Get close to the Blacknose sheep

It’s a picture that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world: Blacknose sheep at home high above Zermatt and with views of the Matterhorn. To be exact, 121 of them live here. With their black noses and fluffy fur, they sweeten the day’s hiking for many locals and tourists. 

A walk with a fluffy accompaniment 

Between the end of June and mid-September, they graze between the stations of Gornergrat and Riffelberg. A shepherdess looks after and accompany the sheep. Last year, Deborah took on this task:  

“Living a movie kind life on the Gornergrat with a beautiful flock of Blacknose sheep, I spend this summer 2021 on a wonderful mountain. I spend my days with the flock and on the mountain, living in a caravan on almost 3000 m.a.s.l. with full view to Matterhorn,” she writes in her blog. 

So that none of the 121 sheep is lost despite being accompanied, GPS trackers are built into their collars. These allow hikers to find the sheep to experience them up close and join them.  

Gornergrat Bahn

125 years of fascination