The longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world has opened in the Swiss Alps
At 494 metres long and 86 metres above the ground at its highest point, the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world has opened in the Swiss Alps near the village of Randa.
Stretching across a valley between Grächen and Zermatt, along the Europaweg foot trail (which sits between 1,600 metres and 2,200 metres above sea level), hikers crossing the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge can enjoy scenic views of some of Switzerland’s highest peaks including the famed Matterhorn, as well as the Weisshorn and the Bernese Alps.
The bridge takes around 10 minutes to walk, cutting down a circuitous journey that previously took up to four hours.
The Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge surpasses the length of the world’s previous longest glass-bottomed bridge, unveiled last year in the Hunan province of southern China. The 430-metre bridge, suspended 300 metres above China’s Zhangjiajie Canyon, allows visitors to peer down into the abyss through glass panels.
It also joins a string of other vertigo-inducing attractions around the world, including others in China – such as a 69-metre glass walkway built in the mountains of the Shaanxi Province unveiled last July. In the same week, a walkway outside the 88th floor of the Jinmao Tower was opened in Shanghai. Set 340 metres above the ground, visitors are required to attach themselves to the building using a safety rope to scale the walkway.