Photos from this walk:

The Walking Guide
Sunnegga to Tufteren  

Description: This is an easy stroll through beautiful forest to a romantic mountain village with restaurant. This mid-alpine walk features fine views to the Matterhorn (4478m), Breithorn (4164m), Wellenkuppe (3903m), Ober Gabelhorn (4063m) and Weisshorn (4506m).  This walk makes use of the Sunnegga mountain lift.
Time required: About 1 hour return (almost all a flat traverse)
Difficulty: *  Gentle            Popularity: ***** Very Popular
Begins at: Sunnegga (2288m altitude)                Ends at: Sunnegga (2288m)                 Goes via: Tufteren (2215m)

Track Notes: This broad trail is also a four wheel drive track and is shared by mountain bikers in summer. 
Sunnegga Underground train costs - return trip: Adults: sFr.24   Children 9-16: 50% off. Children up to 8: free. ID for children's prices required. Also discounts for holders of SwissRail Pass and Half Fare cards (50% off).

The walk begins and ends in the mountains at the Sunnegga lift station and restaurant (2288m altitude).  To get up to Sunnegga from Zermatt you can walk (100 mins), but for this gentle walk we recommend taking the Sunnegga underground express train (4 mins). You can easily find the lower lift station in Zermatt by looking for one of a multitude of signs pointing towards the "Sunneggabahn" (Sunnegga railway) or 'Sunnegga Paradise". Alternatively follow these directions for the five minute stroll from the main train station: Across the street from the main train station is the valley terminus of the "Gornergratbahn" (Gornergrat mountain railway). Follow the street which runs next to the glassed in queuing areas for the Gornergratbahn, and continue on this road as it follows the "GGB" tracks for 250 metres to a busy intersection by the river. Cross the river, going under the railway bridge and then take the first left alongside the river downstream 100 metres to the Sunnegga underground train station.

Buy your tickets to Sunnegga and walk the long (and very cold!) tunnel to the underground train. Trains leave normally every 20 minutes. After whistling up the mountain, exit the Sunnegga lift station and enjoy the panorama. Then walk below the restaurant's sun terrace in the direction of the Matterhorn. A four wheel drive track leads right (north) towards the forests. Signposts near the restaurant also indicate Tufteren.  An almost flat track winds gently north through beautiful forests of larch and Swiss stone pine to the mountain village of Tuftern. 

Fine views along the whole traverse include south to the Breithorn (4164m), the Matterhorn (4478m) and west over Edelweiss and the Trift valley to the Wellenkuppe (3903m), Ober Gabelhorn (4063m) and to the north west - the Weisshorn (4506m).  

After about half an hour the charming little village of Tufteren is reached, where there is a charming mountain restaurant. Incidentally watch for Marmot's in the evenings or early mornings on the grassy slopes (piste in winter) just beyond Tufteren.

Return to Sunnegga the same way.