Which national park is the only one in Switzerland?

The Swiss National Park is the only national park in Switzerland.

It lies in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland, in the Engadin region near Zernez and the Ofen Pass. Founded in 1914, it is the oldest national park in the Alps and one of Central Europe’s earliest large protected areas. Its landscape includes alpine valleys, forests, meadows, and high peaks such as Piz Quattervals.

The park follows an unusually strict wilderness model. Visitors must remain on marked trails, and activities such as camping, cycling, collecting natural objects, and bringing dogs are prohibited. The aim is to allow natural processes to proceed with minimal human interference, rather than to provide a recreation area with flexible access.

Grindelwald, Zermatt, and Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn are famous Swiss destinations or protected landscapes, but they are not national parks. Switzerland has other categories of protected parks, including regional nature parks; those should not be confused with the country’s single national park.