Every time we spend more than a day in this region, we include a hike along one of the many irrigation channels in this, the driest of all the Swiss regions. The channels are always a stunning reminder of how difficult and dangerous it was for the locals to get their water.... back in the 15th CENTURY!!!! (This one was built in 1442!!!) One of my first and favourite hikes I did 30 years ago was along one of these irrigation channel trails near Crans Montana on the left side of the Liène Gorge up to the Tseuzier Dam, and this time I wanted to walk one of them that descends from the dam on the other side of the valley.
On the Internet I read that this trail is one of the more spectacular of the irrigation trails in Wallis, so I had high expectations. Although it was a good hike, for me it wasn't "adventurous" enough: No narrow wooden planks mounted on the side of the cliffs for us to walk on, that's what I was expecting! Of course, on all these gorge hikes you have to be vertigo-free, but there was only one spot where you had to take a big step over a piece of missing trail (there was a rope hand-rail to hold onto), and the rest was rather easy. But still spectacular. The top part of the irrigation channel no longer has water in it, so you can walk in the channel itself instead of the rise beside it, but later, where the water runs, is simply a very long and pretty walk through the woods.
At one place, though, there is a reconstruction of the wooden canal, and even though you walk through a tunnel along this stretch (the tunnel having actually been built to redirect the water, as it wasn't viable anymore to have the water go through the channel here due to several rock slides), there is a viewing platform where you perch high above the gorge and view the canal up close.
Even though the trail officially ends after 12 km at the pond called Etang Long, there were no more buses running when we got there, and since it was only another 5 km to our apartment, we decided to walk back to the apartment. This second section was along another much smaller irrigation channel called Bisse de Bitailla, which was almost more interesting because it was wilder and less groomed....
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| On the bus ride up to the dam, the driver stopped in one of the hairpin turns to let us view the tunnel section of the trail with the reconstructed wooden canal and the viewing platform in the middle.... |
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| Up at the dam, the first thing we did was walk across the dam and back to look at the lake and the view down the gorge. |
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| On the far side of the dam (our trail actually starts on the other side from here) you get the best view into the gorge |
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| Looking South down the gorge you can just make out the line along the cliff which is the first interesting section of the trail. |
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| Zoomed view of the cliff where the old irrigation channel used to run (no water here any more). |
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| The irrigation channel here hasn't been in use since 1956 |
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| There was only a very short section that required care, but there were ropes to hold on to along the entire section. |
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| There was only a very small piece where you had to take a big step, but no problem. |
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| Back in the day when water used to flow through these channels, the people doing the upkeep had to walk on top of the walls. We can walk safely in the channel itself. |
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| It was the many mountain bikers on this trail that really surprised me. It's much harder to navigate the narrow trail by bike than on foot! |
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| One last look up the valley to the Tseuzier Dam. Shortly after we started on the hike, the clouds moved in, so we were lucky to have seen the lake while the sun was still shining. |
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| Water is directed into the irrigation channel from a different source, about 5 km down valley from the dam |
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| About 1 km from the start of the water flow is this reconstructed wooden channel that displays how the farmers got their water 500 years ago |
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| At this spot it was getting too difficult to keep up the canals due to rock slides, so in 1831 they blasted a tunnel through the cliff to redirect the water. The wooden channel is a reconstruction of how it used to be. |
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| This is how they constructed the irrigation channels in 1442. |
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| Since 1831 the water is redirected through the tunnel. |
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| There is a small access platform on the cliff face, where you can admire the wooden canal. |
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| The reconstruction work for the wooden channel took place here in 1991. |
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| The final 5.5 km to the Pond called Etang Long was pleasant and cool, but mostly uninteresting. |
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| On this short section, the water actually flows in a channel UNDER the bridge. |
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| Some of the water is diverted to pastures below to prevent overfilling of the channel. |
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| Our original destination: The pond called "Etang Long", after 12 km of walking from the dam. |
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| We decided to walk the additional 5 km back to our apartment along a secon, smaller channel called Bisse Bitailla |
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| Bisse Bitailla was interesting as there were several displays of the various ways the water gets channelled. |
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| Everywhere the skies were getting dark (afternoon thunderstorms) but we were lucky. This view is to the other side of the valley, to the town of Lens. |
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| On our way down the hill we passed through St.Romain, where we actually caught the bus up to the dam earlier in the day. This village is just 15 minutes' walk from our apartment. |
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| We walked a total of 12 km from the dam to Etang Long along the irrigation channel, then another 5 km to our apartment in Luc |
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| Our tiny room is the one with the little terrace at the top under the steep roof. The view was over the lovely flower garden.... It was a quiet place, perfect for us, although very small. |
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