[pinit]As far as picture-perfect mountain villages go, Zermatt in Switzerland is about as good as it gets. Even Heidi would be singing the praises of this sublime town! Nestled in a deeply carved gorge, and surrounded by some of the highest peaks of the Alps, Zermatt is one of the world’s most revered mountain hiking destinations In Europe. Whilst the consummate skiing and rock-climbing opportunities this whole area offers are unsurpassed (not to mention exceptional dining and drinking), there is really only one sacrosanct event which single-handedly catapulted this once sleepy village, into one of the most venerated mountaineering destinations in Europe: the conquering of the Matterhorn. Book your holiday apartment in Zermatt Centre and be overawed by what is often referred to as the most challenging, and beautiful, mountain on earth. The famed Matterhorn has been luring audacious alpinists to Zermatt since the mid 1800s. Standing tall and proud on the Swiss-Italian border, and reaching a height of 4,478 metres, the Matterhorn had always been seen as an utterly unclimbable. Many expeditions had been made on all the nearby mounts (Zermatt centre is actually surrounded by 29 vertiginous summits), yet the Matterhorn had always remained a seemingly unobtainable dream. Many men ...