Monte Rosa

Monte Rosa is the second highest massif in the Alps, with the Dufourspitze at 4,634 metres on the Swiss side and several summits over four thousand on or near the border. The Italian east face above Macugnaga is a wall of about two and a half kilometres of height, the largest in the Alps and Himalayan in scale. The Capanna Regina Margherita on the Signalkuppe at 4,554 metres is the highest building in Europe, built in 1893 and used as a high-altitude research station. The valleys below were settled from the thirteenth century by Walser people from the Valais, who kept German dialects, timber houses and their own customs for centuries.

What you actually see

• The Macugnaga east face - the largest wall in the Alps, Himalayan in scale.
• The Regina Margherita hut - Europe's highest building at 4,554 metres.
• The Walser villages - German-speaking settlements with timber houses.
• The glacier basins - long ice fields below the four-thousand summits.

When to go

June to September for high routes; the glaciers require experience, equipment and a guide. Lift-served viewpoints in the valleys are accessible without mountaineering.

Honest expectations

The high huts and summits are serious mountaineering, not walking, and need a guide. Weather closes lifts. Altitude sickness is a real risk above four thousand metres.

Nearby

The Aosta Valley lies west; the Valsesia runs south.