Climb to the highest mountain hut in Europe!
Places are full! It is possible to register for the waiting list.
Margherita Hut is located at an altitude of 4554 m on the Signalkuppe mountain peak and holds the title of the tallest building in Europe. There is no running water in the Margherita hut, but all other amenities are amazingly well-provided: dry toilet, card payments, a café, beds with soft mattresses, a three-course hut dinner. You can even buy a real Margherita pizza!
What makes the journey ESPECIALLY awesome is that there is still more to do. 7 technically easy 4000+ m peaks, most (if not all) of which we will try to add to our top list. A seriously extraordinary experience!
The journey to the Margherita hut is not technically difficult - we climb higher and higher along a fairly flat glacier. On this trip, you don't have to fear blood-curdling steep ice slopes or bone-breaking rock walls, so A great option for your very first mountaineering experience.
However, be prepared for the altitude to be a real challenge. A night's sleep at 4554 m is definitely not a good one, you may experience headaches and other symptoms of altitude sickness. But that's beside the point!
Watch how three Estonians hiked to the Margherita hut:
Overview - short & sweet
Goal: Visit the tallest building in Europe and climb multiple 4000m peaks
Dates: 1.-10.07.2026
Activity: mountain climbing, mountain hiking
Accommodation: tents, mountain huts
Adventure guides: Kelli Saar, Hendrik Erikson
Technical difficulty level: 2/5 (crampons-pickaxe-rope are in use; no previous experience required)
Route difficulty: F+…PD (suitable for beginners; gentle slopes, low-tech glacier)
Physical difficulty: 3/5 (requires good physical fitness)
Group size: min 8, max 10 (+ 2 guides)
TOUR PRICE:
Standard Registration (15.12.2025-05.04.2026) — €1690
Late Registration (from 06.04.2026) — €1850
NB! Elamus+ community members get a 5–10% discount. Read more and check your discount eligibility. community members page.
👉 SEE EQUIPMENT LIST HERE 👈
Travel cost
Price includes:
Trip organization and on-site guidance by experienced adventure guides
All overnight stays during the trip (mountain huts, camping tent fees)
On-site gondola tickets during the mountain program
Special climbing equipment for the group (ropes, glacier rescue equipment, etc.)
Stylish Elamus+ designed sports shirt
Group pharmacy (including high-altitude medications)
Health assessment + pulse oximeter use
Elamus+ mountaineering preparation package (valued at €250)
access to online mountaineering webinars
30 min online call with a tour guide if necessary
winter mountaineering training day before the trip*
summer trial trip/training before the trip*
*Held once a year in Estonia — participation depends on the time of registration.
The price does not include:
Flight tickets to Milan and back (with checked luggage around €300-400)
Transport to and from Gressoney-Saint-Jean*
Insurance (travel insurance and MANDATORY sports insurance suitable for mountain hiking)
Personal hiking and climbing equipment (can also be rented from us)
Tents and cooking equipment at the campsite (combine by tents) (can also be rented from us)
Drinks and snacks (including lunch) while on the mountain
Meals off the mountain
Unscheduled excursions, transportation, etc. (or if you want to do something extra)
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*- Buses run from Milan airport. Ask the drivers for more information about transport options.
Registration for the trip
Before registering, please readtravel conditionsTo secure your place on the trip, a deposit (20%) must be paid within 3 business days of receiving the confirmation and invoice via email which is not subject to return. If there are less than 30 days left until the trip, the total cost (100%) must be paid. Read more:frequently asked questions ja package tour information sheet.
NB! We recommend taking out travel disruption insurance immediately after paying the advance invoice so that longer-term health problems are also covered!
Schedule and activities
DAY 1 (01.07): good morning! 🤌🏻
The journey begins in Italy, in the town of Gressoney-Saint-Jean. From the campsite MargheritaThe best way to get there by public transport is if your plane lands in Milan or Turin.
Please be present at the campsite. no later than 18.00 - then we will do a briefing and discuss what awaits us in the coming days.
Group leader's recommendation - if possible, extend your vacation by arriving a few days earlier. This way you have time to deal with lost luggage or a canceled flight. And if all goes well, you can get your body used to the mountains by hiking independently.
DAY 2 (02.07): acclimatization begins!
We pack our bags and head towards the mountains. First, we take two gondolas up the western slopes of the valley, and then hike for a couple of hours to the Sella hut. The final stretch before the hut is a bit more exciting - you can hold on to the support rope and swing on the rock ledges. But anyone can do it!
At the hut, we all stay together in one large room and fill our bellies with a sumptuous 4-course dinner. No one will go hungry, but the first night at altitude may not be very restorative.
Ascent meters (on foot): 1000
Duration of the hike: 3-4 hours
DAY 3 (03.07): crampons on!
We let our bodies get used to the altitude and take a short hike to a higher glacier. We practice tying ropes, walking with crampons, and braking with a pickaxe - skills we will need for the days ahead.
The rest of the day we enjoy our vacation in a beautiful Alpine mountain hut with all the comforts - we play chess and cards, take pictures of the views, check out the local bar, and are glad that the internet connection is poor. Tonight, sleep will come faster.
DAY 4 (04.07): To the heights
If the weather permits and the mood is good, we will climb to the top of Castor (4226 m). The journey there is 3 hours long and runs entirely along a snowy glacier. When we come down from the top, we will take our stuff from the hut and head back down the way we came to the campsite.
Ascent meters: 700
Descent meters: 1600
Duration of the hike: 8 hours
DAY 5 (05.07): rest day
Let's let our bodies recover from the great effort and explore the city around us. Lovely Alpine-style houses, narrow cobblestone streets, gelato-booths… There's plenty of eye candy. We stock up on snacks for the next few days and talk through everything we need to get to the Margherita hut.
DAY 6 (06.07): Up again with the gondolas
This time we start our journey on the eastern slopes of the valley - up three gondolas and then an hour's hike through snow and rocks. In the hut, we have the familiar hut routine - rest, common rooms and a rich dinner. We go to bed early to be well rested for tomorrow.
Ascent meters (on foot): 350
Duration of the hike: 1,5 hours
DAY 7 (07.07): Eat pizza
We wake up early and we start the journey towards the Margherita hut before sunrise. Depending on our mood, weather and skills, we will try to reach one or more of the following peaks along the way: Punta Giordani (4046 m), Vincent Pyramid (4215 m), Balmenhorn (4167 m), Schwarzhorn (4322 m), Ludwigshöhe (4341 m), Parrotspitze (4432 m), Zumsteinspitze (4563 m). We will end the day at the top of Signalkuppe, at the Margherita hut at an altitude of 4554 m.
We eat the iconic Margherita Hut's Margherita pizza (and headache medicine…) and wonder how a hut was even built in such a place. The feeling may be bad, but it may not be bad. You won't know until you try it yourself!
Ascent meters: 900-1400 (depending on how many peaks we climb)
Duration of the hike: 6-9 hours
DAY 8 (08.07): Back down
We pack up and head back to the valley. If there was a peak we didn't climb yesterday and it's making us anxious, we'll pick that up too. We head down the same way we went up - otherwise we'd end up in Switzerland.
Descent meters: 1300
Hiking time: 6 hours
DAY 9 (09.07): backup day
A day in case the weather conditions require us to change our mountain program. If not, we can walk down in the valley, socialize, and celebrate the end of the trip.
DAY 10 (10.07): ciao, Italy!
Time to pack up and head back to your homeland. Or maybe not - there are still so many great hiking trails to discover in the area!
NB! There may be minor changes to the schedule and planned activities - for example, due to weather and conditions or passenger requests.
Don't worry, let's do it!
I've never been to the mountains before. Is this trip for me?
This trip is for you! No previous mountaineering experience is required. However, it is important that you have previous hiking and/or endurance sports experience. You can definitely do this trip if you have never been to the mountains before, but are an active, sporty person with a healthy lifestyle.
How physically fit do I need to be to reach the peak?
Due to the individual characteristics and sports preferences of people, it is difficult to provide common indicators for assessing good physical fitness. To give some examples, a person in good physical shape can run a half-marathon in under 2,5 hours, a marathon in under 6 hours. Or ride a bike for at least 100 km in a row. Or complete the main distance of the Tartu Marathon in February.
It is important that your body can work at a high heart rate for several hours in a row and your leg muscles can push you up a hill several hundred meters. Mental endurance during long, intense activities (self-motivation, dividing the journey into segments, walking in silence with your thoughts) is at least as important.
But I don't have any hiking gear, who can afford to buy it?
You still have to open your wallet a little, but not much. Hiking and climbing equipment can be rented at a very reasonable price and, of course, borrowed from friends. In addition, you can use any kind of clothing you have; for example, a ski jacket is also very good for the mountain. Special equipment can also be purchased to rent.
What you definitely shouldn't skimp on are decent waterproof mountain boots with a stiff sole. A stiff sole ensures that the crampons don't come off your boot in the middle of the mountain and that your feet don't tire out so easily on rocky ground. Read more about it FROM HERE.
Will I survive?
It's an extreme sport/hobby, but you shouldn't be too afraid here. Of course, there are certain dangers in the mountains and you have to take them into account, but accidents happen in everyday life too. The most important thing for the group leader is to ensure the safety of the participants — to do this, we learn and use correct mountaineering techniques and turn around if the weather gets too bad. The point is still to have an enjoyable experience and not let this mountain go away. ;)
Okay, I registered. Now what?
Well, theoretically you could just vanish into thin air and appear on a plane, but then you risk discovering “oops, I have the wrong crampons and what is this middleman node?” on the spot. It can happen, but we warmly recommend participating in preparatory events — it’s part of the fun and increases your chances of succeeding on the mountain. We organize preparatory hiking training, give advice on suitable insurance and equipment, where to rent cheaply, what to train for, etc. We will definitely check the equipment you have collected just before the start of the trip and send reminders about important things.
Read more also frequently asked questions.
Travel documents and footnotes
The participant is responsible for the validity and condition of their travel documents. For this trip you will need:
ID card;
sports insurance suitable for mountain hiking (read more on the FAQ page). A suitable sports insurance policy must be carried and is a prerequisite for participating in the mountain hike;
travel insurance (trip disruption, health and luggage). NB! Take out insurance immediately after registering for the trip to get your expenses back (for example, advance payment) in the event of an unexpected event..
Plan your trip early and start training for it. We will organize several trial trips, training sessions and recommend training plans beforehand. It would be a shame if the peak was only behind the physique. Also a good opportunity to get in shape. ;)
Summits are not guaranteed. As you might expect, weather is king in the mountains. So it is entirely possible that weather or dangerous conditions will prevent us from even attempting the summit. Nevertheless, it will definitely be an awesome experience!
Although at the end of the day everyone is still responsible for their own actions and consequences, we do our best to mitigate the risks associated with mountaineering. As a result, the group leader has the right to make ongoing decisions about the competence of the participants, the suitability of their equipment, physical/mental capacity, etc. and, if necessary, for example, to prohibit participation on summit day if it endangers the health of the group or the participant themselves. Hopefully, of course, there will be no need for this.
Read also travel conditions.
