Riederalp, before you book
Riederalp sits at 1925 m in the Valais, and no road reaches it at all: the only way in is a cable car from Mörel, on the Rhone valley line. The municipality also takes in Greich, Goppisberg and Ried-Mörel, the villages halfway up the mountain between the valley and the plateau, and the tourist office gives a temperature difference of roughly 10 degrees between Riederalp and the valley floor below. That gap in the air is less a curiosity than the reason the plateau stays green and cool while the Rhone valley below bakes in summer.
Two gondolas reach the village, and that split is what should decide where you sleep. Riederalp Mitte, fed from Mörel via Greich in 9 minutes, is the fastest way in. Riederalp West, reached from Ried-Mörel after a change of cabin, sits closer to the Hohfluh view point, 5 minutes away. On the far side, the Aletschpromenade runs past the golf course to the Moosfluh lift, and climbs towards Riederfurka, where Villa Cassel looks out over the Aletsch Glacier.
The hotel choice here is narrow. Golfhotel Riederhof stands right at the golf course and Valaisia rents two apartments a few minutes from the Moosfluh station, both on the Aletschpromenade side; Hotel Berghaus Toni gives Riederalp West 18 rooms, and Hotel Silbersand, a small 3-star house, sits in the heart of the village two minutes from the cable car. The Aletsch Arena tourist office keeps most other accommodation behind a booking widget, so this guide shows what could be checked directly rather than everything that exists.
Winter 2026/27 runs from 5 December to 3 April, across the 104 km Aletsch Arena ski area between Riederfurka and Eggishorn, with skiing reaching right to the village. Summer opens the 300 km of hiking trails and the golf course, which its club calls the highest in Switzerland at 2000 m, from June to October. Either way, you arrive the same way: by the feeder railway from Mörel, which runs all year and sits inside the SBB GA and half-fare network.
