Walking in the Valais. Kev Reynolds

the moraine crest. Below the glacier a dammed lake forms part of the Grande Dixence hydro complex, its eastern shore tight against abrupt rock walls, its west bank rising to pastures, a farm and a few smaller natural lakes that make an obvious focus for other walks.

      Vals d’Hérens and Hérémence

      Cabane des Dix occupies a dramatic location at the foot of Mont Blanc de Cheilon (Walk 93)

      These two valleys, which divide after a few kilometres, lie southeast of Sion and provide plenty of opportunities for walking holidays. Val d’Hérens is the more important of the two, with Evolène, Les Haudères and Arolla acting as low-key resorts, but there’s some very fine wild country to explore at the head of Val d’Hérémence, too, where the Cabane des Dix is perched on a plug of rock in full view of Mont Blanc de Cheilon’s North Face. East of the hut, across the Cheilon glacier, the ridge that divides the two valleys is breached by a pair of walkers’ passes and a highly recommended route to Arolla. Huddled among meadows in the bed of Val d’Hérens, Evolène and Les Haudères are typical Valaisian villages, while Arolla stands in isolation at the roadhead with snow-crowned mountains as its backdrop. Arolla remains unfussed and little changed by the advance of tourism, and is one of the best centres for aspirant alpinists in the Pennine Alps, as well as being a splendid walking centre with mountain huts, alp hamlets and tiny lakes to visit. Rising above the village some of the mountains are ringed with glacial moats, like Mont Collon, Pigne d’Arolla and Mont Blanc de Cheilon; the big wall of rock east of the village is jagged with spires and teeth, while to the west the Aiguilles Rouges have their own unique appeal.

      Val de Bagnes

      Accessed by train from Martigny and Sembrancher, Val de Bagnes makes a long southeasterly sweep towards the gigantic Mauvoisin dam, with modest villages like Le Châble and Fionnay in the valley, and Verbier perched 700m above it on an open terrace facing west. Rising vast and high above the valley, the graceful Combin massif is, from choice viewpoints, a Mont Blanc look-alike with three summits over 4000m, a great dome of snow, and long fingers of ice carving from it. Some of the walks described in these pages are dominated by its dazzle of white, and it comes as no surprise to discover that the Grand Combin offers one of the classic ski ascents – first tackled in 1907. South of Lac de Mauvoisin the valley headwaters retain a sense of wild remoteness, with the Italian border traced along the walling ridge, and the Cabane de Chanrion perfectly placed to accommodate both walkers and climbers in the pastures below.

      Val d’Entremont

      The Combin massif is seen at its best from the Sentier des Chamois (Walk 98)

      Branching southeast of Orsières, this valley carries the road to the Col du Grand St Bernard and edges the western side of the Combin massif. Its villages, apart from Orsières at its entrance, are the modest settlements of Liddes and Bourg-St-Pierre, both fortunately bypassed by the road to Italy. Bourg has been used as a mountaineering base, and from it routes climb to a brace of mountain huts on the slopes of Mont Vèlen and the Grand Combin, while the western side of the valley is largely snow-free and much lower than its neighbour. Here the Combe de l’A makes a long inroad into the mountains and offers a way over a col at its head into the upper reaches of the Val Ferret.

      Val Ferret

      Traversed by walkers tackling the Tour of Mont Blanc (TMB), the Val Ferret is a distinctly pastoral valley that lies on the outer edge of the Mont Blanc massif. Several small villages and hamlets inhabit the valley, but these mostly disregard the needs of visitors. Only La Fouly, which gazes into a cirque topped by Mont Dolent and the Tour Noir, devotes itself to walkers and climbers, and it is well worth seeking out for there are some splendid walks and views to enjoy. Like the Vals d’Entremont and Bagnes, the valley is reached from Martigny via Sembrancher. The St Bernard Express (a very slow train despite its name) continues as far as Orsières, where the Vals Ferret and d’Entremont part company. Just out of Orsières a road breaks away to climb in numerous hairpins to Champex, a delightful, small but attractive resort also visited by trekkers on the TMB. With the unspoilt Val d’Arpette behind it, Champex is another worthwhile base for a few days of a walking holiday.

      Vallée du Trient

      This, the most westerly of the region’s valleys, lies to the southwest of Martigny, by which it is reached across the Col de Forclaz. A very short, glacier-carved glen, Trient is its only village (discounting neighbouring Le Peuty, which is just a hamlet), but being on the route of both the Tour of Mont Blanc and the Walker’s Haute Route it has a disproportionate amount of accommodation almost entirely aimed at the outdoor fraternity. The village looks up to glaciers that hang from abrupt rocky slopes, the view framed by dark pinewoods. It’s an appealing sight, and the various walks on offer make the most of such views. One of the recommended routes climbs easily to the French border at Col de Balme, where an unforgettable scene reveals the Aiguilles Verte and Drus, and the massive snow dome of Mont Blanc shining in the distance. As Alpine connoisseur RLG Irving once wrote: ‘If that view does not thrill you, you are better away from the Alps.’

Getting there

      By air

      Readers are warned that information about air travel is especially vulnerable to change. Even without mentioning a host of different fare structures, schedules are frequently rearranged, routes introduced and cancelled, airlines go out of business and others are formed year by year to increase competition. Information given below can, therefore, be offered only as a rough guide. The best advice is to either visit your local travel agent for current offers or browse the Internet. In any case, shop around.

      Switzerland’s main international airports are at Geneva and Zürich, both of which are just an escalator ride from a mainline railway station. Bern and Basel are also used, but by a smaller number of flights, and involve bus transfers to the nearest stations. Geneva is the most convenient airport for a visit to the Valais, with a direct rail link to all main Rhône valley stations.

      Daily scheduled flights are operated by British Airways from London Heathrow and Gatwick to Geneva and Zürich. BA flies direct from Manchester to Zürich and, six times a week, to Geneva. Less convenient for visitors to the Valais, BA also flies between Heathrow and Basel. For travellers from Ireland, BA has a service from Dublin to Geneva via Gatwick (www.britishairways.com).

      SWISS (the national carrier formed after the collapse of Swissair) at present offers 42 daily scheduled departures from London Heathrow, London City, Birmingham, Manchester and the Channel Islands to Geneva, Zürich and Basel (Tel [phone], www.swiss.com).

      Swisswings Airlines (a Swiss regional carrier) operates a daily service between London City and Bern.

      Currently by far the cheapest scheduled flights are by Easyjet, which operates between London Gatwick and Geneva and Zürich, Luton and Zürich, and also Liverpool to Geneva (www.easyjet.com).

      Several airlines fly from North America to Geneva and/or Zürich, with departures from Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington. Check with www.travelocity.com or www.expedia.com for the latest fares.

      By rail

      By a combination of Eurostar (London St Pancras to Paris via the Channel Tunnel) and TGV (Paris to Geneva or Lausanne) high-speed rail travel offers an alternative to flying, although the overall cost may be no less than an air fare. Assuming connections are made, the journey time from London to Geneva or Lausanne can be as little as 8 hours, although you should allow for 12 hours or so to reach your final destination.

      At least 14 Eurostar trains per day travel between St Pancras and the Gare du Nord in Paris, the journey time being around 3 hours. In Paris transfer to the Gare de Lyon for the TGV departure