Make all your winter Alpine fantasies come true this winter.
NESTLED INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN CORNER of Switzerland — but not far from Geneva Airport — the Valais region offers picturesque Alpine landscapes that set the scene for endless winter fun.
While most people consider the famed Matterhorn mountain the star of this region, there are a number of Valais locales worthy of consideration as vacation destinations this winter.
Read on to learn what each destination offers and how to get in on the winter revelry.
Region Dents du Midi
Region Dents Du Midi is considered by many to be the gateway to the Valais Alps. Sitting only 1.5 hours from Geneva Airport, visitors can arrive quickly and take their pick from six charming mountain villages nestled at the foot of the Dents du Midi mountain range.
From these villages, considered the Swiss section of Les Portes du Soleil, guests can easily access the world’s largest international ski area, featuring a mind-blowing 600 km of ski slopes and the promise that you can ski all day and never take the same trail twice.
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Sled dogs in Dents du Midi. Photo by Litescape Media
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Ski snowboard in Dents du Midi. Photo by Litescape Media
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Dents du Midi. Photo by Ruedi Flück
But the villages of Region Dents du Midi offer more than skiing and snowboarding. There are free and highly impressive ski tours for all levels, snowshoe hiking to take you off the beaten path, the chance to ski with huskies and watch them train, heart-pounding paragliding that provides a true bird’s eye view, and strategic and challenging curling to be enjoyed.
Saas-Fee/Saas Valley
For an otherworldly backdrop, set your sights on Saas-Fee/Saas Valley. Ringed by 18 4,000-metre peaks, the Längfluh Mountain and Fee glacier landscape offers endless chances for adventure that you imagined only existed in Alpine fantasies.
Intrepid travellers will love breathtaking adventure tours over Fee Glacier, snowshoeing past giant ice jags and glacier crevices to a panorama platform. Or embark on a Fee Gorge tour, where a guide safely leads you through the wild and rugged land past frozen waterfalls, across suspension bridges and on a high-speed Tyrolean cable pulley.
Alpine canyoning in Fee Gorge also offers the chance for cool weather thrills. But if you want to be truly wowed, visit the Mittelallalin, the first skiing experience to cover 1,800 metres of altitude in a single descent.
Sounds fascinating, but you don’t know how to ski? No problem. Saas-Fee/Saas Valley offers ski lessons at the village lifts — let your instructor collect you at your hotel, help you rent the equipment you need, and get you on the slopes in no time.
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Skiing in Saas Fee. Photo by Puzzle Media/Courtesy of Saastal Tourismus
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Saas Fee in winter. Photo by Nico Frerk/Courtesy of Saastal Tourismus
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Gorge Alpin. Photo by Filme von Draussen/Courtesy of Saastal Tourismus
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FROM LEFT: Saas Fee Village, photo by Amarcster Media/courtesy of Saastal Tourismu; winter hike, courtesy of Saastal Tourismu
To enjoy the terrain from above, book a winter zip line excursion. The area offers over 220 metres of lines through an adventure forest. After a quick training session, you’ll get your heart pumping by flying over the gorge.
For more relaxing landscape revelation, take an individual torchlight tour through the snow-shrouded Saas-Fee/Saas Valley.
Aletsch Arena
Become one with the Swiss mountains and feel true liberation in Aletsch Arena, home of the majestic Great Aletsch Glacier in the heart of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch.
Visitors love the location’s proximity to the glacier and breathtaking scenery in a car-free locale that truly feels like a world away and offers ideal winter sports conditions from December through April.
With skiing that challenges any level of sportsman, the area offers 24 4,000-metre peaks surrounded by blue skies, warm sunshine and views of the largest glacier in the Alps.
As home to the most impressive Alpine glacier, is it any surprise that Aletsch Arena has several viewpoints from which to enjoy the views? Visit Hohfluh, Moosfluh, Bettmerhorn or Eggishorn to feel truly awed by views of the 23-kilometre-long body of ice.
Hikers will love the area’s 72 km of hiking trails that lead through a silent white wonderland, complete with fresh mountain air and stunning views of Valais and the Great Aletsch Glacier. Or strap on your snowshoes and traverse the perfectly groomed ridge trail between Moosfluh and Riederfurka, widely considered among the most impressive high-altitude hiking trails across the entire Alps.
Whatever Valais destination you choose for your winter adventure will make your heart pound and leave you ready to book your next visit. To learn more about the Valais region, visit www.myswitzerland.com/en-us
Article sponsored by Switzerland Tourism.
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