On the bright side of life – hiking the Valais Sun Trail

On the Valais Sun Trail, you can experience sensational Valais Alps panoramas and soak up some sun while you’re at it. This high-altitude trail above the Rhone Valley takes you along the southern slopes of the Bernese Alps. Railway enthusiasts and lovers of engineering will get their money's worth, particularly in the latter stage, as the trail leads past the popular Lötschberg railway.

The most challenging stage awaits you right at the beginning – the hike from Crans-Montana along the historic Bisse du Tsittoret water pipeline into the Tièche Valley to Leukerbad. You cover quite a few kilometres on the three further stages, but the trail doesn’t hold any particular challenges for you apart from one airy surprise, which you can avoid.

This route has so much to offer. There’s Original Valais villages, suonen (historic water channels), suspension bridges, spectacular mountain views of the Matterhorn, Breithorn and Weisshorn and the best Swiss cuisine. Scenically, the three valleys of Jolital, Bietschtal and Baltschiedertal, which run directly down from the mighty Bietschhorn massif, will melt your heart. Plus, as if that weren't enough, you can enjoy sunshine all day long if the weather is on your side, because the route is south-facing.

The Valais Sun Trail more than deserves its name. Naturally, I recommend that you pack sun protection in the form of a hat or cap and sun cream. You'll find accommodation at the end of each stage. On the final day, you can round off your hiking adventure with a delicious dinner in Brig or take the train back home directly from there.

It takes one hour by train from Brig to Bern and about seven hours to Munich. You can reach Crans-Montana, your starting point, comfortably by train in two hours from Bern. There are numerous train connections to the Swiss capital from all directions. Look forward to a sunny and sensational trip to the Swiss Alps!