recommended route
Furi Suspension Bridge Trail (Nr. 17a)
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A highlight of the hike – crossing the suspension bridgePhoto: Zermatt Tourismus, Pascal Gertschen
Starting in Furi, the trail first leads through the hamlet and then up to the pioneer landscape with larch trees. A wooden walkway leads over a small stream. The path then continues through bushes, a small patch of moorland and a landscape of rocks, rubble and scree.
The 100-metre-long suspension bridge, made of a lattice and cables of steel, leads from one side of the valley to the other. It’s completely safe to cross, but still require a little courage and a fairly good head for heights. Once on the other side, walkers find themselves once again in an idyllic mountain forest with larches, Swiss stone pines and squirrels.
At the Gletschergarten Dossen (Dossen glacier garden), visitors can see what a glacier normally conceals: boulders polished smooth, glacial mills and strange rock formations.
- Further information on the “Furi – a world full of experiences” is also available online
- Dossen glacier garden with glacial mills and information panels
- Appropriate for children from age 4
- Playground and barbecue sites nearby
- Suspension bridge closed in winter
Author’s recommendation
Track types
Rest stops
FarmerhausFurri
Les Marmottes
Simi
Safety information
- Plan every mountain tour carefully and adapt to participants’ fitness level as well as the weather and season.
- Weather conditions can change quickly in the mountains. Appropriate clothing is therefore essential, along with adequate supplies of food and water. In uncertain weather, turn back in good time.
- Inform others of planned route, and whenever possible avoid going alone.
- Do not leave the marked routes; do not venture onto glaciers without a mountain guide.
- Please be considerate to other walkers and to plants and animals.
- Take note of the warning signs drawing attention to the constant danger in river beds and along watercourses below dams and reservoirs.
Note: Walkers who do not have a good head for heights may follow an alternative route bypassing the suspension footbridge.
Start
Destination
Turn-by-turn directions
Furi - suspension bridge - barbecue site - glacier garden - Furi
(Hiking time in reverse direction: approx. 1h 15)
This hike is marked on the signposts as “Hängebrückenweg Furi”.
Note
Public transport
By train to the Matterhorn village: 3½ hours from Zürich airport or 4 hours from Geneva airport. Change at Visp onto the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (Matterhorn Gotthard Railway). From Visp, the railway leads through the Mattertal valley past idyllic small villages to Zermatt.Zermatt is also the start and finish point for the world-famous Glacier Express panoramic train journey (Zermatt to St. Moritz or Davos).
Getting there
Zermatt is car-free. Private vehicles are permitted only as far as Täsch (5 km before Zermatt). The Täsch–Zermatt road is closed to the public.Onward travel to Zermatt is either by private taxi or shuttle train. Trains depart every 20 minutes; the journey takes about 12 minutes, and ends at the Bahnhofplatz in Zermatt.
Parking
Täsch has car parks with both covered and open-air parking – e.g. at the Matterhorn Terminal or privately operated facilities.Onward travel: see “Getting there”.
Coordinates
Author’s map recommendations
Equipment
We recommend:
- Good footwear
- Hiking poles (optional)
- Clothing suitable for the weather (always carry a waterproof)
Statistics
- 14 Waypoints
- 14 Waypoints
Questions and answers
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Rating
Photos from others