Haute Route Hut to Hut trip in Switzerland (The Magic of Solo Hut-to-Hut Trekking)
- laurenjones3112
- Dec 22, 2025
- 12 min read
Updated: Jan 11
One of my favorite trips of all time was when I hiked the Haute Route in September of 2023 from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland. Planning these trips can be a little daunting, but there is nothing like spending back to back days in the alps, drinking coffees, having 3-course dinners, and sleeping in a real (although bunk-style) bed. It's all the best parts of backpacking with all the comforts and eats of civilization. Plus, you meet some really cool, like-minded people along the way. AND, this is a great trip to do as a solo traveler, as these routes are safe, you are seated with other solo hikers at mealtimes, and you don’t have to make many decisions throughout the day other than “where is the best view for lunch”.
I think everyone should do a hut-to-hut trip at some point in their life, whether it’s a quick 2-night trip or a full 14-day immersive adventure. This is a really special way to travel and the mountain ranges in Europe are just so rugged and beautiful. However, the alps are not to be underestimated. When I planned my very first hut to hut trip, the Haute Route, I planned my mileage as if I was hiking in the US. For me at that time, I was very used to doing 20-25 mile days back to back. Knowing I wanted to push myself on this trip, I planned my trip with that same daily mileage in mind, assuming the vertical gain each day would be similar to that length of hike here in Washington.
I was so, so wrong. First of all (and I can confidently make this generalization as someone who has hiked in 5 European countries now), Europeans don’t believe in switchbacks. They will take you to the top of a pass, send you straight back down to the bottom of a valley, and then make you do the whole thing again. So this is how I ended up going 20+ mile days with 7,000-10,000 ft of vert each day (and that’s just the uphill climbing). Did I do it? Yes. Did I shed a few tears and feel overwhelmed with what I had committed to? Also definitely yes. What I tell anyone who is going to do these trips now is: don’t expect to hike the amount of miles you are used to in the US!!! Make sure your planned days include mileage AND elevation gained (I guess most people probably do this anyways, but alas, I am not always so smart).
Anyways, I wanted to do this route in just 6 days. So after lots of planning, I booked all my huts, packed as minimally as possible, and set off for what is still to this day my favorite trip of all time. Below is my itinerary.
I have done several hut-to-hut trips now and by lots of trial and error have learned so much about how to plan and pack for these trips. If you would like help planning and booking your trip, reach out at the submission box at the bottom of this page!
Pre-trip: Getting from Geneva to Chamonix
I landed in Geneva, Switzerland and used FlippyBus to get from the airport to my hostel in Chamonix. This service is GREAT and will take you door to door. There were several stops prior to mine along the way to Chamonix but I was happy to nap on the bus and enjoy the scenery. Taking a shuttle like this beats public transit for me any day-mostly because its extremely affordable (I think I spend about $30 USD each way).
I stayed at the Chalet Gite Chamoniard Volant Hostel (30 euro/night) in Chamonix, a great little hostel walking distance to the main center of town. Pros of the hostel:
They allow you to leave your luggage for only 3ish euros/day
You can walk into town easily from here
There is a bus stop right across the street if you want to skip the first few miles of trail (like I did)
Quick note: I am not a purist when it comes to these types of trails! If there is an 8-mile road walk at the start of the trail, I will be skipping it. And I did. I took the bus from Chamonix up about 8 miles to the base of the Le Tour ski resort, where I officially began my trek.
Day 1:
Chamonix, France (really Le Tour) to Gite Bon Abri (right before Champex-Lac)
Total mileage: 15.5 miles
Elevation: 6,851 ft(+), 6,999 ft (-)
Route: This part of the trail overlaps the Tour du Mont Blanc and crosses the border between France and Switzerland. It covers two beautiful passes, drops down into the cute little town of Trient, and provides several Refugio's along the way to get coffee and pastries
with the cows and a view.
Staying at Gite Bon Abri: I loved staying here. There was an area to do your laundry, yoga in the backyard if you have the time to do so, and a really nice dinner. The one drawback is that it is in the base of the valley, not up in the mountains so you don’t get a sweeping view, but you have plenty of those to come so I do still recommend this hut if it matches up with where you want to end your day.
Day 2:
Gite Bon Abri (right before Champex-Lac) to Prafleuri (Cabane de Prafleuri)
Total mileage: 27.25 miles
Elevation: 12,590 ft (+), 8,704 ft (-)
Route: This was the day I woke up and realized my mistakes. With almost 28 miles and over
12,500 ft of gain, I grabbed breakfast early and left my hut before the sun was up. But this was well worth it, as this was a HUGE day and I arrived just before dinner. This day was beautiful and I was just giddy that I was actually there, doing this dream of a hike. This day was difficult and there was some harder, slower route-finding on the final climb up before Prafleuri that I did not account for time-wise on this day.
Staying at Cabane de Prafleuri: THIS HUT WAS EVERYTHING!! This was the start of several incredible huts I stayed in. The hut sits in a beautiful basin with views in all directions. It feels extremely remote, has a great outdoor seating area so you can enjoy the view (I could not, as I got in 15min before dinner time), and had a really friendly vibe.
Day 3:
Prafleuri (Cabane de Prafleuri) to Cabane des Dix
Total mileage: 7 miles
Elevation: 3344 ft (+), 2498 ft (-)
Route: This was the one and only day I experienced the trail as everyone else was experiencing it. And it was a seriously great day! I had a leisurely breakfast at Prafleuri before leaving late and hiking down to Lac des Dix, a beautiful lake you walk along (with cows!) before eating my takeaway lunch at the head of the lake. From there, climb up to Cabane des Dix, an insanely beautiful cabin set in a basin carved out by a glacier that is still
(mostly) there. This hut is SO worth hanging out at for half the day, as it has an outdoor shower (!!!!-my first in days), and a comfortable seating area inside a little greenhouse structure that warms in the sun. I sat here with my book for HOURS, napping and reading and just staring at the views. We all spent some time looking at the next morning’s climb in someone’s binoculars, as it is the one spot on this trek that is a bit treacherous (requiring either a rope or ladder to get to the pass).
Staying at Cabane des Dix: As mentioned above, I highly recommend this place, especially on a half-day of hiking, as it is a wonderful place to hang out. It has a shower, an insane view, a fabulous deck outdoors, and plenty of outdoor seating. This hut is a real treat set high up in the alps.
Day 4:
Cabane des Dix to Cabane de Moiry
Total mileage: 19 miles
Elevation: 8040 ft (+), 8310 ft (-)
Route: This day started out by climbing the semi-treacherous (if you have a fear of heights) Col de Riedmatten. The next-door Pas de Chevres, which is an easier and less technical pass, was closed when I was there due to a recent rock slide, but that is an option as well. After this, you drop down into the ski down of Arola and then have a few pleasant miles through some farmland and towns to La Forclaz. From here, you climb up and over the Col de Tsate, where you get your first views of the Glacier de Moiry and Lac de Moiry below. The great news is, I was staying at the Cabane de Moiry, a hut sitting so close to the glacier it
feels like you can reach out and touch it from the hut’s deck. The climb up to the hut frankly sucks and is technically not on the Haute Route, but you can do it!!!!! It is so incredibly worth it to experience the cabane.
Staying at Cabane de Moiry: This is a beautiful, modern hut set right next to a glacier, which you can see calving from either the deck or dining room. We spent a lot of dinner just staring at the glacier, talking about how insanely beautiful it is. This is a hut with more modern conveniences, like a shower (I think this one is even warm if you pay a little extra), lots of drink and pastry options, a really great dinner, and even Wi-Fi (the only Wi-Fi I had on this trek)! This hut is beautiful in a modern Norwegian way and is definitely worth checking out (but I say that about every hut I stayed in).
Note: This is a great destination for a day hike or one-night adventure, as you can drive up pretty close to the hut and hike less than 2miles to access it.
Day 5:
Cabane de Moiry to Gruben (Hotel Schwarzhorn)
Total mileage: 20.5 miles
Elevation: 7945 ft (+), 11118 ft (-)
Route: This day included two very large climbs (I wanted to give up after going up and over the first one) and has less shocking views than the few previous days. You are in the trees a bit more, with less time spent in the rocky high alpine. However, it was still a really beautiful day and I stopped for a pastry or two along the way.
Staying at the Hotel Schwarzhorn: This hotel was not a highlight of my trip. The town of Gruben was pretty, but by this point I had been so spoiled by high-alpine huts that I did not want to spend the evening in a town. This is a “hotel” in terms of the way they run dinner-you won’t be having a community 3-course meal like in the huts, instead you order like a normal restaurant. However, the sleeping situation is more like a hut (which is great when you’re used to it and on a budget!). In summation, if you’re staying in the town of Gruben, I would recommend staying at a hotel with private rooms and if you’re on the Haute Route, I would recommend trying to stay in a higher alpine hut if your mileage allows for it.
Day 6:
Gruben to Europahutte
Total mileage: 19.5 miles
Elevation: 8760 ft (+), 7330 ft (-)
Route: From here to Zermatt, you are surrounded by a lot more civilization. Climb up to
Augstbordpass and then drop down to Jungen, a little ski area where you can get snacks or lunch. From here, you can either hike down to Saint-Niklaus or you can take the little gondola down! I did this because I was tired and moving slowly by this point. Then, head along the Europaweg (which follows the valley) to the Europahutte.
Staying at Europahutte: There is a reason this hut is so popular-the views are amazing. This was a great final stop on my way into Zermatt! This is a popular spot to stay for people both doing the Haute Route and just staying in Zermatt so if you plan to stay here, you need to book really early!
Day 7:
Europahutte to Zermatt (Edelwiess Zermatt)
Total mileage: 11.25 miles
Elevation: 5550 ft (+), 6555 ft (-)
Route: This was a much shorter day than my last few. I took the iconic suspension bridge, had some incredible views of the Matterhorn, and then hiked down into the town of Zermatt. But was my hiking done after that? No, no it was not. I know myself and when I planned this trip, I knew I wouldn’t be ready to return to civilization after a week on trail. So I booked a stay at the Edelweiss Zermatt, a hut about a half mile above the town of Zermatt. This little hut is so cute and cozy, with a great view of the Zermatt valley. The owners were incredibly nice and I enjoyed lunch there, along with probably three drinks at once (the best combo: water, Rivella, and lemonade). For dinner, I had cheese fondue for one to celebrate the end of an incredible, beautiful, and insanely challenging week.
Staying at Edelweiss Zermatt: Really recommend, whether you are someone who wants to stay in Zermatt but avoid the crowds and expensive hotels or just want a one-night hut experience without having to hike through the mountains for days. The deck has beautiful views of the valley, with plenty of seating. The rooms are private, though the bathroom is not. And they offered laundry services, which was GREAT since I had been wearing the same outfit for seven days at this point. I will definitely be staying here again if I ever find myself back in Zermatt. One note, however, is that it is about ¾ of a mile hike up from the town.
One day in Zermatt (obviously I spent it hiking more):
Hike stats (one-way): 2.9 miles, 2500ft (+), 325ft (-)
While at dinner at Cabane de Moiry, several of my dinner companions told me that I was required to hike up to the climbers camp on the Matterhorn. So what did I do with my last day in Switzerland after a week of hiking? I hiked more! After breakfast at Edelweiss, I took the gondola up from the town of Zermatt to the halfway point of the mountain (Schwarszee) and then hiked up to the Hornlihutte. Just like I was told, you have to do this if you are in Zermatt!!!!!! The hike was beautiful and hut was a great spot for lunch! While I was sitting there having my sausage and potatoes with a coffee, there were some climbers at the top of the Matterhorn and a photographer let me watch them for a while through their ultra-zoom camera lens. The weather was perfect so I hung out here for a while, eating and reading, and then I hiked back down to Zermatt. You can take the gondola back down as well, but I had a whole afternoon ahead of me and not much else planned.
I walked around town for a bit but it was quite crowded and the shops seemed expensive so I ended up heading back up to the Edelweiss to hang out and read (the perfect afternoon).
From Zermatt, I took a series of 4 trains to get back to Chamonix to pick up the luggage I had left there. I stayed one more night at the Chalet Gite Chamoniard Volant Hostel, before taking another pre-reserved FlippyBus back to the Geneva Airport.
Special notes about the huts/refugio's:
Meal times are strict and it is impolite to miss them. So make sure when you are planning your daily mileage, you are leaving time to check in at the hut and settle in before dinner time (usually around 6:30ish). If you are a solo hiker, you will be seated with other solo travelers, which is a really fun way to get to know other people. I am very introverted, but after full days of hiking alone, it was always really nice to eat and chat with other people (although sometimes we ate in silence if nobody spoke the same language).
Do not expect to have access to showers. If this is a big thing for you, I would try to stay at a hotel at some point along your trek so you can have a guaranteed shower and laundry services. I honestly didn’t care since I was only on trail for one week and I have done several week-long backpacking trips with zero shower access, but it was a nice surprise the one time I did have shower access!
Make sure you bring a sleeping bag liner! The hut will tell you this when you get a confirmation email, but you must have one!!! They don’t usually wash the bedding between guests, as this would be a huge waste of water, so this is how you keep yourself from sleeping in other people’s germs, as well as helping not spread bed bugs.
You want to sign up for half board when you reserve your stay! This means you get a 3-course home-cooked meal for dinner, as well as a full breakfast buffet with coffee in the mornings!
When you check in, you can also add on a take-away lunch for the next day, picked up at breakfast. This is cheap and is a great way to make your lunch location flexible! Then your stops can just center around coffee and cake!
Bring plenty of cash! A lot of places are cash only (or were in 2023) and typically you pay for half your stay in advance and then the other half (and any add-ons like lunch) upon check-in in cash. So bring plenty!
For help with packing, see my comprehensive European hut-to-hut packing list here: https://tinyurl.com/HuttoHutPacking
Or check out my long haul flight essentials list here:
Note: I earn commission on anything you purchase in the Amazon links listed above.
If you are interested in a custom trip itinerary, contact me at lauren.jones3@fora.travel or the submission box at the bottom of this page!
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