Swiss Valais
Self-guided walking holiday

+ Modest walks in the essential Swiss Alps
+ Walk to quiet meadows in view of soaring peaks
+ Three different valleys culminating in magical Zermatt

Latest news January 2012
Please ask us about our 2012 season which starts on 1 July. Thank you.

Get to know one of Switzerland's most dramatic mountain regions - perhaps the most dramatic. South of the river Rhone in the Valais region, deep valleys run roughly parallel to each other. In each valley's upper reaches are beautiful villages and pastoral scenes, framed by the high mountains of the Pennine Alps.

Each day, choose a routecard for a day's walk and return to your base each evening. Your three bases are Arolla in the Val d'Herens, Zinal in the Val d'Anniviers, and Zermatt in the Mattertal. Two days involve traveling to the next valley but on these days there is still time for a half-day walk.

This being a self-guided holiday, you're free to complete the walks as you choose: we arrange everything for you, including booking accommodation and providing you with routecards for the walking, and then it's up to you to carry out the walks yourself.

We book your accommodation in our mix of superb hotels. In Arolla and Zinal we book the most comfy level available and in Zermatt we book our luxurious, central, welcoming hotel.

Options

Our Swiss Valais trips let us book a few different options, as follows:

Make it inn-to-inn
Add an element of trekking point-to-point, or inn-to-inn, as well as the usual daywalks. For example, instead of a base in Zinal for all your time in Val d'Anniviers, we can book a 2- or 3-day trek among Grimentz, Zinal and St Luc, perhaps with a night at the high Hotel Weisshorn too.

Stay in fewer bases
To minimise traveling and maximise time getting to know one valley, we can book 1 or 2 bases instead of 3. Zermatt is the obvious choice for a one-centre trip. It has so much going on.

Stay in different accommodation
We can make the mix slightly more comfortable (only slightly) or we can make it more basic, as you choose. We have come to know several good auberges and simple hotels in the area and we can offer these at a lower price. Please ask us to plan such a trip.