Valais Alpine Bike 3. Unterbäch-Grächen
Mountain Bike
The Moosalp Pass and the extraordinary descent in the Mattertal valley are certain to be among the highlights of your mountain bike trip to Valais and will remind you why you love the sport.
- Type Mountain Bike
- Difficulty S2 medium
- Duration 5:00 h
- Distance 32,5 km
- Ascent 1170 m
- Descent 1655 m
- Lowest point 866 m
- Highest point 2048 m
Description
After a delicious breakfast, take the Brandalp chairlift up into the mountains and then head to the Moosalp Pass using sheer pedal power. Marvel at the views, take a well-earned lunch break and enjoy the famous “Cremeschnitte” at the Moosalp restaurant. It’s now time to get back in the saddle and tackle the descent into the Mattertal valley and the route along the valley floor to Stalden. Then continue on the beautiful Matterhorn Valley Trail up through the Mattertal to St. Niklaus. From St. Niklaus, a bus will take you to Grächen, the destination of today's stage.
From Unterbäch, take the chairlift to Brandalp and start your ascent up Moosalp. Follow part of the Moosalp Plateau Bike trail, mainly on a 4x4 route through forest. From Moosalp you start the descent into the Mattertal valley, first to Breitmatte. From there, the trail leads through the forest over the Waldachra to the village of Törbel. The descent to Stalden continues along the main road and then over some fun but quite steep sections of trail. Once down in the Mattertal valley, follow the Matterhorn Valley Trail to St. Niklaus. To reach the village of Grächen, take the postal bus. Option: to save yourself the climb to the Moosalp Pass, take the postal bus from the village of Bürchen. Remember to book a place for yourself and for your mountain bike on the Resabike platform: www.resabike.ch.
We recommend: bike in excellent working order, helmet, gloves and bell, clothing suitable for the weather (always carry a waterproof), food and drink.
How about a visit to the Mountain Guide Museum in St. Niklaus, or a tour of Stalden, the “village of bridges”?
Follow the Valais Alpine Bike route no. 41 in Mountainbiking in Switzerland. View this tour on SwitzerlandMobility: Valais Alpine Bike no. 41.
Use marked bike trails and routes only, making sure you observe all signposting.
Kindly close gates after passing through. Please be considerate to walkers, as well as to plants and animals. As a rule, walkers have priority. When planning, take into account participants’ fitness level and ability. All riding is at one’s own risk.
From Basel and Zurich: Take the A1 motorway to Bern; take the A6 to Spiez; follow the sign to Kandersteg; Kandersteg–Goppenstein car-carrying train; follow the sign to Raron.
From Geneva: Take the A1 motorway to Lausanne; follow the sign to Sion/Sierre; Raron.
From Milan: Take the A8/A26 motorway in the direction of Simplon; Iselle–Brig car-carrying train; follow the sign to Raron.
Get the the Valais/Wallis mountain bike map to discover the best routes in the region.
The tourist offices in Unterbäch und Grächen have got brochures and information material about mountain biking in the region.
SwissTopo Maps 1:25'000:
- 1288 Raron
- 1308 St. Niklaus
- 1289 Brig
