The 10 most beautiful hikes in the Alps

Good to know before you go

The ten hikes on this list cross four countries, and each country measures difficulty in its own way: in Italy the Club Alpino Italiano uses the grades T, E, EE and EEA, the last of which marks protected routes that call for a harness, a helmet and a via ferrata set. In Switzerland the Swiss Alpine Club uses a scale from T1 to T6 instead, which you can also read on the ground from the colour of the waymarks: yellow for hiking trails, white-red-white for mountain trails, white-blue-white for alpine routes. Via ferratas such as the Zugspitze route have yet another scale, from A to E, on which B/C sits halfway between a moderate and a difficult grade. In every case the grade refers to the hardest section and assumes good conditions, with dry ground and clear visibility; with snow, rain or fog the same walk becomes a different proposition.

Three of the destinations fall within World Heritage sites. Seceda and the Puez belong to the Dolomites, which UNESCO inscribed in 2009 as a single property made of nine mountain systems separated by valleys; the Aletsch Glacier is the heart of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch site, inscribed in 2001 and enlarged in 2007. Lago di Saoseo, finally, lies in a side valley of the Valposchiavo, the valley followed by the Bernina line of the Rhaetian Railway, which has been on the list since 2008 together with the Albula line. The listing does not change the rules of the trail, but these places are often covered by park regulations stricter than usual, and they are worth reading before you set off.