Mountains of rock and rivers of ice
Valais Alps
This is the Roof of Switzerland, a country that has 48 peaks over 4000m tall – and all but three of them are in Valais. Possibly the most famous one, the Matterhorn, only comes in at number ten on the list but its reputation is far greater. Where you have mountains, you have valleys and Valais has one much bigger than all others. The River Rhone runs right through the canton from its glacial source down to Lake Geneva, creating flat fertile land for apricot orchards and their prized fruit. With no big cities, and masses of mountains, Valais is a great escape from the modern world.
The ultimate alpine resort
Zermatt was once isolated, accessible on foot or a donkey along narrow mountain paths. Then the British came and fell in love with its clean air, idyllic location and imposing mountains. Today Zermatt can be reached by train (no donkeys needed), and still has the pristine air (it’s a car-free resort) and wonderful location.
Going up to Gornergrat
No matter how many mountain train trips you do in Switzerland, make sure you do this one. The ride up to Gornergrat is one of the best places to see the Matterhorn and is also Europe’s highest open-air railway. You certainly feel it when you reach the top at 3098m. The views are literally breathtaking, with a row of mighty peaks and the imposing Gorner glacier.
A frozen natural wonder
You can read the stats for the Aletsch Glacier – over 20km long, 800m thick and weighing in at 10 billion tonnes – but you only appreciate its vastness when you see it up close. It’s an easy hike down to the wall of ice or you can hike up onto the glacier itself, with one of our guides, of course. Europe’s longest glacier is not to be missed.
The twin peaks of Sion
What’s better than having a castle on top of a hill? Having two castles on top of two hills. Sion’s two hills, each crowned by fortifications, can be seen from miles away and tower over the atmospheric city centre. The cantonal capital is one of the oldest Swiss cities: just don’t tell the locals that Chur in Graubünden is older.
Flying high like a bird
If you think the Valais Alps looks impressive from the ground, wait until you see them from the air. A private helicopter trip or paragliding adventure above the peaks has plenty of wow moments, not least when you fly over the Matterhorn itself. Make sure you have plenty of memory space for photos because you’ll take a lot.
Flying high with the Matterhorn
Valais Alps in brief
The canton of Valais has only been part of Switzerland since 1815. Before that it was an independent republic, a French-puppet state and a département of France. Officially, it is a bilingual canton (known as Wallis in German) but its population of around 350,000 is majority French-speaking with around a quarter speaking German. In the shadow of all the mountains, including Switzerland’s highest, Dufourspitze (4634m), are resorts like Verbier, Crans-Montana and Zermatt. Come for hiking in the summer or skiing in the winter.
When to go
All year
Why go there
High mountains
Alpine resorts
Beautiful landscape
What to see
Zermatt
Gornergrat
Aletsch Glacier
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