Via Alpina in Switzerland

The National Route 1 in Switzerland is part of the Via Alpina long-distance hiking network linking Trieste on the Adriatic to Monaco on the Côte d’Azur. The entire Via Alpina consists of 342 stages with 5000km/3000 miles of hiking trails. The stages of the Via Alpina in Switzerland and tiny Liechtenstein pack some spectacular Alpine terrain into a small area.

On Swiss soil, National Route 1 Via Alpina—also known as the Swiss Alpine pass Route—starts in Liechtenstein and concludes in Montreux. It crosses 14 Alpine passes in 19 stages and a total of 370km/230 miles. It’s classed as medium difficulty and it’s a trek that caters to fit and experienced hikers. You can do the route from Vaduz to Gstaad on our Via Alpina trek and our Deluxe Bernese Oberland Traverse.

Here’s a quick overview of the entire route:

Eastern Switzerland

Stage	Start - End	Distance	Ascent	Descent
1	Vaduz (Gaflei) - Sargans	26 km	620 m	1735 m
2	Sargans - Weisstannen	125 km	940 m	440 m
3	Weisstannen - Elm	22.4 km	1505 m	1530 m
4	Elm - Linthal	24.3 km	1745 m	2055 m
5	Linthal - Urnerboden	15.2 km	1180 m	465 m

Central Switzerland

Stage	Start - End	Distance	Ascent	Descent
6	Urnerboden - Altdorf	25.5 km	1090 m	1930 m
7	Altdorf - Engelberg	28.5 km	2080 m	1595 m
8	Engelberg - Engstlenalp	11.1 km	1285 m	455 m

Bernese Oberland

Stage	Start - End	Distance	Ascent	Descent
9	Engstlenalp - Meiringen	21.2 km	890 m	2120 m
10	Meiringen - Grindelwald	22.9 km	1530 m	1095 m
11	Grindelwald - Lauterbrunnen	19.5 km	1230 m	1465 m
12	Lauterbrunnen - Griesalp	20.5 km	2090 m	1495 m
13	Griesalp - Kandersteg	15.6 km	1545 m	1765 m
14	Kandersteg - Adelboden	16.4 km	1430 m	1260 m
15	Adelboden - Lenk	13.5 km	740 m	1020 m
16	Lenk - Gstaad	21.1 km	1140 m	1150 m
17	Gstaad - L'Etivaz	15.9 km	1250 m	1165 m

Western Switzerland

Stage	Start - End	Distance	Ascent	Descent
18	L'Etivaz - Rochers de Naye	22.8 km	1810 m	995 m
19	Rochers de Naye - Montreux	13.2 km	295 m	1880 m

If your summer plans include the Via Alpina, Alpenwild has you covered. Alpenwild is the only North American tour operator offering the entire Via Alpina 1—All 19 stages through Switzerland—on both a guided and self-guided basis.

What's your style? What's your preference? Talk with an Alpenwild Destination Specialist and let the adventure begin.