Matterhorn

Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland.

Hiking Trail : Riffelalp to Gornergrat (no., 23 and 21)

I spend most part of the evening after work editing the photos captured during the last weekend and preparing for the next weekend trip - rather let me call it hike, as i almost hike every weekend being captivated by the nature around here in Switzerland. One fine day when i was searching for pics in flickr by filtering the groups / sets (yes ! i am paid user of flickr even after its awful redesign) by Switzerland, recognized there was a pattern. Every one in five photo contained this gigantic pyramidical mountain - 'Matterhorn'. As it is claimed in zermatt.ch, this of-course is the most photographed mountain in the world - a symbol of Switzerland. 

It was in my long wish list to witness this. Having got the swiss day pass on concession, decided to explore the Zermatt to Gornergrat hiking trail last saturday (14 Sep 2013). Zermatt is 3 hours from Zurich and the hiking trail is for almost 4 hours hence there was a need for me to catch the first train from Zurich. From Zurich reached Visp via Bern and then reached Zermatt in Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn. Decided to start the hiking trail from Riffelalp and onboarded the Gornergrat Bahn which connects Zermatt (at 1690m) and Gornergrat (at 3089m). Both Zermatt and Gornergrat at tourist attractions and the journey between the two places is absolutely scenic. 5 mins just after Zermatt, Matterhorn was visible. A clear sky helped witness the beautiful peak in its true sense. 

After 20 minutes, i got down at Riffelalp and started my hike towards Gornergrat. There are a lot of options for the hike, i selected the Swiss top walk and decided to deviate towards Riffelsee. Best part of this hike is the view of Matterhorn all the way. It will be like you just keep moving as close as possible towards the mountain. The path is quite easy and not much challenging. With ease, reached Riffelberg in an hour an then continued towards Riffelsee. After an hour, reached an unnamed lake and couldn't resist but to admire the reflection of the peak in the crystal clear lake. Heard some fellow hiker in a group whisper - 'Welcome to Africa', as he finished explaining the geology of this giant pyramidical Matterhorn. Matterhorn was formed several million years ago when Africa moved closer to Europe causing folding of rocks and land forcing their way upwards thus resulting in the birth of Matterhorn.

For High Resolution, please visit PrK |photography

As the description in zermatt.ch claims - there may be no better-known mountain in the world whose natural shape comes so close to a pyramid as the Matterhorn. Located on the border between Switzerland and Italy, it towers 4478m, one of the famous mountains in the world. It got its pyramidal structure by snow glaciation and formation of cirque resulting in constant erosion of rocks over centuries of years. The four steep faces (North, South, East, West), culminate in two distinct summits - Swiss and Italian summit. The north and east faces overlook Zermatt in Swiss. The mountain is referred as Monte Servino in Italian and Mont Cervin in French. German name Matterhorn means Matte - Meadow, horn - Peak.

Uniquely associated with this peak is the 'banner cloud' formation. When the air flows above and around the summit with sufficient speed, the wind speed increases accompanied by the fall in pressure. The low pressure causes the air flow in the lee side of the peak. When the air is humid, clouds are formed. When clouds come close to the air stream that blows over the top it gets swept away by the wind speed thus forming the strips of banner cloud.

When it comes to Matterhorn there are lot of write-ups on how climbers achieved climbing to the peak. This was one of the last peaks to be climbed in the alps. It posed enormous challenge and consumed a lot of lives. The links provided in the reference have descriptive references on how this monster was conquered.

After admiring the reflection of Matterhorn, i continued my hike towards Riffelsee - another alpine lake just 20 mins from the first lake. The view of Matterhorn and Riffelhorn with its reflection on Riffelsee was even more captivating. From here i continued my hike to explore the view of 5 glaciers that merge along the sides of Gornergrat.

How To Reach

Via Train - 

From Zurich HB > Bern > Visp (train towards Brig)

From Visp > Zermatt (Matterhorn - Gotthard Bahn)

From Zermatt > Riffelalp (Gornergrat Bahn)

References

This blog refers the below links -

Wikipedia

Banner Clouds

Zermatt.ch

Victoria Peak, Hong Kong

Victoria Peak - one of the highest peaks in Hong Kong, that offers a 360 degree view of the Island.

Attraction - Victoria Peak

Location - The Peak

Victoria Peak

A must see attraction in Hong Kong island, the victoria peak, often referred to as 'the peak' offers a spectacular view of the skyscrapers in Hong Kong island, the victoria harbor and kowloon in new territory. Standing at 552 meters above sea level, the Peak is the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island. Combined with the experience of traveling in one of the world's oldest and most famous funicular railways since 1888 and the 360 degree vista from the highest viewing platform in the city, this is an attraction not to miss, though weather permitting.  The Peak has been one of the hot residential property since the 19th century. Early settlers were mostly British, though gradually the restriction was relaxed.

The Tram

Pulled by steel cables, the tram rises from 18 meters to 396 meters (about 1,300 feet) above sea level. Its true as they have specified in the official website that when you travel, the buildings on both sides will look inclined to you. That steep is the travel. The history of the tram dates back to 1881. Since then it has been a icon for Hong Kong. Before the tram existed, people were carried to the peak in sedan chairs. In May of 1881, the enterprising Scotsman Alexander Findlay Smith devised a plan to speed the development of new residences in the hill districts with the introduction of a funicular train that would connect Murray Barracks to Victoria Gap. On May 30, 1888, Governor Sir George William des Voeux officiated at the inauguration of this important transport for the commuters on the peak.

The Peak Tower

With the peak tram growing popular as a main touristic attraction, the Peak tower was built to cater to varied needs of the tourist. At 396m above sea level, the multi storied peak tower encompasses restaurants, shops, tram station and viewing deck. Sky terrace 428, at 428m from sea level is the viewing deck offering panoramic view.

My Experience

Hong Kong Island and New Territory from The Peak

For better resolution of the picture, please visit Prk |photography

Well.. I didn't wanted to miss this at any cost. When i started planning for Hong Kong, this was first in my wish list and in my schedule. Mainly for the view, a spectacular view up from the top. There are a number of sky scrappers and you get a spectacular view of them from here. On my weekend visit, i knew Saturday evening will be raining, hence i opted this for Sunday. Again, evening - as i wanted to get some sun into my shot.

I planned to catch the tram at around 5, as i have to return to airport to catch the flight at 9. After coming out of the Central MTR - get out of exit K on to Statue square. To the right you will see the massive HSBC tower. To its right is the old Bank of China Tower. Walk towards it and cross the bending road in the signal. You will reach the midpoint where you can see modern Bank of China Tower to the left, Cheung Kong tower to the right and Citi Bank plaza in front along the Garden Road. Walk 200m from there (a bit uphill) and you can see the Garden Road Peak Tram terminus. Note that you should reach ahead in time as you have to wait at least 1 hour in the queue if you have not got the tickets already.

After 30 mins in the queue, i managed to get the ticket - HKD 75 for Peak Tram return and Sky tower. There are other combo packs. Even lesser when you use Octopus card to pay. Getting the tickets online is best option to cut the Queue time. After getting the tickets a wait of about 20 mins is expected to onboard the tram. I chose the last portion of the tram and wanted to stand. It was a nice experience - as if you travel up sleeping on the tram door! Don't miss the spectacular view from here and do turn back and see the tracks leading down ! In 10 minutes you will reach the Peak Tram station at the peak. From here my only idea was to climb the multi stories (via escalators) up to the sky terrace 428 (note - you need the tickets to view from sky terrace). It was a dull evening - call it fog, smog - the view was not clear, yet i was very keen to get a good shot. I put my shop in a good spot and started getting few shots until the lights got turned on in the sky reaching buildings. After nearly 30 mins, i decided to get back. You can spend some time shopping - i managed to get few souvenirs. You need to come out of the peak tower to get the tram back. Again, there will be a queue for this. I did managed to get the train to airport and then flight back to Singapore !

How to reach

One of the best ways to reach is to take MTR to Central from wherever you are. From Central MTR - take exit K - walk along HSBC tower, Bank of China old tower and cross the road to get into Garden Road along the modern Bank of China Tower. 200m from here is the Garden road Peak Tram lower terminus. (clearly signed along the way from MTR).

References

This blog refers few information from the below links.

ThePeak