From Diemtigtal to Färmeltal to Simmental in Canton Bern

Sunday September 11, 2022 -- Ever since the one and only time we have been in the beautiful Diemtig Valley (Diemtigtal, side valley of the Simmental, those photos are HERE), we have wanted to come back to hike over the pass at the back of the valley. As there was a forecast for three nice days early this week, plus we had wanted to do two other hikes near Lenk in the Simmen Valley, we were able to arrange a successful three-day tour.

The Diemtig Valley is part of the Diemtig Nature Park in Canton Bern, and is renowned for its talented carpenters and beautiful wooden chalet construction with so many fabulous details. Some of these houses are hundreds of years old, and all new buildings continue to be built in this style.

At the back of the valley is a chair lift from Grimmi Alp to the Stiereberg farm which runs only on weekends in summer, but it saves us about 400m climb, so that's why this excursion suited us perfectly for the Sunday. From the farm we had 90 minutes to the Grimmifurggi crossing into the Färmel Valley, and another 2.5 hours or so to Matten in the Simmental, where we had rented a room for the night. (The location was perfect, near the train station and only a few minutes ride to Lenk from where we started the next day's hike, but unfortuntely for me, the house was owned by a champion motorcycle racer who had a repair garage in the bottom of the house, so instead of fresh country air, all I could smell was motor oil!)

This is a look down the Diemtig Valley as we head up valley. There are 10,000 farms in this valley, and it is the largest farming community in Switzerland.

There are only 2200 residents in this valley, and all the houses are of this construction. Some are several hundred years old. (Even new homes are built in this style).

The carpenters in this valley are known for their intricate carvings on the houses. 

The Grimmialp-Stiereberg chair lift only runs Friday to Sunday in Fall, that is why we chose this excursion for this Sunday. Many people start the hike to the pass from here, but this saves us about 400m of ascent once again.

We watched some interesting paragliding as we ascended on the chair lift. They were flying very fast and low to the ground, sort of like speed racing

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We watched several "racing" paragliders zoom by beneath us! 

They flew barely skimming the ground.

A look behind us as we ascend to the Stiereberg farm, down to the large pasture area called "Grimmi Alp"

Riding up the chair lift, we now can see the Grimmifurggi saddle which we are going to cross, into the next valley over

Our very long, approx. 15-km walk total, turned out to be a 5-hour hike! With exception of the first section where we followed an unofficial trail on the map -- a trail that did not exist -- it was a relatively easy hike. We started in the Diemtig Valley, and ended in the Simmen Valley.

Heading up to the Stiereberg Farm, a look back at the summit station of the chair lift, and the Diemtig Valley in the background. We started here at 11 a.m. 

Hazelnut Crescents are advertised for sale at the farm, so Urs has to get his midmorning snack!

At this time of year we encounter loads of Fly Amanita fungi along the way!

A look across the valley. The official trail was actually a wider road below us, but we thought we would try an "unofficial" trail shown on our map, which wasn't such a successful idea, as the trail didn't really exist.

After fighting our way through lots of downed trees in the forest, we made it back to the trail we should originally have been on!

Now we join the regular mountain trail. There were many hikers here, because there is a nice loop trail returning to Grimmi Alp, popular with families. 

Always there are cows on our trail! These are the Simmental cows, different from the Swiss Brown cows which we are used to in central Switzerland. 

There aren't as many people headed up to the pass. Most other hikers walked down the valley to Grimmi Alp. 

A look down the lovely Diemtig Valley. You can just see the summit station of the chair lift at the Stiereberg farm. 

It was a very nice and enjoyable hike up to the Grimmfurggi saddle

We reached the Grimmifurggi saddle at 12:30. It took us about an hour and a half. The quickest way to our goal in Matten from here is 2:20, but we took a longer route (2:40)

The horseshoe valley on the other side of the pass is called Färmeltal, or simply Färmel by the locals. We exited the valley along an upper trail, reaching the village of Matten at the junction of this valley and the Simmen Valley. 

Zoomed view of the other side of the Simmental, the middle mountain (not the one that looks like a tooth) is called Rinderberg, a popular hiking mountain accessed from Zweisimmen. We hiked there in 2019, those photos are HERE

Just below the saddle, in the Färmel Valley was a farm building with a picnic table, the perfect spot for our lunch break!

Up above us is the barn where we had our picnic lunch. We could have headed toward the back of the valley from here, but then would have had to walk out along a long dirt road. We prefer the mountain trails.

Passing another farm on our way along the Färmel Valley

A look into the back of the Färmel Valley. Below is the dirt road which is the faster way out of the valley, but less interesting. We prefer to be up high if possible.

Most of the trail out of the valley was through the forest. Every once in a while we looked back at the farms in the valley and the Grimmifurggi saddle which we crossed. 

More Simmental cows

Now we get a glimpse up the Simmen Valley to the Wildstrubel Massif, and straight ahead is a huge glacier called "Glacier de la Plaine Morte" (Dead Plain Glacier), which is still on the list of things I want to see up close!

Close-up view of the "Glacier de la Plaine Morte"

And now, before our descent, a good look at the back of the Simmental, and the town of Lenk, from where our next day's excursion starts. 

On our descent to Matten. It is here where we have rented a room in a private home for the night. 

Even though we had already walked over four hours to get to Matten, we spent another half hour walking through the village admiring the pretty chalets here. 

Some of the window flowers are really spectacular!

A look south to the fabulous Wildstrubel Massif. A few years ago we crossed the Rawil Pass on the right side, and another time we also crossed the smaller forested hill (Oberlaubhore) in the center (those photos are HERE) 

The room we had rented for the night was in the upper story, with the little West-facing balcony. By the time we returned here after looking at the village of Matten, the sun had already gone down unfortunately, so I didn't really get to enjoy my balcony.

The room was pretty nice, but the fan in the bathroom on the other side of the wall was very noisy, and I had to keep the windows closed because of the motor oil smell from the motorcycle garage in the bottom floor of the house. 

Our 14-km hike we did from the Diemtig Valley into the Simmen Valley (near Lenk)