The ‘magical’ Swiss valley steeped in myth and legend
In a Europe increasingly overrun with tourists, where idyllic little-known spots are almost a thing of the past, let me take you to a remote and beautiful Swiss valley, where the passage of time has made few inroads. Yes, it welcomes tourists, but it’s a word-of-mouth sort of place, with notably few British visitors.
The Lötschental’s upper valley is widely considered the most beautiful in the Alps. It’s known as the “magic valley” and magic – or at any rate, something unexpected and delightful – always seems to happen when I come here.
On my most recent visit in June, I arrived by train at Goppenstein, where the (free) postbus took me to my final destination at the top end of the valley. As I walked up the rocky path from the bus stop to the handsome old Fafleralp Hotel with its commanding view, I spotted a smiling lady holding the bag I had stupidly left on a station platform en route. Luckily it had been labelled with the name of the hotel; someone had found it and a series of kind people had transported it all the way, reaching the hotel before I did. Magic.
There are four villages in the Lötschental, plus a smattering of outlying hamlets, and each village has its own Catholic church, proud brass band and Grenadiers of God. As luck – or more accurately, Lötschental magic – would have it, on my latest visit church, band and Grenadiers were on parade together in each village, something that happens only a handful of times a year.
In Blatten, against a backdrop of old wooden houses, we slipped back in time watching Grenadiers and children dressed in white as they processed around the village, flags waving. The Grenadiers, in fact local men dressed to the nines in white breaches, red coats, plumed hats, swords and rifles, derive from the days when impoverished Lötschentalers went to fight in the Napoleonic wars and returned with their uniforms, which were carefully preserved.
Cut off except by mountain paths until the 20th century, this remote valley is steeped in myth and legend. Amongst the many well signposted mountain biking and hiking trails is an easy yet spectacular route, good for families, from the Lauchernalp cable car to Fafleralp where various legends are explained along the way.
In the not-so-distant past, the narrow, deep-sided 18-mile-long valley north of the Rhone in the German-speaking part of Valais, was a true prisoner of geography. Cut through by the wild river Lonza, the valley is a cul-de-sac, sealed by a glacier at its end with a narrow entrance at Goppenstein that was blocked early in the season by snow. Now, of course, you can drive in and out while downhill skiing is restricted to the pistes above Lauchernalp, reached by a cable car from the valley floor at Wiler.
Otherwise, the Lötschental remains unscarred by lifts and pistes. Part of the Unesco World Heritage Jungfrau-Aletsch region, it is overlooked by the 3,934-metre high Bietschhorn mountain, first climbed in 1859 by Sir Leslie Stephen, father of Virginia Woolf. Accompanied by two local guides, his was one of the early feats of alpinism, commemorated in his classic of mountaineering, The Playground of Europe.
Low-key tourism as well as forest management now sustains the Lötschentalers, few of whom stray from the valley to live elsewhere. “My mother’s childhood, before winter and summer sports were established here, was very tough,” one local, Lilian, told me. “Now we have work and life here is good, but we are still proud of our traditions.”
In this cosy valley enfolded by the grandeur of the Alps, a sense of peace and security is palpable. On my visit this summer, I was alone as I hiked through shady woods, and across lush hillsides thickly carpeted with bright green meadows patterned with millions of wild flowers.
This time I spent just four nights in the magic valley. But as I dragged myself away, I felt exercised, refreshed and restored. At Goppenstein, the magic ends – and I was careful not to lose my belongings once the Lötschental’s spell had been broken.
Essentials
Swiss offers flights to Geneva from various regional airports from £54 one way. Frequent trains connect Geneva Airport to Goppenstein.
Fiona Duncan was a guest of Lötschental Tourismus, through which all accommodation and activities can be booked.
Double rooms at Hotel Fafleralp – celebrated for its patronage in the 1950s by Swiss resident Charlie Chaplin – cost from £200 per night, including breakfast.
Doubles at third-generation Hotel Edelweiss in Blatten cost from £170, including breakfast.
Dani and Karin Ritler’s handmade glamping huts – each sleeping six, with wood-fired ovens, cupboard beds for the kids and candlelight instead of electricity – cost from £216 per night. The latter can also be booked through Feather Down. For more information, see myswitzerland.com.