Description
Throughout the year there are many trails available for hiking around the Zermatt area. The trail descirbed here is a suggestion for a day trip. The birds being presented here can be found throughout the entire Zermatt area.
The 5 Seenweg or 5 Lakes Walk (trail number 11) is a 10 km trail that takes you along 5 beautiful alpine lakes, the last of which you can take a swim in. The directions described here starts from Blauherd which you can reach by gondola lift. Walking the trail the other way around is also possible.
At Blauherd you start above the tree line and immediately when you walk out of the station you can find your first birds. Keep an eye out for snehárka vrchovská, čavka žltozobá and in rare cases vrchárka červenkavá. Marmots also live around here. Walking down the mountain you will find large amounts of skaliarik sivý and žľtochvost domový with ľabtuška vrchovská amongst them. Look up and you might see dážďovník obyčajný or lastovička skalná. Walking along the trail and past the beautiful lakes you eventually reach the tree line. Here you find a variety of forest birds like orešnica perlavá, hýľ obyčajný, vrchárka modrá and sýkorka chochlatá. At the final lake you have also reached the Sunnegga station. From here you can take the lift or walk the Gourmet trail down to Zermatt. Along this additional 10 km trail you walk past resaurants and more grassy areas where you can find drozd čvíkota, ľabtuška hôrna, strnádka cia and marmots amongst others. While hiking keep an eye out for orol skalný, bradáň žltohlavý and myšiak hôrny flying high in the sky amongst the mountains.
Although a scope is useful here since you can see far and wide it is a bit of an obstacle to carry it along the entire trail.
Details
Access
The only way of reaching Zermatt is by train as cars are not allowed into the city. From Zermatt you take a lift to Sunnegga from where you can take a gondola up to Blauherd station.
Terrain and Habitat
Forest , Valley , Canyon/cliff , Mountain , Lake , Scattered trees and bushesConditions
Mountainous , Hilly , RockyCircular trail
NoIs a telescope useful?
NoGood birding season
SummerBest time to visit
SummerRoute
Wide path , Unpaved road , Narrow trailDifficulty walking trail
Average walkAccessible by
FootBirdwatching hide / platform
NoExtra info
Photo 5-seenweg by Alltheswissthings, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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