Photo story: traditional Alpine culture in the Swiss Valais
Switzerland’s southwest canton of Valais is a place of extremes — of lush valleys and sawtooth mountain tops, ancient, frosty glaciers and log-fire restaurants.
Steep, sloping vineyards slip across borders into France and Italy, the scenery dominated by the iconic Matterhorn.
Beat Lehner-Stucki prepares a lunch of grilled raclette cheese. Traditionally served with potatoes and pickled onions, the dish is both reviving and comforting.
Beat’s delicatessen, Cabane du Fromage, in Saas-Fee village, rubs shoulders with a host of restaurants and bars. Their windows peer up peaks that include Nadelhorn and Alphubel, two fearsome ‘four-thousanders’ — mountains that rise 4,000 metres (13,123ft) or more above sea level.
On the edge of the village, Simone Zurbriggen and Daniel Kornhuber’s restaurant Schäferstube uses local produce to create time-honoured dishes, including lamb with peas, mint and potato dumplings (shown left).
Elsewhere in Valais canton, the 14,685ft Matterhorn reflects in the Riffelsee, an alpine lake reached by the Gornergrat Railway from Zermatt village.
Outlined against a summer sky is one of the copper-roofed turrets of the Stockalper Palace, the grand, 17th-century former residence of silk merchant Kaspar Stockalper — at the time of construction, the largest private residence in the country. It stands in the town of Brig, close to the centre of Valais canton.
From there, it’s a little over an hour’s bus ride to Saas-Fee village, from where hikers head up to Hannig Alp via a gondola lift. At the top, they’re treated to views of the uplands, including Längfluh Glacier.
There are several hiking trails across the alpine meadows, marked by symbols painted on rocks and signposts.
Some point to alpine huts, such as Hannig Alp’s Mischabelhütte, handy for an overnight stay. Hannig’s herb-rich grassland is a boon for chickens who like to roam free.
Hiking trails crisscross Valais’ extraordinary terrain, meandering between mountains and villages. Several trails arrive at Rosswald village, a huddle of chalets set in a valley high above Brig, reached by a regular bus that runs like clockwork.
Bus-riders and hikers alike stop by the village’s cafes and restaurants, including Restaurant Rosswald, for the local speciality chässchnitte Rosswald — an energy-boosting dish of cheese, bread, onions, egg and bacon (all fried), served with a hearty glug or two of local red wine.
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