Mountain Hike from Törbel to Stalden in the Vispa Valley

(I'm finally finishing this album two weeks after the actual hike!)

 

Three-Day Trip to Visp Region in Canton Valais:

(Link to blog entry for DAY 1 is HERE) ---  (Link to blog entry for DAY 2 is HERE)

We were lucky to have some very nice weather pretty well all over the country on the Easter weekend, so we treated ourselves to a two-night hotel stay in Canton Valais in the Visp region, because we were certain that there were many opportunities for hiking there. 

Sunday April 4, 2021 -- Day 3 of our three-day trip: Mountain Hike from Törbel to Stalden

Our Easter Sunday morning started with a 6 a.m. "serenade" by the village church bells, ten minutes at full force!  A nice tradition, but one I could have done without so early!  Nevertheless,we snoozed till 8 a.m., had our breakfast, and headed out at 4°C temperature to catch the 9:30 bus back down to Visp (we were the only passengers the whole way).

Our plan for this day: Back up the Vispa Valley again, but on the mountainside across the valley from Visperterminen. From Stalden, which is the town at the valley bottom at the junction of the two valleys Mattertal (from here you get to the Matterhorn) and Saastal, a small bus winds its way along dizzying hairpin turns to the relatively large village of Törbel (500 people), one of the oldest communities in the Vispa Valley where people already lived back in the 12th Century. 

As usual, we first spent quite a while walking up and down the narrow alleyways, admiring the typical dark wood construction of these Valais houses, peeking into small barns to see if there were Valais Sheep inside, reading about the history of the various buildings, admiring the view. After that we headed South high above the Matter Valley, reveling in the fact that we can again hike in the mountains. (From here you can't see the Matterhorn, though).

At the tiny and very steep village of Embd -- the southernmost point of our trail -- you can take a cable car down to the valley bottom, but we opted to walk. It was VERY steep and the trail we originally wanted to take does not actually exist any more, which meant even more steep descent. But once we were near Kalpetran, the rest of the way back to Stalden was easy, along a wide flat trail probably created for the railway workers who have put up large metal fences and nets to protect the railway line below from falling rocks. 

A final successful third-day hike with more wonderful weather, and we finished early enough to be at home by 8 p.m. (only 3 hours transit time...)

Early morning view from our balcony to the Rhone Valley to the North: This time we get a really good look at Mt. Bietschhorn!

Breakfast was included in the price of the room, and there was a wonderful variety of foods. The local rye bread was the best!

Before heading out to the bus stop, a look South to where we are going to walk this day. It's looking good!

First we head back down to Visp by bus, and as we pass the St. Jodern Winery, we see that they still claim to be the highest vineyard in Europe!!

A final look at the beautiful St.Jodern vineyards, the highest in Europe

From Visp, we took a train South to Stalden, and from there a bus takes you along the winding road to Törbel, one of the oldest communities in this valley.

VIDEO:

Valais Black-Necked Goats

Just as we got off the bus in Törbel and before we started our walk up and down the narrow alley-ways of the village, we were entertained by some young Valais Black-Necked goats gamboling in their enclosure!

The pretty town of Törbel

What would a walk through a Valais village be without the Black-Nosed sheep and their cute socks?

So many interesting old structures to admire

In the old days, these were combination barns and living quarters

Because of the steep landscape, these houses have very high cement foundations!

Finally, an hour after arriving in Törbel, we head out along the trail. You can see it along the mountainside on the right.

From Törbel it was about an hour to Embd, and another two hours to Stalden. The descent was a bit grueling

We are so happy to be back on our mountain trails!

We found a bench to enjoy our picnic lunch... this was the view! (Törbel at the top left)

Squirrels scampering through the forest

Heading South with Törbel behind us. It's a pretty large community!

Met this stunning bird along the way!

It's always a pleasure when we find these old irrigation ditches and can walk along them. There are hundreds of them in this area where water has always been scarce.

You can't beat this fantastic view!

At the top of the village of Embd. This one is incredibly steep!

Heading down the steep road through the village of Embd

I wonder what kind of vehicle can ascend on this road? Lucky for us, there were stairs on the right, which made the descent easier

A look up the Matter Valley

Panorama view of the Matter valley. Across the valley is the popular recreation town of Grächen. There was still quite a bit of snow on that side.

Heading down the mountainside, here are the roofs of a typical village from this region.

Half-way cable car stop. In retrospect, we wouldn't have missed much if we had taken the cable-car down... but then we would have had to walk uphill again to rejoin the trail.

A look down from the cable-car station to the village of Kalpetran! Incredibly steep. The trail below is the one we are heading to, and from there it was an easy walk North (to the left).

Those buildings that you can barely see are pretty close to the edge of the cliff! In the back, the majestic Mt. Weisshorn

We're still pretty high up! Across the valley is the old road to Zermatt. The traffic now goes through the mountain.

According to our map, there is a trail here, which we wanted to take! It would have made our descent less steep

Another irrigation trail, this one actually carries water!

Finally back on a pleasant trail. The rest of the way to Stalden wasn't a problem

This level trail follows the railway line (below, right) and was probably built to allow railway workers to mount fences and nets to protect the railway line.

Another look up the beautiful Matter Valley

Narcissi, another sign of spring-time

We've now arrived in Stalden and get a final look South... simply fantastic

The town of Stalden, at the junction of three valleys: Vispatal, Saastal, Mattertal

My favourite building in Stalden

Google Map view of the three hikes we did in the area of the Vispa Valley over the Easter weekend

This is a favourite region of ours to hike in. We have visited many of the side valleys here.

On our way home from Canton Valais, we cross under the Alps and emerge to the North in Canton Bern. This view of the Bernese Alps and Lake Thun is a well-known one. The weather was quite beautiful here as well.