What started out as a plan to walk 13 km along Trail no.36: "Chemin des Vignobles" (Vineyard Trail) between Varen and Sierre (including a section on an historical irrigation channel) was soon changed to include sections of other irrigation channels which we only discovered locally. The trails were also better, as the "Chemin des Vignobles" consists mainly of paved roadways.
We are not particular wine fans, but it is still interesting to learn about the agriculture, land use, process, distribution etc., all explained in detail on information placards along the way. More of interest to us are the old irrigation channels (most of them built in the 15th Century) and the confrontations that communities used to have over water usage in this driest of areas (sometimes resulting in gun fights). But for me the highlight of this trip was that without foreplanning, we found ourselves walking along the language border of Canton Valais: German speaking to the East (Upper Valais) and French to the West (Lower Valais), which border is along the Raspille River and Canyon. Before crossing the river, we had met a few other walkers, and greeted them in German. And right after crossing the river, the first person we met greeted us in French! And whereas East of the river the information placards were German first, then French, on the other side, all information was French first!
Salgesch is the first official German-speaking community to the East of this border, and many of the towns around this area have double French/German or German/French names (Sierre/Siders, Sion/Sitten, Salgesch/Salquenen, Varen/Varonne, Leuk/Loèche).
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| The bus ride from Sierre to Varen took us past Salgesch and the vineyards of the "Domaine du Clos du Chateau de Ravire" (in the circle), which we passed through on our walk back to Sierre. This vintner claims to be the only one in the world to bottle and sell the famous Glacier Wine, a historical wine of the Sierre and Val d'Anniviers Regions. |
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| We started our walk around the cliff church in Varen, with views up and down the Rhone Valley |
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| One of many wine cellars in this area. On this side of the language border, they are called "Keller" and on the French side they are called "Caves" |
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| Old Valais houses in Varen |
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| Official hiking trail: "Chemin du Vignoble" between Varen and Sierre |
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| A sign below at the Church described a round tour of the village, which included this old irrigation channel trail above the village, so we took this route instead of the originally-planned paved road |
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| Looking down at the village of Varen and the church on the cliff where we started our walk. In the background below is the Pfynwald Forest, the largest Pine Forest in the Alps |
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| The irrigation channel above Varen is called "Dalawasserleitu" (Dala Channel) whose water has been diverted through pipes to prevent water loss through evaporation, but which also means that the area around the channel has become drier |
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| Looking westward across the vineyards of Salgesch to the city of Sierre (our destination) |
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| Looking eastward up the Rhone Valley: Below is the Pfynwald Forest, the largest connecting pine forest in the Alps and a protected nature reserve of national value |
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| This second irrigation channel (water shut off for the winter) was in our original plan. It crosses a mountain flank where there was a huge landslide in glacial times, and higher up is a second channel parallel to this one, one that we walked along several years ago. |
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| A look down at the village of Salgesch |
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| In summer, water runs in this channel. Because this one is not diverted through pipes, the vegetation along the channel is green |
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| These paddle-wheels were used to indicate if the water was running properly in the channel: When the hammering noise stopped, the farmers knew there was a blockage which required cleaning |
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| Residual water in this channel, called the "Mengis Wasserleitu" |
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| Another look back toward the Pfynwald Forest and the vineyards of Salgesch, from the other side this time. |
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| Zoomed view of the mountains in the Upper Valais region (Oberwallis) |
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| And a look at the hillside where we just crossed along the lower irrigation channel. You can see where both irrigation channels are located due to the green stripes, compared to the rest of the dried-out hillside |
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| This heart-shaped bench seemed fitting for the day after Valentine's Day! |
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| Village of Salgesch. This is the largest wine-growing area in the Upper Valais, 208 hectares of vineyards and 40 producers of wine |
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| This is the Raspille Canyon, the language border which separates Upper Valais (German-speaking) from Lower Valais (French-speaking) |
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| Information about the language border: On this side of the river all information is first in German, then in French |
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| This irrigation channel along the language border is called "Bisse des Marais" (water diverted from the Raspille River to the left) and was constructed at the end of the 15th century to irrigate this area (these irrigation channels were necessary due to climate warming, which was already an issue several hundred years ago). |
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| And on this side of the river, all information is first in French, then in German! |
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| The first butterfly! |
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| These geological features at the entrance of the Raspille Canyon were a complete and fascinating surprise! |
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The
Pyramids of La Raspille, hardened calcium deposits from ground water.
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| The pyramids of Raspille. In the back on the hillside, the higher irrigation channel is distinctly visible |
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| Coming out of the Raspille Canyon... this also wasn't on our original plan, it was a last-minute decision to descend through the canyon, and one which we were glad about. |
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| Other features of this wine-growing area which I find particularly fascinating are the dry-stone walls which form the foundation of the hundreds of terraces |
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| This was near the "Domaine du Clos du Chateau de Rawire", 9 hectares of vines ideally located around the hillside for a large variety of conditions for different types of grapes. |
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| After rounding the "Domaine du Clos du Chateau de Rawire", we descended toward Sierre through another small river valley. |
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| From the West, this is the view of the Rawire Castle. This is one of the most prestigious wine growers in the area, and even though the original castle here was hundreds of years old, this is a fairly new construction. The owner claims to be the only vintner in the world to bottle the famous Glacier Wine. |
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| To the South: The entrance to the Val d'Anniviers |
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| "Eglise de Notre-Dame de Marais", built in 1422, was the parish church of Sierre for over three centuries. |
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| Had a peek into the little church, and it definitely looked like very old construction! This section of the church was built in 1524. |
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| Near the train station in Sierre is this castle-like structure, probably fairly "modern"! |
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| We had time to check out a "younger church" (1687): Eglise Ste. Catherine in the historical centre of the city of Sierre. This is apparently one of the most meaningful examples of a Baroque Church in Canton Valais |
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| I was particulary impressed with this beautiful organ, one of many contructed by a family of organ builders from the Upper Valais Region (Carlen family of Reckingen). This one was built approx. 1780. |
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| Our 11-km walk through the vineyards of Salgesch from Varen to Sierre, with walks along four irrigation channels, and along the language border between Upper Valais (German, to the East) and Lower Valais (French, to the West) ... along the Raspille River and Canyon. |
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| Our walk took us along three irrigation channels plus an additional smaller section in Veyras near Sierre. We walked along the Bisse Neuf (the upper irrigation channel) in 2016. |
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