Aletsch Glacier
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Swiss Alps Jungfrau Aletsch (2001, Extended 2007). The Great Aletsch Glacier Is The Largest Glacier In The Alps, About 23 Km Long And 900 M Thick, And A Record Of Climate Change As It Retreats. Reached By Cable Car From Fiesch, Bettmeralp Or Riederalp, With Hiking Along The Aletsch Panorama Trail. · Fiesch, Valais
The Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps, a frozen river of ice about 23 km long, roughly 1 km wide and about 800 to 900 m thick in its deepest part. It is fed by the Konkordiaplatz basin and is part of the UNESCO Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch site, listed in 2001. You do not walk onto it. You look at it from the Aletsch Arena above the Valais, from the Bettmerhorn, the Eggishorn or the Moosfluh viewpoint, all reached by cable car. The honest picture is that the view is a short ride and a short walk from the lifts, and the cable cars are not cheap. The glacier is also shrinking, by roughly 40 to 50 m a year, and has lost kilometres since 1850. Under high emissions it may largely disappear by 2100. Go on a clear morning, take warm layers, and if you want more than a view, book a guided hike. Ski runs, snowshoe trails and car-free villages make it a winter place too, though the lifts close in bad wind. Allow a full day, and book guides and beds well ahead in July and August when the Arena fills up.
Longest glacier in the Alps, about 23 km long, seen from Bettmerhorn and Eggishorn above Bettmeralp and Fiesch, or from the Moosfluh viewpoint, Fiesch, Valais, Switzerland
The cable cars run daily in the main seasons, usually from morning to late afternoon, with a break in the shoulder months in spring and autumn when some lifts close for maintenance. The viewpoints and trails are FREE and open whenever snow allows. Winter hiking trails are marked and groomed in places. Check the last ride down before you go up.