From Hohtenn to Ausserberg along the Valais Sunshine Trail

(Post published on Feb.14, 2023) -- Some of the photos are my sister's

Sunday October 2, 2022 -- My sister had come to visit us because she wanted to do a lot of hiking with us, but had the bad luck of chosing a 10-day stretch with the very worst weather we have had all year! Barely a break to do anything but a couple of city visits... certainly not being able to get into the mountains. We almost despaired at perhaps not being able to use the day tickets we had purchased, but then the weather finally got better in the first week of October.

On this Saturday, the end of the bad-weather streak, the only place where we might be able to do a good hike was in Canton Valais, and even that was risky as the fog was only slowly dissipating. We opted for an irrigation channel walk along the south ramp of the BLS railway in the Rhône Valley, a walk we have done a couple of times before. Irrigation channel walks are always interesting, and good for any level of fitness. We added a bit of excitement by taking her through the fabulous Joli Gorge (not for people suffering from vertigo!), something we had discovered once quite by accident. This is our third time through the gorge.

The hike was very successful, although much trickier than we anticipated. This area normally gets so little rain (thus the need for the irrigation channels), that the ground is usually dry, and one can cover quite a bit of ground quickly (not a lot of uphill sections!). But this time the trail was slippery, and we had to walk carefully.

We started at the train station in Hohtenn, and opted to walk down to Hohtenn village to join the irrigation channel there, instead of continuing along the railway line. We ended our hike in Ausserberg, with only just enough time for a quick look around the village before we had to get back on the train.

The trail we walked is actually a section of the Regional Trail no.61, aptly named the "Walliser Sonnenweg" or "Valais Sunshine Trail".

After a 3-hour train ride, we arrived at the Hohtenn Railway station at 11 a.m. (we purposely did not go earlier, as we knew the fog would only lift after 11 a.m.). We were concerned about the fog, but it lifted soon after we got there.

A look westward down the Rhône Valley, where the fog remained for most of the day. We were lucky that it totally disappeared to the east, where we were walking.

On the trail down to Hohtenn Village. There was a forest fire here in recent years.

Various corners of the village of Hohtenn. The railway is up where the stone bridge is, that's how far down we came.

A look over the roofs of Hohtenn village and down the Rhône Valley, as we join the Stägeru Suon (irrigation channel)

Our 12-km hike along the Valais Sunshine Trail (Regional Trail no.61) from Hohtenn to Ausserberg. We would have liked to continue walking to the next main village of Eggerberg, which would have been no problem had we started earlier and had the trail been dry.

A look above us at the fabulous Luogelkin Viaduct of the BLS railway. Built in 1910, it is 127m long and 50m high. Had we stayed on the upper trail, we would have walked behind that bridge. Fotos HERE

A common feature of these irrigation channels are these metal slides used to divert the water flow. To this point we had been walking next to an empty channel, but were happy to finally reach the place where the water was being diverted to fields below

Many sections of the irrigation channel are carved directly into the stone cliff walls

A gentle section of the irrigation channel

Various sections of the irrigation channel and vegetation around the channel

A look down at one of the villages in the Rhône Valley bottom. This is Niedergesteln. On our most recent hike along this irrigation channel earlier this year, we ended our hike in this village. Those photos are HERE

VIDEO:

On narrow and possibly slippery sections along the channel,

there are cables to hold on to.

Some more exciting stretches along the channel as we approach the Joli Gorge

I have always wondered about these benches. They are hard to get to....

....and hard to get down from!

Heading into the Joli Gorge

VIDEO:

Sections of the irrigation channel and the Joli Gorge

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Entering the narrow Joli Gorge

There are metal ramps built into the cliffs so you can follow the channel through this gorge

The trail passes through a tunnel, and you walk on boards set above the water stream. You also have to turn on the lights before entering the tunnel!

Hiking up the Joli Gorge on the metal walkway

Crossing the suspension bridge

VIDEO:

Panorama of the Joli Gorge, suspension bridge and Rhône Valley

A look down the Joli Gorge into the Rhône Valley

There is a warning at the upper entrance to the gorge, that the trail is only for those not suffering from vertigo!

Continuing up the Rhône Valley, the next exciting stretch is the Bietsch Valley, in on the left and back out to the spot in the middle of this photo, where we took a break.

The Valais Sunshine Trail is a fabulous trail high above the Rhône Valley, although too hot to walk in summer.

A look down at the town of Raron and the church on the cliff

Entering into the steep Bietschtal (Bietsch Valley) we can see our trail on the opposite side, where we come out of the valley again.

Always glad to find waterfalls to fill up our water bottles

This lower trail into the Bietsch Valley is actually a wide road with several tunnels. (There is an upper, longer trail further back into the valley which we have taken before. Those photos are worth looking at HERE)

A first glimpse of the fabulous Bietschtal railway bridge spanning the steep valley from cliff face to cliff face

We chose the easier, flatter lower trail into the the Bietsch Valley, because the trail goes over the railway bridge.

We are now at the picnic spot back in the Rhône Valley. A look back into the Bietsch Valley at the fabulous bridge. The irrigation channels on either side of this valley have their sources at the back of this valley.

A BLS (Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon) train is just crossing the railway bridge

A spot for a break at the juntion of the two valleys

Our view down the Rhône Valley from our picnic spot at the entrance of the Bietsch Valley

A look down at the vineyards, of which there are many here, due to the southern exposure. It's for farms like this that the water from the irrigation channels is diverted at various places.

The irrigation channel on this side of the Bietsch Valley is called Manera

Here the water flows through wooden channels, i.e. hollowed out tree trunks

Behind us and below is the town of St.German

The first Valais Black-Nosed sheep we encountered!

The first view of the village of Ausserberg (zoomed view) where we are ending our hike.

Heading down past the Ausserberg Train station into the village, which is quite a way past the train station (we had to go back after seeing the village). Below is the large city of Visp, at the entrance of the Matter Valley.

Lots of flowers make the village look very pretty

Walking up and down the alleys of Auserberg

Many of the barns in Canton Valais are built like this on "mushroom" posts. This prevents mice from accessing the hay in the barns.

Other details in the village of Ausserberg

The church in Ausserberg, and a very cool barn!

On the way to the train station, we saw a few more of these lovely sheep!

VIDEO:

..of the cute little Valais Black-Nosed Lamb!

What our 12-km walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps.

The rest of these photos are from the train trip home. We rode the BLS Railway South Ramp both coming and going (it is a longer trip than taking the Lötschberg Base Tunnel), but had only fog and clouds on the way down, with barely a view. The light was perfect on the way back and we had several views of the snow-covered mountains of the Bernese Alps between Kandersteg and Bern.