The Gornergrat Bahn, Europe's highest mountain railroad running over open country, takes 45 minutes to climb 10 kilometers to the summit of the Gornergrat.
The rack-railroad climbs the east side of Nikolai valley and up the slopes of the Riffelberg in a wide curve, with ever more impressive views of the Matterhorn. Riffelberg, at 2,582 meters altitude, has a hotel and restaurant with a terrace that is a popular sundeck for skiers.
A few minutes' walk below the Rotenboden station, at 2,819 meters, is the Riffelsee with the peak of the Matterhorn mirrored in its water - the view is at its most spectacular in the morning.
