Wednesday April 27, 2022 -- After having discovered the endangered flower Adonis Vernalis, which grows in only two places in Switzerland (those photos can be viewed HERE), we traveled by bus and train an hour from Turtmann to Visp in the Valais, to do our second excursion of the day: A walk along the 7-km long irrigation channel called Visperi Suon (first mentioned in documents from 1521, so built 500 years ago!)
A year ago we had spent three days in the area, at Visperterminen in the Vispa Valley, and at that time we did a great hike into the highest vineyard in Europe, the Heida vineyards, which cover a height of 500m up to 1150 m above sea level. (Those photos HERE). Today, we decided to start where we ended last year, and to continue through the vineyard before reaching the start of the irrigation channel near the hospital in Visp.
We had read about some dizzying sections with vertical drops along the Visperi Suon and were looking forward to some excitement... As it turns out, it was a pretty tame irrigation channel hike for us, compared to others we have done. (The vertical drops were not so high, and screened by outward-growing bushes, so that probably lessened the effect).
Along the way we got a good look at the Lonza industrial compound, the largest employer in this area. We were not far above the freeway which passes through here, so had the constant noise of industry and motor-vehicle traffic along the way.
At the far end of the channel we descended back to the valley bottom and followed the 850m-long Gamsen Letzi Wall to the bus stop along the main road. This once-magnificent wall (two meters wide and six meters high) was built in the Middle Ages (between 1352 and 1355) as a defense fortification. Many parts of it are still intact.
Together with the first 1.5-hour walk we did in Turtmann in the morning, we did a total of 13 kms of walking in about 4 hours.
Heading up to the starting point of our hike, this is the view over the city of Visp from the bus window
A look up the Vispa Valley as we head toward the starting point of our hike (toward the left). The mountain massif in the back is called the Mischabel Group, and it contains the highest mountain in Switzerland that is 100% on Swiss terrain (Mt.Dom, 4545m)
Here is the place we ended our hike last time. We wanted to start from here this time.
The trail heads through the Heida Vineyards of Visperterminen, the highest vineyards in Europe (at least till 2019, it could be that there is now a higher one).
Of the 8.5 km we walked along this stretch, about 7 km are along the irrigation channel. You can see where it is located by the steady slow incline of the graph. It looks flat when you walk it, but it has just enough rise for the water to flow well.
Above me the vineyards stretch up in fantastic terraces for a total height difference of 500m !!!!
Information panels along the way, about viniculture in the area. This one is specifically about the building of the fabulous stone walls which support the terraces. "One square meter of dry stone wall requires one tonne of stones"!!! A benefit of the stone walls is that they absorb and retain heat which then emanates back into the ground at night and in the late fall.
The short section through the vineyard goes just around the corner to the right. Below is the very expensive freeway bypass through the mountain, which was supposed to be completed in 2019, but it's still not finished! (Started in 2015). It has also ended up costing a whole lot more than originally planned
A look back at the terraces
We found a picnic table where we had our lunch. This was the view South down the Vispa Valley toward the Mischabel Massif.
And this was the view North toward the city of Visp and the Rhone Valley
Near the start of the irrigation channel trail, the sign informs us that we still have 2 hours and 15 minutes to walk until our bus stop in Gamsen. It didn't take us that long, though.
A look down at the houses of old town Visp, from the channel trail
Staring out along the Visperi irrigation trail. This water channel was first documented in 1521, so it is over 500 years old!
We could hear the hammer from quite a way off. The point of this mechanism is that it gives off a regular hammering sound as the water turns the paddles, indicating that the water is flowing properly. If the locals below don't hear the hammering, they know they have to go clean the channel from debris
VIDEO:
Hammer working on the irrigation channel
to indicate that the water is flowing properly
On the sections which were narrow or had a vertical drop, there were hand-holds for safety
The sign says "Do not stop along the way", and Urs takes this very seriously!
Down below is the large industrial complex of the Lonza Company
Not to forget, that this water channel was carved out of vertical rock face over 500 years ago!
Looking eastward up the Rhone Valley. The river is more of a wide channel here. And there is a lot of noise from the vehicle traffic along the freeway below. Nevertheless, we love to hike these mountainsides (especially on the other side) in early Spring, because it is warmest here!
A tamer part of the water channel
At this point the water is diverted to another irrigation channel further down the hill
This irrigation channel was carved out of the vertical cliff wall 500 years ago
VIDEO:
Walking along the Visperi irrigation channel (can be watched here or on YouTube)
The water drips down the cliff face here and has left calcium deposits.
Calcium deposits from water dripping down the cliff walls
Coming to the end of the section of the water channel before heading down to the Gamsen Letzi Wall
Still a few blossoming trees
The Letzi Wall. It used to be two meters wide and 6 meters high!
Here you can see how wide the defense wall was.
This was was built between 1352 and 1355 and many parts of it are still intact!
850-meter long Gamsen Wall
Last year around this time we did a hike from Visperterminen to the Heida Vineyards, and ended on the road below the vineyard. This time we started where we had left off, and walked along the 7-km long Visperi Irrigation Channel to Gamsen.
Back at the Visp train station, I was able to get a beautiful close-up photo of the Mischabel Massif.
Friday August 27, 2021 -- The final day of our 5-day hiking trip in Canton Valais dawned cloudless as we prepared to leave our little hotel in Les Collons high up above the Rhône Valley. We had to leave fairly early as there are only three daily bus courses that take you off the mountain from Thyon to Sion. (Side note: This was the first day of school, and many tiny French-speaking humans rode the bus with us, heading off to primary school in Vex, about half-way down the mountain...)
Although the weather would have been perfect in this corner of Canton Valais, we had again planned something further along on the "way home", namely an irrigation channel hike high up on Belalp near Brig, where we had actually been the month before when we hiked on the Aletsch Panorama Trail in July (photos HERE). At that time we had lots of fog and had to wait out some time at the restaurant there, before starting on that hike. We had high hopes to see the alp without fog this time...
Which turned out not to be. It was basically a repeat of last time, a cable car ride from Blatten through the clouds, an hour spent at the restaurant waiting for the clouds to lift (as it turned out, they remained all day) and then off on our hike anyway. We started with a 3.5-kilometer walk along the Nessjeri irrigation channel (built in the 15th Century), at an altitude of 2100 meters one of the highest irrigation channels which still conveys water to irrigate the farms in the Rhône Valley below. Even with the fog, it was a lovely hike. As we got further and further from Belalp, the magnificent Aletsch Glacier appeared more and more behind us, until the best view-point before we started on our long descent: At a little hamlet called Nessel, we were able to look North to the Aletsch Glacier, and over the entire Rhône Valley to the South. So not a wasted day at all.
After the long and tiring descent (750m) toward Birgisch, we still had enough energy to walk along two more irrigation channels (Oberschta and Stigwasser, both even older than the Nessjeri channel, namely built some time in the 13th Century) into and out of the the fabulous Gredetschtal Valley to end our hike in Mund, the Saffron Capital North of the Alps.... (30-1000 flowers handpicked per day over 18,000 sq.meters, producing 1 to 4 kilograms of saffron per year). The Mund Saffron Museum is housed in a tiny wooden building which has been dated to 1437 and is one of the oldest structures in Canton Valais.
The day starts with a nice breakfast at the "Auberge de l'ours" hotel in Les Collons. There weren't many guests, and we are the first up this early.... (7 a.m.).
At 8 a.m. we are heading back down to Sion from Les Collons, a 45-minute bus ride where more and more children were getting on, going to their first day of school in Vex below.
The Chateau de Valère in Sion. Here the weather was fabulous. Webcams for Brig already indicated way more clouds in that direction, and we could have changed plans, but that becomes tiring. So we stuck to our original plan and headed to Belalp
From Blatten bei Naters you take a cable car to Belalp, where we nursed some coffees again on the restaurant terrace while waiting for the clouds to disappear, which they did not. (I was so annoyed at our lack of spontaneity to change plans, that I forgot to take a photo of our coffee break...). From there we walked up to the irrigation channel called Nessjeri, at 2100 one of the highest irrigation channels where water flows.
Looking across the valley we could see that the irrigation channel trail at least was not directly in the clouds, so we headed off anyway.... Considering that we left the hotel in Les Collons fairly early, we only started on this hike at 11:30 a.m.
Heading toward the irrigation channel (not here, although this is the river which provides the water for the channel higher up) we at least had some sunshine, but the surrounding mountains had disapeared in the clouds.
Here we are near the origin of the Nessjeri irrigation channel
For the next 3.5 kilometers we walked South along this irrigation channel
The colours of the landscape were very pretty up here, even without much sunshine
VIDEO:
Walking along the Nessjeri Irrigation Channel
(This is my own video, open up in YouTube)
A look behind us at Belalp where we started our hike (above the forested section). The Aletsch Glacier is just coming into view on the right.
This is how the water is diverted to the various fields. Back in the middle ages there were very strict rules about which farmer got to use the water and when. Only those who participated in building the channels had "free" use (according to strict schedules), others had to pay to use the water.
The more we headed South, the more we could see of the Aletsch Glacier to the Northeast (It was such a shame that the sky was not blue).
A zoomed view of the Aletsch Glacier (the largest glacier in the Alps) looking back toward where we came from.
Just before starting on the long descent, we arrived at the little hamlet called Nessel
Little hamlet of Nessel near Belalp
Another very cute and very old chapel, which contained a little surprise
Inside the Nessel Chapel is a very old original piece of artwork, a type of box whose doors can be shut. The date on the box reads 1656.... And interestingly enough, the artists in the middle ages don't ever seem to have seen any real human babies. (They simply look like tiny grown men).
To the Southwest we can see the Mischabel Massif on the left, the Matterhorn in the middle, and the Weisshorn on the right. (It was really tough realizing the skies were clear there... we could have done a hike in the Vispa Valley instead...)
A zoomed view of Mount Matterhorn which is way South at the back of the Vispa/Matter Valley on the Italian border
We found a really good place where we could look North into the Massa Valley, and South into the Rhône Valley.
A look North into the Massa Valley, to the Gibidum Dam below, and the Aletsch Glacier at the back.
Panorama view of the Massa Gorge and the Rhône Valley, with the city of Brig below. In the back is the road toward the Simplon Pass
A last look at the city of Brig below before starting on our descent. We had barely any sunshine while up here because of a single cloud between the sun and us.
On our way down the mountain we mostly walked through the forest, with glimpses down to the city of Brig, including the fabulous Stockalper Palace
When we finally reached the Oberschta Irrigation Channel above Birgisch after an 80-minute and 730-meter descent, it was time to massage my feet and cool them off in the ice-cold mountain water!!!
Instead of descending to the bus stop in Birgisch, we decided to walk along the other two irrigation channels Oberschta and Stigwasser to Mund, via the Gredetschtal Valley. It was only an additional hour, and a level trail. These two irrigation channels were built in the 13th Century.
A glimpse across the valley to Mund, the end of our hike.
On this irrigation channel there were many tunnels built to accommodate the flowing water.
(More than likely, the original irrigation channel was built of wooden troughs attached to the outside of the cliffs, and then later redirected through tunnels)
VIDEO:
One of the many tunnels along the Oberschta Irrigation Channel
(This channel constructed in the 13th Century...)
A look up the beautiful Gredetsch Valley. 30 minutes on this side, and 30 minutes on the other on the way out (in the shadow of the mountain). On the other side is another "exciting" irrigation channel much higher up.
Looking to the back of the Gredetsch Valley.
You can walk further back into the valley, but here at the bridge crossing the river is where we headed back out the other side of the valley. We came along the Oberschta Suon, and went out along the Stigwasser to Mund.
Some more tunnels to walk through, some quite dark!
A narrow trail next to the irrigation channel. But the way out was in the shadow of the mountain.
Out of the valley again and heading to the village of Mund
Another look down into the Rhône Valley and the Simplon road in the far back
Heading down into the village of Mund to catch to bus to Brig
Old wooden Valais buildings. Many of these are old barns, some have been converted to small homes.
This building houses the Saffron Museum. It has been dated back to 1437 and is one of the oldest structures in Canton Valais.
The Saffron Museum.
Entrance to the Saffron Museum. We still are planning to come to Mund sometime in October or November to experience the saffron harvest first-hand.
A four-hour hike along three ancient irrigation channels (14 kilometers). As with the other four hikes we did, there was more downhill than uphill.
Obviously, this is another area where we have done a lot of walking. This time it was starting at Belalp and walking to Mund via Nessel and Gredetsch Valley. In previous years we have already walked along the two lower irrigation channels (Oberschta and Stigwasser).
This is the area of the lower Valais where we spent five days toward the end of August, and the regions where we did the five hikes.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG){kind=link}