Less than 60 kilometers as a crow flies southeast of Fribourg lies the hulk of a jagged mountain chain named after the Devil himself – les Diablerets. The Diablerets massif is made up of the highest peak, its namesake, which tops out at 3,210 meters (10,531 ft). It also features an impressive line-up of towering brothers with names like Scex Rouge (Ruby Mountain), Quille du Diable (Devil’s Skittle), and Le Dôme. As of November 2014, these mountain peaks now boast the Glacier 3000 Peak Walk by Tissot: the highest “peak-to-peak” suspension bridge in the world.
The hanging suspension bridge connects the summit of Scex Rouge with another mountain peak 107 meters away along the same ridge. In typical Swiss fashion, the suspension bridge is easily accessible to the public via a short ride on board the Glacier 3000 cable car.
The entire experience is one worth considering, but before you decide to add it to your Swiss travel itinerary, find out what it all costs, how to get there, and what it’s actually like at the summit.
If you love heights, bridges, and mountains, you'll love the Glacier 3000 Peak Walk by Tissot - the longest peak-to-peak suspension bridge in the world.Where is the Glacier 3000 and Tissot Peak Walk located?
The Peak Walk by Tissot suspension bridge and Glacier 3000 cable car that you’ll take to get there are located in the southwest corner of Switzerland, not far from Lake Geneva.
They fall within the larger Glacier 3000 ski area, which offers hiking, world-class skiing, a via ferrata, and an alpine coaster in the summer in addition to the suspension bridge.
By car, the lift station is 1 hour 45 minutes south of Bern, 1 hour 45 minutes east of Geneva, and 3 hours southwest of Zurich.
What’s the cost of visiting the Glacier 3000 suspension bridge?
Ever since we saw a video about the bridge’s construction last winter, we’ve been anticipating a visit. Taking a chance that the weather would be clear enough for decent views, we decided to go for it!
The good news is that parking at the lift area and the suspension bridge itself are both free. The only cost is the ticket for the Glacier 3000 cable car to the summit, where the suspension bridge is.
After parking in the free lot beneath the shadow of giant Glacier 3000 cable cars passing overhead, we bought tickets, cringing at the hefty price tag.
Saying the Peak Walk is free is a bit like saying the kid’s toy in your Cheerios box is free. If you don’t buy the Cheerios, you don’t get the toy.
If you don’t buy a ticket to the summit, most folks aren’t likely to have access to the suspension bridge except in summer. Even then, you’d have to hike all the way up. It’s a long way up.
A bit offended at the 80 CHF per adult ticket price, we decided to go only because they honored our Swiss Half-Fare travel cards and gave us a 50% discount. Otherwise, neither of us would’ve been willing to pay the full price of 160 CHF for two adults.
Budget Travel Tip: Buy the Swiss Half-Fare travel card to save 50% on the cable car ticket!
How do you get to the Glacier 3000 Peak Walk?
The easiest way to get to the lift station for the Peak Walk suspension bridge is to arrive by car.
1. Navigate to your destination.
You can navigate to several different destinations: Peak Walk by Tissot, Glacier 3000 Bergbahn Luftseilbahn, or the Col du Pillon parking area.
They’re all in the same place, and all of them will have you arriving at the parking area for the cable car station, which is your starting point for this adventure.
2. Buy tickets for the Glacier 3000 cable car.
The ticket office for the cable car is visible from the parking area.
Buy tickets for the Glacier 3000 cable car at the Col du Pillon gondola/cable car station, and hop on board one of the standing-only, roomy cable cars.
3. Ride the Glacier 3000 to the Glacier-des-Diablerets gondola station at the summit.
From the parking area and ticket office, you’ll ride the Glacier 3000 cable car to an upper lift station on the Tête aux Chamois mountain peak. Just beyond it is the Cabane des Diablerets mountain hut.
When the car stops, you’ll immediately hop onto another cable car to continue up the mountain.
As the cable car continues to climb above the Cabane, you’ll have stellar views of the valley on the way to the final gondola station, Glacier-des-Diablerets.
4. Get off at the Glacier-des-Diablerets gondola station.
When you get off at the station, continue on foot and take the exterior metal stairs the short distance up to the Peak Walk by Tissot suspension bridge. You can’t miss it.
You have arrived!
What should you expect at the summit?
The views of the Swiss Alps during the cable car ride, at the summit, and from the suspension bridge are absolutely stellar. Even if you’ve seen plenty of other gorgeous landscapes in Switzerland, you’d be hard pressed not to still be impressed.
As to amenities available, when you get off the cable car, you’ll be inside the one main building at the Glacier-des-Diablerets summit. There you can grab a small snack or meal at the Botta 3000 restaurant, or you can buy a nice memento at the classy gift ship.
Though the gift shop isn’t huge, we were surprised how classy their selection was. We’re not big shoppers, but we bought several gifts to send home to family and friends in the USA.
Depending on the time of year and weather conditions, you can also ride the alpine coaster that starts right near the station. Since it’s operational typically from May to September and we visited in March, it wasn’t open.
Peak Walk by Tissot to the Scex Rouge Summit
The entrance to the Peak Walk suspension bridge is just a bit beyond the gondola station at the summit. One of the best vantages of the suspension bridge is actually from below, right after you get off the cable car.
We knew we’d gained a lot of elevation, but we were still surprised at how cold and windy it was when we stepped off the gondola.
Travel Tip: The final destination on this trip is the Scex Rouge summit at the end of the suspension bridge. It’s at an elevation of almost 3000 meters, or almost 10,000 feet. Wear (or take) warm clothes and shoes, even if it feels like summer in the valley.
We made our way slowly upward to the bridge, climbing a series of grated metal stairs packed with ice.
If you visit in winter, watch your step. The entire area is protected by hand rails and signs, but caution is still advised.
Before we reached the bridge, we heard the dull whoop, whoop, whoop of a helicopter’s blades rising below us through the icy air.
Much to our disbelief, a skier who appeared to be in some distress on the ice shelf far below caught hold of a rope dangling below the chopper and was whisked away, presumably to safety.
A few minutes after that, a trio of skiers followed his same route. Two of them carefully stepped sideways through a very narrow, rocky passage, leaning into the hillside so as not to lose control and tumble down the steep slope.
The scraping of his skis on what sounded like sheer ice made me grateful I was up above watching him rather than the other way around.
As the chopper and its human cargo faded out of sight, we finally reached the Peak Walk. We tentatively stepped out onto its swaying expanse.
If you’re afraid of heights or don’t like bridges made of grated metal, you’re not going to like what comes next!
Not for the first time here in Switzerland, I reassured myself.
It’s Swiss made. It must be safe!
Sure enough, the bridge held.
Built to withstand winds over 200 kilometers per hour, the bridge is fixed not only on both ends but also with several cable anchors to the rocky cliffs below.
Travel Tip: Dogs are allowed on both the Glacier 3000 cable car and the Peak Walk suspension bridge. Be ready to carry small dogs (and keep a firm hold on them!) or have booties for bigger dogs to cross the sharp metal grating on the bridge.
In the short distance from the cable car to the bridge, the cloud ceiling had slowly but persistently dropped, growing ever more oppressive and slowly obscuring the surrounding peaks.
By the time we reached the opposite side of the bridge, the wind was kicking up a respectable howl, stinging our faces with blinding snow.
Despite the deteriorating visibility, the views were still stunning. The striations of snow adorning each rock precipice created a more interesting landscape than bare rocks in summer.
Wherever we go, we always seem to be the last ones to clear out, and the Peak Walk was no exception.
It’s not every day that we have the highest peak-to-peak suspension bridge in the world all to ourselves. Apparently we always just need to sightsee when the weather is at its worst.
Gale-force winds and an impending hurricane in the tropics?
Let’s do it!
Is the Peak Walk by Tissot worth visiting?
Despite the steep prices and advertising hype, we were glad we’d finally made it to the Peak Walk.
We’re hoping to return later this year to hike to the Quille du Diable and Le Dôme summits, but with so many places on our Alps hiking list, we might never make it back to Les Diablerets.
If not, we’re especially glad we had a chance to see this rather impressive example of Swiss alpine engineering. We both agree that it’s worth visiting: just make sure you have a Swiss Half Fare travel pass for that 50% discount!
See how they built the Glacier 3000 Peak Walk by Tissot!
The company released a neat video of the bridge’s construction. Check out the guy at 1:35 and 1:49. How much would they have to pay you to be up there?!
Looking for more awesome outdoor adventures in Switzerland?
- UNESCO Alps Hike to Obersteinberg
- Epic Sledding In Switzerland At Moleson: Prices, Hours & Insider Tips!
- 5-Seenweg (Five Lakes) Hike
- The cable car ride from Col du Pillon to the summit of Scex Rouge takes about 15 minutes.
- Take note that the cable cars to Scex Rouge run every 20 minutes but that the last one in winter departs the summit at 4:30 pm. As of May 4, the summer schedule begins and the last car leaves at 4:50 pm. If you’re like us, this seems ridiculously early in the day, so don’t let yourself miss the last ride!
- If you just want to see the bridge and hike at the top but aren’t skiing, a regular price adult round trip ticket from Col du Pillon to Scex Rouge and back to Col du Pillon costs 79 CHF. If you have any of the Swiss GA or Half-Fare Cards, this same ticket will cost 40 CHF. Considering that a single adult day pass for the Glacier 3000 for a skier is only 62 CHF, it might be better to check out the bridge while you’re there to ski.
- Parking is FREE, which is a huge plus – like the Swiss flag!
