Walker's Haute Route

This is a high mountain trek, and the weather can be poor, so you should have previous high mountain experience and good navigation and mountain skills. As this is a self guided trek you will be responsible for navigation, decision making and safety during your tour. The daily height gain is substantial over the days of walking.Therefore, you must have an excellent level of walking fitness and be capable of negotiating challenging terrain.

On the Haute Route, you will encounter a diverse range of tracks and trails. The mountainous sections typically feature single-track paths that can be rocky in places, sometimes with steps, but are mostly just bare earth. You'll also find various types of tracks, including gravel forest roads, ski pistes, and rough roads meant for agricultural vehicles. Some segments consist of country lanes as well. Notably, some of the mountain passes are particularly steep, loose, and rocky, which requires good experience and a steady balance. As an alternative to these steep cols, there are sections with almost vertical ladders to navigate.

This tour is graded strenuous. Within the tour individual days may vary in difficulty - some might be a bit tougher or easier than the overall rating suggests.

Accommodation on this tour is a mix of small, friendly 2 and 3-star hotels, auberges with private rooms, and mountain refuges with dormitory-style rooms. The exact balance depends on which version of the tour you choose: the full route includes nights in all three, while the East and West sections each cover a shorter mix of hotels, auberges and refuges (the East route's optional Cabane de Moiry variation adds a further night in a shared mountain refuge). We carefully select small establishments that offer great value and a genuinely warm welcome.

If you have extra time, we'd recommend adding a few extra nights. A rest day in Zinal is well worth it, giving your legs a proper chance to recover before you carry on. We'd also recommend an extra night in Zermatt, where you can enjoy a blend of luxury and exclusivity surrounded by the Swiss Alps, with extra time to take in the Matterhorn at its best - whether that's early morning alpenglow, golden hour, or a clear afternoon, since cloud often hides it for part of the day. If you're following the western section of the route, Chamonix is another great spot for an extra night, with excellent restaurants, a lively atmosphere and a strong mountaineering heritage - an evening there is worth savouring, and by day, the Aiguille du Midi and Mer de Glace are well worth a visit.

Unfortunately, this is not available to solo travelers. We can, however, offer single rooms if you are traveling with others. These are available for a supplement.

Because some of the overnight stops on this route are in remote mountain refuges with shared dormitory accommodation, single room availability can be more limited on those particular nights.

Breakfast is included every morning across all tour options. If you choose the full Walker's Haute Route, 12 dinners are included along the way (Chamonix and Zermatt aren't included, so you can explore the restaurant scene in each). If you choose the East section, 7 three-course dinners are included (Zermatt isn't included), and if you choose the West section, 6 dinners are included (Chamonix isn't included). Packed lunches can be arranged with your accommodation, usually by ordering the night before, or you can pick up supplies and stop along the way - budget around 10-15 CHF per day for lunch. Drinks aren't included but are available at all of your overnight stops.

You can start your tour between mid-July and the beginning of September. This short season reflects the weather and the risk of snow on the trail - snow patches can linger into early summer on the higher passes, and conditions may deteriorate again toward the end of the season. Each year in the last week of August, the Chamonix area hosts a major trail-running event (the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc), and we'd recommend avoiding this period, as the area gets extremely busy and accommodation fills up fast.

Luggage transfer isn't available on this route, due to the remote nature of the overnight stops, so you'll need to carry your own pack each day. We'd recommend bringing a sleeping bag liner for nights spent in dormitory-style mountain refuges - bed linen is provided wherever you have a private room. If you're carrying excess luggage, it's sometimes possible to arrange for it to be sent ahead by train between some of the larger towns on the route - just ask your Adventure Sales Specialist for more information.

The route features comprehensive waymarking at every junction, with regular paint marks throughout, supported by the detailed guidebook and route notes we provide. Each day's walk typically begins and ends at a central landmark, such as a church or bus stop, and our distance figures cover the main trail only, so short access routes to your accommodation are additional.

While the route is well-marked, alpine conditions require respect and preparation. Weather and visibility can change rapidly in the mountains, and snow may be present even in summer, so you should be comfortable navigating in poor visibility before you travel. You'll need to use your own judgment and experience to choose the right path each day, as the route crosses high mountain passes where conditions can be challenging year-round, requiring genuine mountain experience and confident navigation skills in all weather.

Navigation is straightforward using our app which has maps, tracks and daily route info. Simply download the information and tracks for offline use and follow the route on your phone. Once on the trail you do not need signal for the app to work and follow your progress.

Geneva is the key gateway airport for this tour. Along the route, you can use ski-lifts and cable cars to skip some of the bigger ascents and descents, on the sections from Le Châble to Les Ruinettes, above Zinal to Zinal village, and from Jungen to St Nicklaus. If you'd rather skip a stage completely, this may also be possible using public transport or taxis. We provide a detailed transport guide with alternative transport options and timetables for each section. Ski-lifts and these optional transfers aren't included in the tour price.

If you choose the full Walker's Haute Route, you'll travel from Geneva to Chamonix, France by train or bus, though the best option is a pre-booked shuttle with Mountain Dropoffs, costing around €30 each way. By rail, take the TGV to Saint-Gervais-Le-Fayet and then a regular train on to Chamonix (check times with SNCF). At the end of the tour, from Zermatt you can take a train to Zurich (3-4 hours, with one change), back to Geneva (around 3 hours), or on to Chamonix (4 hours 37 minutes to 5 hours 11 minutes).

If you choose the East variant, you'll travel from Geneva to Arolla, taking a regular train to Sion and then a connecting bus on to Arolla (check times with SBB). At the end of the tour, from Zermatt regular trains connect to Zurich Airport (3 hours 30 minutes) or Geneva Airport (4 hours).

If you choose the West variant, you'll travel from Geneva to Chamonix, France, as described above, with the pre-booked shuttle with Mountain Dropoffs the best option (around €30 each way), or by TGV to Saint-Gervais-Le-Fayet and then a regular train on to Chamonix. At the end of the tour, from Arolla regular buses via Les Hauderes connect to the railway at Sion, with the onward journey to Geneva Airport taking just over 3 hours 30 minutes.

You'll need good hiking shoes or boots, comfortable hiking clothes, waterproofs, a daypack, and we recommend hiking poles. A portable charger for your cell phone is essential. On booking, our Tour Info will give you a complete packing list. Because of the remote, high-mountain nature of this tour, we'd also recommend bringing a sleeping bag liner (essential for nights in mountain refuges), along with a compass and altimeter.

On certain days you can shorten the route or skip it entirely by using a taxi or public transport.

The Walker's Haute Route can be walked as one continuous journey, or split into an East and a West section, each with a different character. The East is mostly in Switzerland and is a little easier going, taking in many of the route's best-known highlights and finishing in Zermatt beneath the Matterhorn. The West begins in France and overlaps with the Tour du Mont Blanc for the first few days, so availability can be limited and early booking is a good idea - it's the more demanding, rugged half, with exposed passes and hut-to-hut trekking. You can also complete both over the course of a few years if you'd rather take it in stages.

We highly recommend that you have travel insurance when you book with Macs Adventure. Your policy should cover medical treatment (including repatriation and emergency evacuation by air ambulance or helicopter), injury, death, third-party liability, and trip cancellation