Gletschergrotte Klein Matterhorn

Glacier Grotto Little Matterhorn - Glacier Palace


Useful Information

Location: South of the cable car station Kleines Matterhorn. From Visp in the Rhone valley follow road to Täsch, from here train to Zermatt. We suggest to take the train from Visp, the views are great. On the Matterhorn Express from Zermatt to Trockener Steg mountain station. By cable car or the new Matterhorn glacier ride to the Matterhorn glacier paradise.
Open: [2020]
Fee: Matterhorn glacier paradise: Adults CHF 104, Children (9-15) CHF 52, Children (0-8) free.
Groups (10+): reductions with reservation.
[2020]
Classification: Subterraneaglacier grotto
Light: electric and natural.
Dimension: L=100 m, A=3,883 m asl.
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: not wheelchair accessible
Bibliography:
Address: E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History


Description

The Gletschergrotte Klein Matterhorn (Glacier Grotto Little Matterhorn) is located a short walk from the cable car station on the Kleines Matterhorn summit. However, those names are not hip enough. So actually you take the Matterhorn glacier paradise tour with the world's highest 3S cableway and the visit the Glacier Palace. Slightly confused? We were, definitely! The names are quite flashy, but we have no idea what they mean. We don't even know what a 3S cable car is, except extremely expensive. And there are numerous haute cuisine restaurants, and the glacier grotto. And a cinema, because everbody wants to travel days, pay enormous amounts of money, just to see little films you could have seen for free on YouTube.

But actually, the trip is worth every Swiss Franc it costs. You will see 38 four-thousand-metre peaks and 14 glaciers from the 360° viewing platform. The galcier grotto is called Ice Palace, because it is one of those with fancy artworks inside. Advertised as being "perfect for families" we must say it is definitely for the minors, not for people interested in glaciers. Entertainment, not education. But there are exceptional and strange sculptures nevertheless: rock crystals a meter long cut from ice, really weird.

Travelling Switzerland is expensive. The Zermatt area, because of its fame, is even more expensive. A trip to the glacier grotto will cost you CHF 100 per person. Nevertheless, this is the straight forward approach, and couponing works in Switzerland as good as in the U.S.A. Currently [2020] the Swiss Travel Pass of the Swiss Railroad SBB will allow free travel on regular trains, glacier express trains and numerous cable cars, or reduce the fee by 50% on others. Think about traveling by train.