Walking in the Valais. Kev Reynolds

– about 30mins from Hotel Belalp. A few paces beyond the Belalp cablecar station stands the Hotel & Pizzeria Aletschhorn which has good facilities and comfortable dormitory accommodation (Tel [phone], www.aletschhorn.ch).

      THE LÖTSCHENTAL

      Dominating the Lötschental, the Bietschhorn is seen reflected in a small lake below the Lötschenpass Hut (Walk 9)

      The longest of the valleys draining into the Rhône from the north, the glacier-carved Lötschental is one of the loveliest in the Valais. In its bed a string of small villages line the true right bank of the Lonza river, with meadows dotted with hay barns on the opposite bank, and glacier-hung peaks leading the eye to the retreating Langgletscher, which tumbles from the icy saddle of the Lötschenlücke at its head. Pools and tiny lakes add to the scenic pleasures of this valley on the edge of the Bernese Alps, and the walking potential offers something for everyone.

      ACCESS AND INFORMATION

Location	On the north side of the Rhône valley, between Sierre and Visp
Map	LS 264T Jungfrau 1:50,000. Also available from the local tourist office: Wander- und Skitourenkarte Lötschental 1:25,000.
Bases	Kippel (1376m), Wiler (1419m), Blatten (1540m)
Information	Lötschental Tourismus, CH-3918 Wiler (Tel [phone], [email protected], www.loetschental.ch)
Access	By train to Goppenstein at the southern end of the Lötschberg tunnel on the Bern–Brig railway, and bus from there. For access by road turn north from the main Rhône valley highway 10km west of Visp.

      The Lötschental retains an air of isolation. Approached through the once forbidding, avalanche-prone narrows of the Quertalschlucht, some of the charms of this splendid valley are the result of the fact that it was slow to respond to commercialisation – before the Second World War the only motor road ran for just 4km between Goppenstein and Kippel. It offers little to the downhill skier, and as such remains virtually uncluttered today. On the hillsides the only mechanical aid rises above Wiler and the Lauchernalp. There’s a sense of ‘unworldliness’ about some of its villages – an air of primitive antiquity aided by a folklore represented by grotesque masks made of wood and animal hair, with cows’ teeth fixed to gaping mouths. These hideous demons – Tschaeggaetten – appear in local carnivals, where they are paraded through the village streets, a custom dating back hundreds of years.

      Draining southwest from the Lötschenlücke, the Lötschental is a sunny U-shaped valley cradled between a 3000m wall of mountains on the north side and a higher, more severe line of peaks culminating in the graceful Bietschhorn on the south. The north wall supports the Petersgrat, one of the last remaining vestiges of a great ice sheet that covered much of the Bernese Alps during the last Ice Age. On its far side the Petersgrat spills via the Kanderfirn into the Gasterntal above Kandersteg, but on the Lötschental flank it lightly overhangs a succession of small tributary glens. The Lötschenpass at the head of one of these carries an old trading route across the mountains to Kandersteg, and has a hut nestling just below it. Nearby one can gaze south to the Pennine Alps across the Rhône valley, while a shallow lake turns the Bietschhorn on its head. Below peak and glacier the hillsides are dressed with forests of larch and pine interrupted by meadows, and at mid-height on the Petersgrat slope a magnificent balcony path links seven alp hamlets before sloping into the bed of the valley at an eighth, Fafleralp. This path –the Lötschentaler Höhenweg – gives as pleasant and scenic a day’s walk as you could possibly wish.

      Fafleralp is as far as the postbus goes (summer services between June and mid-October), but there are two more alp hamlets beyond in what’s known as the Gugginalp, the valley’s upper reaches leading to the Langgletscher and another mountain hut, the Anen Hut, at 2358m. Apart from the Lötschen Hut, built virtually on the Lötschenlücke and reached by way of the crevassed Langgletscher, the only other mountain refuge within the Lötschental is the Bietschhorn Hut, which stands amid rocky terrain at 2565m on the slopes of the mountain it serves, and is reached by a walk of about 3–3½hrs from either Wiler or Ried.

      Main bases

      Faldumalp, overlooking the Lötschental (Walks 8 and 9)

      Kippel (1376m) is an attractive village with narrow cobbled alleyways dropping steeply towards the river. Dark-timbered buildings and hay barns crowd these alleys, and there are fine views to the head of the valley. Accommodation may be found in a handful of hotels (the Bietschhorn, Sporthotel and Lötschberg), while there are several holiday apartments and chalets to rent. The valley’s only official campsite is located on the south side of the river, reached by a steep and narrow road whose entrance is at the eastern end of the village. Kippel has restaurants, post office, a bank and limited shopping facilities. The Lötschental museum is near the church.

      Wiler (1419m) is bypassed by the main valley road, and is growing faster than any other village in the Lötschental. The Lauchernalp cableway serves the modest ski slopes of the Hockenhorn, and (of more interest to walkers) it provides access to the Lötschentaler Höhenweg. Wiler has a range of accommodation (contact the local tourist office for details), restaurants, shops, post office, banks and a mountain guides’ bureau. The valley’s only tourist office is also located in the village.

      Blatten (1540m) is another attractive village, and one of the most important valley bases. It stands on the north bank of the river, and there is a large square in the village by the church. Blatten has a post office, limited shopping facilities and accommodation in the three-star Hotel Edelweiss, but there are numerous apartments and chalets available for let.

      Other bases

      Most Lötschental villages have accommodation in varying amounts. Ferden has apartments, Ried has a hotel, while at the roadhead at Fafleralp Hotel Fafleralp offers both standard beds and dormitory accommodation. On the hillside above Wiler both Lauchernalp and Fieschbiel have accommodation in chalets and apartments, with dormitory spaces at Berghaus Lauchern. The three-star Zur Wildi in Lauchernalp has 30 beds. Gasthaus Kummenalp also has 26 dormitory places and 10 beds. Contact the Lötschental tourist office for current details.

      Mountain huts

      Anen Hut (2358m) Reached by a walk of 2–2½hrs from Fafleralp, the privately owned Anen Hut is an ugly but environmentally friendly building standing on the north bank of the Langgletscher at the head of the Lötschental. With 50 places in dormitories and rooms, it is staffed from June until October (Tel [phone], www.anenhuette.ch).

      Bietschhorn Hut (2565m) Owned by the Academic Alpine Club of Bern, with 26 places. The hut is manned at weekends from July to end of September (Tel [phone]).

      Lötschenpass Hut (2690m) This privately owned hut faces across the Lötschental from a high vantage point and has a splendid view of the Bietschhorn. It has 80 places and is manned from June to the end of October (Tel [phone], www.loetschenpass.ch).

WALK 8

      Ferden (1375m) – Faldumalp (2037m) – Kummenalp (2083m) – Lauchernalp (2106m) – Fafleralp (1787m)

Distance	18.5km
Grade	2
Time	6½–7hrs
Height gain	731m
Height loss	319m
Location	On the west and north flank of the valley

      This is the classic walk of the valley – the Lötschentaler Höhenweg. Unquestionably one of the loveliest walks in the Valais, it’s a truly delightful outing with picturesque views all the way. Although nowhere difficult, it is given a Grade 2 on account of its length and the steepness of the path leading