Most people take between 7 and 13 days to hike the Tour of Monte Rosa. Anything quicker requires Olympic speed walking or part trail running; anything longer would allow for frequent breaks and a relaxed trekking pace.

Given that the main Tour of Monte Rosa trail is a distance of 167 km / 104 mi and includes a demanding 11,618 m / 38,100 ft of elevation gain, speed and fitness are important factors to understand how long it could take a hiker to complete the trail. However, preferences and time constraints ultimately dictate how many days it will take a hiker to complete the Tour of Monte Rosa.

Since 2018, we’ve produced 100’s of personalised hiking itineraries that have helped 1000’s of self-guided hikers confidently plan their adventures through the Alps. To achieve this, we focus on the following 4 steps that help to determine how long it will take them to hike the Tour of Monte Rosa.

1. Preliminary estimate

2. Selecting preferences

3. Compromises

4. Final plan

This blog post summarises these steps, which form part of the itinerary building process our customers use to produce their very own personalised plan and GPS map file with our Tour of Monte Rosa packages.

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Step 1: Preliminary estimate 

The following calculator is designed to provide a simple estimate of how many days it could take a hiker to complete the Tour of Monte Rosa. Please note;

• The number of hours is for hiking time only and should exclude breaks and stationary time. 

• Consider fellow multi-day hikers as the ‘others’ when choosing relative speed rather than an average person.

After clicking ‘calculate,’ allow ~5 seconds for the result to display. Feel free to make new selections and recalculate as many times as required.

If interested, learn more about our time estimates and calculator here.

STEP 2: SELECTING PREFERENCES

The Tour of Monte Rosa offers a wonderful array of choices in terms of trail highlights and accommodation types. Some of these choices will change the number of days it will take to complete the Tour of Monte Rosa. 

Our customers use the trip planning app to choose their preferences and create a draft plan for the Tour of Monte Rosa.

Learn more about each of the options below.

TRAIL HIGHLIGHTS

The Alps offers a network of trails rather than a single path to follow. There are always trail junctions that allow hikers to choose a route based on the highlight, terrain, or accommodation options available.

The standard or "main trail" Tour of Monte Rosa is 167 km / 104 mi. However, many hikers choose to take one or more alternate routes along their journey.

Some of the more popular alternate routes include:

• Glacier Trail (Via Britannia Hut): This trail crosses two glaciers - Hohlaub and Allalin - via way marks that are installed and monitored by the Swiss Alpine Club at Britannia Hutte. The opportunity to safely cross two glaciers without a guide is unique. The route avoids cervasses and difficult features, therefore, ropes/specialised gear is not required.

• Alpe Bors Trail: This remote alternate route is a more direct option to the main trail and therefore allows hikers to skip ahead faster. It bypasses the old stone buildings of Alpe Bors and the remote valley of Vallone delle Pisse.

• Colle de Pinter Trail: This route is more picturesque, passing through more villages and hamlets such as Gressoney La Trinite and Alpenzu. It also offers 2 camping locations (1 campground and 1 bivouac), whereas there aren’t any on the main trail in this section of the Tour of Monte Rosa.

• Ventina Glacier Trail: For those looking to add another glacier crossing to their itinerary, this is a more direct route than the main trail. Although a short glacier crossing, it is steep and can be quite icy. Only choose this route if you have the experience and appropriate equipment to cross a glacier.

• Hornli Hut Trail: Hornli Hut is located at the foot of the Matterhorn at 3,260m / 10,696ft. It is the "base camp" for those mountaineers wanting to summit the Matterhorn, or those wanting to get close enough to touch it! The final section to reach the hut is steep, but has stairs and chains to assist.

ACCOMMODATION TYPES

If a hiker has specific accommodation preferences, it may impact how far they need to hike each day.

The following accommodation options are available on the Tour of Monte Rosa:

• Bivouac/Wild camping: Only permitted in some locations on the trail due to strict laws across Switzerland and Italy.

• Campgrounds with amenities: include showers and toilets, sometimes shops and laundry.

• Dorm rooms: 4-16 bedrooms are available in mountain huts and some accommodation providers in the alpine villages.

• Private room with shared bathroom: Most villages have accommodation with these rooms available. Some mountain huts have private rooms, usually for an extra charge.

• Private room with ensuite: Most villages have accommodation with these rooms available. No mountain huts have private rooms with an ensuite.

• Mountain huts with no food or hot showers: Only two of these huts is located on the trail. Cooking facilities/utensils are available at these locations.

There are more than one of the above accommodation options in many of the destinations along the trail. However, there are some points where hikers will be limited by choice, so they either need to compromise on their accommodation preferences or adjust the number of days it will take them to complete the hike.

STEP 3: COMPROMISES

Most hikers have a maximum number of days available to complete the Tour of Monte Rosa. Sometimes, their choice of preferred hiking hours, pace, and preferences result in an itinerary with more hiking days than they have available. In these cases, here are the compromises that can keep a hikers Tour of Monte Rosa dream alive!

BE WILLING TO TAKE SOME TRANSPORT

Most hikers want to walk every step of the Tour of Monte Rosa to experience all the trail has to offer. However, if a hiker doesn't have enough time to walk all the way, there is transport (bus, gondola, chairlift) that runs alongside the trail or skips entire sections, reducing the number of days it will take to complete the trail. In other cases, transport can allow a hiker to maintain their ideal number of hiking days while staying in their preferred accommodation type.

BE FLEXIBLE WITH TRAIL HIGHLIGHT PREFERENCES

There is 1-3 hiking days difference between the longest and shortest routes around Monte Rosa. If a hiker is unwilling to use transport to reduce their number of hiking days, ignoring route choices based on trail highlights in favour of the shortest trail combination can be a viable option.

BE FLEXIBLE WITH ACCOMMODATION TYPE PREFERENCES

Some hikers start by off with a mandatory accommodation type, usually for private rooms or camping. As every accommodation location doesn't offer these types (or places become fully booked), seeking them out can increase the number of hiking days it will take to complete the trail. Being open to spending some nights in a dorm room can prevent this increase.

CHOOSE TO HIKE A SECTION OF THE TOUR of Monte Rosa

If a hiker doesn't want to take any transport, isn't interested in skipping trail highlights, and, is unwilling to compromise on their preferred accommodation types, doing a section of the Tour of Monte Rosa is a practical option to ensure the trip goes ahead within the available days. Given how well the trail is connected to transport, it's possible to join and leave the trail at multiple points allowing for a lot of flexibility in partial tours.

STEP 4: FINAL PLAN

Using their draft itinerary and considering necessary compromises, our customers use the itinerary builder to create a final version of their plan that meets their needs. 

Watch the below video to see how our trip planning app turns all of the options above into a fun and easily choose your own adventure experience for the Tour of Monte Rosa!

Ready to start planning your own Tour of Monte Rosa Adventure?

Author: Brendan Jones, Founder, The Hiking Club
A pizza-making, craft beer-loving, peanut butter connoisseur that has been exploring the great outdoors since completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award in high school. I started The Hiking Club to democratise hiking and the benefits that come from spending time in nature.