technical T4 route. We reached the Piz Gloria station after hours, leaving us to descend a black ski run to rejoin the trail. Thirteen hours on foot – broken only by short pauses – ended at a managed hut where, despite the fatigue, we still worked our way through every dinner course. Another day, just 14.6km from Adelboden to Kandersteg, delivered 4,131m of ascent and descent – short, sharp, and relentless.

In between, the pace shifted. In Interlaken, we slowed down. We met up with a friend, headed up to Schynige Platte, and walked along the lakes. Three nights in Rosenlaui gave us time to explore local trails around the historic, unplugged hotel.

Throughout, the highlights stacked up: the turquoise waters of Oeschinen Lake, a night at Blüemlisalp Hut (2,840m), and long traverses with the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau in constant sight – reminders of the scale and variety of this part of the Alps.

Section 5: Lucerne to Chiasso (Self-Curated)

Distance: 242km
Duration: 14 days (including two wet weather days and three days in Bellinzona)
Start point: Lucerne/Stoos
End point: Chiasso

Lucerne offered a short pause – time to replace a well-worn pair of La Sportiva Ultra Raptors, cruise the lake, and descend Mt Pilatus on the world’s steepest cogwheel railway.

Soon, we were moving again. Over the next 20 days, we added 29,526m of ascent and descent, launching straight into Switzerland’s record books on the steepest funicular in the world from Schwyz to Stoos, another reminder that Switzerland rarely does steep by halves.

Weather quickly became the real story. After the Klausen Pass, steady rain forced us off the trail and required a later re-entry onto the trail.

When we returned, conditions only tightened their grip. The approach from Badus Hut to Gotthard Pass delivered fog, wind, and temperatures hovering between 3-6°C, turning the 2,701m Sella Pass crossing into a long, cold grind. Reaching Gotthard Pass felt earned and we celebrated in the most practical Swiss way possible: rösti and tiramisu.

Read more: 7 Tips for Rainy Day Hiking

In between the tougher days, the route kept shifting character. We passed the strikingly positioned Cristallina Hut and the pale waters of Lago Bianco, then dropped through the Maggia Valley toward historic Bellinzona, well worth a two-day stay to explore the castles and history.

Further south, the trail climbed again over Monte Lema before easing down to lakeside Morcote. Around Chiasso, public transport helped us skip the industrial fringe and keep the journey moving toward Tirano.

Section 6: Tirano – St Moritz to Rorschach Section (Self-Curated)

Distance: 190km
Duration: 15 days
Start point: St Moritz
End point: Rorschach

By the time we rolled into St Moritz on the Bernina Express from Tirano – equal parts engineering feat and scenic theatre – alpine summer was already slipping away. The final section started high at Piz Nair and quickly made it clear the season had changed.

Over the next 15 days we covered 190km and 27,300m of ascent and descent through terrain that felt noticeably harsher: thinner vegetation, sharper light, and fresh snow dusting the peaks. A steep T4 drop delivered us to Aelpli Lake, where we camped by the water before continuing toward Bad Ragaz and the Tamina Gorge, home to thermal springs first recorded in 1240.

Wind became the main challenge on the Five Lakes Pizol trail, and the weather had the final say on our planned finish. Our intended ascent of Säntis (2,501m), the highest point in the Alpstein, was ruled out by low visibility, rain, and 20cm of fresh snow. Instead, we adjusted, following a mid-mountain route and taking the cable car to the summit, the six-country view staying firmly on the ‘next time’ list.

One last landmark delivered the kind of finish the route deserved: the Aescher Guesthouse, clinging improbably to the cliff face as it has since 1860 and reachable only on foot.

From there, the high Alps gradually softened into the rolling hills of Appenzell as we walked toward Rorschach on Lake Constance. We arrived on the 28th of September, exactly as planned – closing out the journey with family, friends, and a few final day hikes before the long flight back to Sydney.

When the hiker hunger kicks in – A lasting memory

After weeks on the trail, hunger stops being background noise and starts running the show. Portions that once seemed generous barely register and the next meal is never far from mind.

Midway over one pass, that reality caught up with us in the most unexpected way. We stopped at a small alpine hut used by farmers through the summer, initially just for a quick chat. Conversation drifted from the animals to life at the hut and, inevitably, to cheese. Yes, it was made on site. Yes, we would like to try some.

Out came three varieties of homemade goat and cow cheese, followed by coffee and chocolate biscuits. Then came the question about cake.

By this point Sonja decided honesty was the simplest approach: ‘We’ve been hiking for ten weeks. We are always hungry.’

That landed exactly as we’d hoped. Our hosts burst out laughing, promptly adding cake to the table. Some friends arrived a bit later, armed with Christmas biscuits and no awareness of what’d already unfolded.

The hosts lost it. We attempted to recover a small amount of dignity and limited ourselves to one biscuit each. Hunger, for once, had to accept defeat.

What made this special was the ease and generosity of sharing, not only their food but also their story and life in the Alps. They showed two complete strangers their home, a traditional hut, built centuries ago, two rooms, no running water or electricity, a makeshift dunny, and the cold water from the stream serving as a fridge. Life on the Alps isn’t as romantic or cosy as the movies would have us believe.