2-Day Hike from Binn to Crampiolo and Back
If you are looking for a medium to advanced 2-day hike in Switzerland that is a bit off the beaten track, then this post is for you.
This beautiful 2-day hike starting from Binn, in the canton of Valais, also world-known for its stunning minerals, will not disappoint you. Let us start from the beginning with some logistics.
Planning your hike
This hike will take you a full weekend (most likely including Friday afternoon/evening). Since we currently live in Zürich, we had to make sure to drive off on Friday evening. The trip from Zürich takes about 3 hours (depending on traffic) and either leads you over the magnificent Furka pass or the Grimsel pass. Both of which are popular destinations themselves and worth a quick stop. From there the drive takes you through Obergoms, a lovely farmers valley, and then up a windy and narrow road to your starting destination Binn. We further recommend that you take the following with you (aside from the things you need for 2 days of course):
- Anti-mosquito spray (there were many mosquitos when we went, even at 2'000m above sea level and especially in the morning in Crampiolo)
- Swimsuit in case you dare to jump into one of the ice-cold lakes along the hike
- Snacks for along the hike and especially day II. There won’t be many (in fact any) options to buy food along the way (apart from the SAC hut or in some cheese in Crampiolo)
- Cash (Euros) to pay for your stay in Crampiolo and any drinks and food you want to get on top. Taking about 100–120 Euros per person will put you on the safe side.
Accommodation in Binn
While we stayed with a friend who owns an apartment in Binn, there are good hotel options for you to consider. Make sure to book early. We got told that the Hotel Albrun is probably one of your best choices. Alternatively, you have the Hotel Ofenhorn which is also nice. We had coffee and dinner there and were served by friendly staff and with good food.
Restaurants in Binn
While in Binn, be it for the night or once you come back from the hike, you have to stop by the Hotel Albrun. This Hotel/Restaurant has Gault&Millau points and is extremely fairly priced. You can check their menu here. We highly recommend their desserts since their chef has been awarded several prices for them. If you wish to come for dinner, make sure to book your table in advance. When we arrived we had dinner at Hotel Ofenhorn which was fine too. Prices are fair and the food tasted good. Make sure to arrive before 8.30 pm since that’s when they place the last order for any warm meals (not desserts).
Accommodation in Crampiolo
While Italian people are extremely hospitable, you don’t wanna risk not having a place to stay in Crampiolo. Make sure to reserve your bed in one of the hotels well in advance. You have multiple options where you can sleep. We will tell you about the place where we stayed. We stayed in La Baita. This fairly big hotel/hostel offers many sleeping spots. Don’t expect a fancy hotel room. In the room where we stayed there were 8 bunk beds. Luckily, it was only our group that stayed in that room with one shower and one toilet. You will stay there the night only, don’t get all wound up about comfort because the FOOD will make up for this lack in sleeping comfort. We had the most amazing dinner prepared by the owners and their extended family. Holly cow! For only 60 Euros (including the room, dinner & breakfast) per person, we ate like kings. 5 courses of outstanding Italian food.
Start your hike — day I
To start your hike, you have multiple options:
- start your hike from Binn and walk all along the valley until the ascend starts direction the SAC (Swiss Alpine Club) hut called Binntalhütte. This option will have you walk quite a bit through the valley (about 2–3 hours) and is not the most exciting.
- take a bus that takes you as far up the valley as possible to avoid this stretch (check directly in Binn for the bus timetable)
- get a local to drive you until the nice part starts (it’s worth asking in Binn if someone is driving there and if you get lucky, they might take you with them).
The further outline of the root you can find on our Komoot profile directly on this link. On this link, you will find the whole first day including the elevation, time and pictures from along the way. Don’t be irritated by the timing on Komoot. 2:52 is the time we were moving. Including breaks for breakfast & at the lake in Crampiolo, this first day took us around 5 hours.
A nice thing to do is to pack your breakfast and eat it in the SAC hut called Binntalhütte. Once you reach the hut your about 25–40 minutes away from the top and from crossing the border. There was still snow when we crossed, so really make sure to bring good hiking shoes and not just your average sneakers.
Some more impressions of the first day
We were a group of 6 which was the perfect amount. If you plan to go with a group just make sure that everyone has a similar level of fitness and that you book well in advance since there aren’t so many big group rooms in Crampiolo. In any case, we had a fantastic group and lots of fun along the way. Don’t worry, you won’t meet that many other hikers. Switching off is guaranteed!
Once you start making your way along the lake just before reaching Crampiolo, you can also plan a little time to jump into the lake if you dare to do so.
Upon arrival in Crampiolo, you have a multitude of small restaurants available where you can eat and drink local specialities. Go around and taste whatever you feel like. Below you can see some impressions from Crampiolo.
Let’s get serious — day II
Plan to make this an early start. We set out to leave Crampiolo by 7 am and had breakfast before. Just let your host know that you would like to grab breakfast early and you’ll be all fine to leave for the more strenuous part of the hike.
The second day offers a lot of variety in terms of landscape. We walked through a lot of snow at the top, you will have to climb ladders and make your way down nearly 1200m. But don’t worry, along the whole hike, you will be presented with beautiful spots to take a break and relax. From the Komoot map below you can see how long we hiked. Including a marvellous bath in one of the lakes on the Swiss side, it took us about 6.5 hours to reach Binn.
The detailed route including pictures from along the way can be seen on the interactive Komoot map right here.
The last part of the hike, once you have crossed the snowfields (depending on what time of summer you go) and reached the Swiss/Italian border again, will take you through a beautiful valley called “Manibode” and down into the Binntal. To give you some more impressions of the second day check out the images below.
All in all, we can say that this is one of the nicest 2-day hikes starting in Switzerland. Such diverse landscapes, peaceful nature and outstanding food make this a wonderful weekend escape that you will not forget that quickly!
