Hiking in Switzerland – Gabrielle and Urs

Monday October 5, 2026 -- This might be the first time I have been really happy that we chose to discard our Plans A, B, and C in favour of D!

Originally, the weather forecast was showing for spectacular sunny conditions in Grindelwald region for this day, so we were planning to hike from First over the mountain to Axalp. But a quick check the night before and now it was going to be thick cloud on the mountains there, so that hike is postponed. Instead, we traveled to Visp where the forecast was for pure sunshine (although that changed as well) and we headed up the mountain to Visperterminen, where the highest elevation vineyards in Europe are located. Plan B was to walk southwards to Staldenried, but they do revisions on their cable cars first Monday of the month, and we had no ride down till 5 p.m.

So we headed the other way into a lovely landscape of our favourite irrigation channels (which actually had water running!!!) and to a lookout point where we got the most spectacular and knee-weakening views up and down the Rhône Valley and the magnificent peaks to the north (dominated by Mt.Bietschhorn). Plan C which we had to scrap was our original intent to walk from the Giw summit station diagonally through the forest to join the Bodmeri irrigation channel, but there are currently works going on there, so our alternative was straight down the hill to some much better paths, including the better, southern section of the channel.

We started with clouds that lifted later to clear blue skies, and it even got quite hot on this sun-baked hills. But all the paths were perfect, the views magnificent, and the trail not at all difficult. A very successful outing in the end!

PART I: Trip to Visperterminen and Giw Cable-Car Station

Leaving home at 7:15, we had a really good connection to Visperterminen. By 10:10 we were on the bus from Visp, for the 23-minute trip up the mountain in the Vispa Valley.

The road to Visperterminen passes via the highest elevation vineyards in Europe (normally grapes don't do well at this elevation)

At 1150 meters, these are the highest elevation vineyards in Europe. The main variety grown here is the rare Heida, also known as Savagnin Blanc. (We did a hike to these vineyards from Visperterminen in April 2021)

As we pass through a variety of villages on the mountainside, we also get views into the Rhône Valley, where the clouds are low on the peaks. (In retrospect, we were glad we changed our plans from the original mountain hike we were going to do).

Down below the road is a small village called Bitzine. We decided we were going to end our hike here, with a walk through the village. (There are two bus stops on the road here, on either side of the village).

This is the view up the Matter Valley, which leads to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. The dominant peak here, Mt. Weisshorn, is barely just visible through the clouds.

By 10:30 the bus had reached the mountain village of Visperterminen, with its many lovely wooden houses and barns.

Lovely wooden stalls near the end station of the bus at Visperterminen. We didn't walk around the village as we have been here several times before, i.e. on the April 2021 trip as well as in May 2023.

Cute model houses next to the road here!

It's a short walk up the hill to the cable-car station. This is also a popular skiing area, so there are many vacation-type homes here.

There were about 20-30 people on the bus headed up here on this beautiful day, but since this is a constantly operated chair lift (except during lunch hour), there was no waiting time to head up to the upper station called Giw, where we were going to start on our hike.

Every second "chair" was decorated with a little flower pot, so I made sure we rode one with flowers! It was a 10-minute ride to the summit station at Giw.

A look down at the recreational mountain village of Visperterminen and the Rhône Valley below, as we head up the hill on the chair lift at 10:45.

It was a lovely and peaceful 10-minute ride up to the summit station, and not at all expensive, just 10 Fr.!

View south toward the Saas and Matter Valleys as the chair lift heads up the mountain. One of the options we had considered for this day was to hike through that forested mountainside to the little village in the clearing on the right. (Side note: In August 2022 we started here for a hike along those mountains but higher up, with clearer skies and much better visibility than today!)

By 10:50 we were up at the summit station at Giw, but as we hadn't quite decided yet in which direction we wanted to hike, we went into the Giw Restaurant to finish our plans.

The music on the outside patio was too loud, so we sat indoors, had coffee and an expensive cheese-baked "Walliser Käseschnitte", and made our final decision to head north along the water channels, instead of south toward Staldenried (where the cable-cars were in revision and the soonest we could ride to the valley bottom was at 5 p.m.). This had been our Plan B for the day.

By 11:30 we were ready to head out on our hike, covering the hillside toward the north, to the look-out point called Hüeterhüsi, and a walk along the irrigation channels to get there.

PART II: Bodmeri-Niwa Irrigation Channel to the Hüoterhüsi Look-out Point

Starting at 11:30 at the Giw station (we were originally going to take the upper trail, but there was forestry work going on there), we descended through the forest to join the Bodmeri-Niwa irrigation channel to the look-out spot with great views into the Rhône Valley, then for a stretch along a crest, and back down through the forest to the village of Bitzine, which we reached at 15:40, with quite a wait for the 16:22 bus to Visp.

First we had a bit of a steep descent through the forest with one detour to this open clearing, where the Mischabel Group looms large between the Saas and Matter Valleys.

There is a line of chapels going up the mountainside here. The normal trail passes by this chapel and heads straight down, but we followed a lesser-traveled path heading north from here.

Our trail passes beneath the chair lift with a view down to the rooftops of Visperterminen below. (This is a zoomed view.... we are only about 1/4 way down the mountain now, between the summit and base stations of the chair lift).

Our hiking map showed a variety of "non-official" trails, and we followed this one, a very pleasant footpath through a very quiet forest.

No other people along this trail!

By 12:45 we had reached the start of the Bodemeri-Niwa irrigation channel, and how thrilled we were that the water was still flowing! (Sometimes they "turn off" the water in late fall and winter). It is so much nicer to walk along the flowing water!

At this spot the water passes through a buried pipe, but emerges again around the corner....

And the first larches are starting to turn yellow.... by the end of the month, the whole forested hillsides will look like this!

Beautiful sunshine, wonderful footpaths, gurgling clear water in the cleanest of channels... and NO OTHER PEOPLE here!

VIDEO:

Walking along the irrigation channels

This contraption is like a small gate that might catch larger bits of debris. Also, along the way were a couple of diversion gates, where water gets channeled to the farms below.

These old paddle wheels were installed in the irrigation channels to alert locals if the water had stopped running. i.e. as the water makes the wheel turn, it operates a hammer that clicks at regular intervals. If the clicking stopped, someone had to climb up to see what was blocking the flow of water. Apparently that's not so important at this point, as there wasn't enough water to turn the wheel, which seemed to be misaligned anyway.

A little steep section!

And from here we get a view across the Vispa Valley to Zeneggen, a mountainside we also still have yet to hike along.

On the northern section of the channel, the water is no longer flowing. The channel looks like it is no longer in use. This could be because there are no farms below here that need the water diverted, as was the case on the first part of the channel.

At 1:30 we reached the Hüoterhüsi lookout point....

From the little hut, you get a view of the Baltschieder Valley and the dominant peak here: Mt. Bietschhorn.

Also this view to the East toward Brig. But the view is somewhat blocked by the trees, so we decided to detour along this trail for a little bit.

First a break on the bench here, before doing a short detour along the cliff walk! It was cold here in the shadows, so we didn't stay long.

And what a surprise to see how the trail continues from here! (In the opposite direction of where we are headed, though...). But we were sure the view would be better around the corner there.

VIDEO

Urs along the cliff trail

And we were right! Look at this fantastic view down into the valley of the Rhône River! In the center is the city of Visp.

VIDEO:

Panorama view of the Rhône Valley

View to the east up the Rhône Valley. At the back is the city of Brig, and from there starts the railway line of the South Ramp of the BLS train. You can see how the line heads up the mountain. Above Visp, the line heads north and into the upper Lötschberg tunnel at Goppenstein. Alternatively, the Lötschberg base tunnel has its southern end directly in Visp, and you reach Lake Thun much faster that way.

Enjoying our little detour along a vertical cliff, on a path made of what looks like rather "old" planks! For next year, we hope to get back here to continue walking in this direction!

VIDEO:

Walking along the cliff trail, heading back to the little hut,

and then continuing on our hike westward.

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PART III: Final Descent to Bitzine for the 16:22 bus back to Visp

By 2 p.m. we were on our way back toward Visperterminen on the lower trail via Obri Bodma, but we didn't go back to Visperterminen, but rather to the village of Bitzine further down the main road, about an hour and 15 minutes from here.

Following a ridge trail through forest and pastures

In a clearing in the forest we get another look at the Mischabel Group to the south.

And now the afternoon sun is lighting up the mountainside on the other side of the Vispa Valley to the west. The community there is called Zeneggen, and there is a paved road with many hairpin turns right down to the edge of a steep drop, with many houses along the way!

Enjoying perfect footpaths along our hike.

And along the ridge trail, we get more fantastic views down into the Rhône Valley.

Now below us is the group of houses and barns called Obri Aara. Our trail doubles back near here, and we were originally going to take a detour to have a closer look at the houses, but we then missed the junction, as it is not officially marked. Also, across the valley we get a better look at the slope in Zeneggen which ends at a drop into the valley.

Close-up view of the city of Brig to the east.

Now we are heading south again, with views up the Vispa Valley. The Mischabel Massif forms the junction of the Matter Valley on the right (ends in Zermatt) and the Saas Valley on the left.

A long section on some very nice forest paths. We had about another hour to walk to the main road and the village of Bitzine.

Enjoying the walk through the forest.

By 3:40 p.m. we reached the main road and the village of Bitzine. Our bus was expected at 16:22, so we had plenty of time to walk through the village, and then quite a bit of time to wait.

Descending into the village, the trail passes by the village church, so that was the first stop, if the door wasn't locked.

For a small village church, the altar was pretty impressive.

We wandered around a few lovely renovated wooden houses in the village.

To the south, a close-up view of the glaciers in the Mischabel Massif.

Here's a close-up view of Zeneggen on the other side of the valley, and how the winding road ends at a few houses next to a cliff.

A look back at the village as we head toward the bus stop on the main road.

To the north the clouds have lifted and we get a nice view of Mt.Bietschhorn.

The bus from Visperterminen arrives on time at 16:22. From here it is a 16-minute ride back to the train station in Visp, and then an almost 3-hour trip home.

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps, starting at the Giw summit station of the Visperterminen chair lift, walking along the Bodmeri-Niwa irrigation channel to the look-out point, and then ending down along the main road at Bitzine.

Heading back out of the Vispa Valley toward the city of Visp in the Rhône Valley, with a nice view of the Baltschieder Valley directly ahead. (Mt. Bietschhorn thrones above the valley). There were some Valais Black-Nosed sheep in an enclosure on the right side of the road, but I was sitting on the valley side and could not photograph them.

And now we are passing the St.Jodern vineyards again, the highest elevation vineyards in Europe. From top to bottom is a difference of 500 meters altitude!