Zermatt: Rothorn-Sunnegga Trails
No Matterhorn today! Thick clouds blanketed the valley and I was again thankful that we decided to seize the moment the day before. Nonetheless, we utilized the Sunnegga funicular and the Rothorn cable car to reach the Rothorn Flower trail or the “Blumenweg” in German.
No views of the Matterhorn from the lookout point today!
The Sunnegga funnicular is basically what you get if you combine an elevator and a railway.
We changed at the mid-mountain station to the Rothorn cable car and took this to the start of the hike. This was the kid’s first cable car ride and they liked it so much, we rode it twice.
The hike, which I’m sure would have also been pretty on a clear day, was more about exploring high alpine flora and fauna than sweeping vistas. This was a short hike recommended for kids by the blog Swiss Family Fun. It was perfect because it was primarily a meadow walk where the kids could be free to roam off the trail here and there, unlike yesterday’s sometimes steep cliff-side whopper.
There were more than two dozen sign posts in German and English identifying the flowers on the trail.
Plus, this hike offered our first real run-in with friendly swiss cows. The clanging of their bells gave them away before we could see them. Although there are warning signs posted to keep your distance from the cows, the truth is that many came come running to us like friendly puppies. This guy was particularly interested in getting into our backpack, probably for a bite of our lunch.
We enjoyed a picnic at this scenic spot and then went back down the funicular to town to meet up with Eli.
