Vines in Salgesch
Valais nature – an immeasurable natural wealth
Anyone traveling to Valais for the first time will probably be overwhelmed by the sight of the landscape that opens up before their eyes. Countless majestic peaks, including no fewer than 45 higher than 4,000 m and certainly one of the most famous Swiss peaks, the Matterhorn, line the fertile Rhone Valley, whose river gave the valley its name, like an avenue. It is a nature of contrasts. While the temperatures down in the valley can climb to 40 degrees in summer and produce high-quality wines in the vineyards year after year, the mountain villages attract visitors with moderate temperatures and are the ideal starting point for discovering numerous natural spectacles of a special kind in Valais. Emerald-green mountain lakes, in which the particularly brave can cool off from the heat in summer, imposing glaciers such as the Aletsch Glacier, in which even wine is stored until it is fully ripe, or alpine gardens, which not only enchant insects with their variety of plants, are just a small selection of what there is to discover in the Valais mountain regions.
But of course nature has much more to offer. The two regional nature reserves of Binntal and Pfyn-Finges in the valley are home to boundless forests and numerous geological sites. Shady gorges invite you to discover the immense power of water, the man-made watercourses, called “Suonen” in Valais German, accompany the hiker through lush meadows and along the slopes, from which the wonderful view of the countless vineyards opens up from Salgesch towards Martigny. Valais nature is also Valais viticulture. The canton is the largest and most important wine-growing canton in Switzerland, and a discovery tour through this part of Valais nature is highly recommended to every visitor for two good reasons. On the one hand, the vineyards are easy to discover on foot or by bike. And on the other hand, it is almost impossible not to stop by a winery to taste a wine or two, such as Adrian & Diego Mathier Nouveau Salquenen, the three-time Swiss winemaker of 2018, 2011 and 2007.
