Coming from Valais, the mesmerising Rhône Glacier is first seen from the tiny hamlet of Gletsch. This glacier is the source of the Rhône River, which flows the length of Valais, into Lake Geneva, then south to the Mediterranean. Still 8km long, the glacier has lost 1.4km of its length since 1870. Recent frightening calculations estimate it will lose 50% of its ice volume by 2050 and be down to 10% of the present volume by 2100.
© font83/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
19.3 MILES
This is the big one. At 3454m above sea level, Jungfraujoch is Europe’s highest train station: a once-in-a-lifetime trip, with views of the deeply…
17.97 MILES
If ever a view in Switzerland is going to leave you dumbstruck (and there are a few great ones to choose from!), it will surely be the infinite swoop of…
13.12 MILES
Gazing over the mighty Reichenbach Falls, where the cataract plunges 250m to the ground with a deafening roar, you can see how Arthur Conan Doyle thought…
1.02 MILES
Marking the cantonal frontier with Uri is the vertiginous Furka Pass (2431m), the run up to which offers superlative views over the fissured Rhône glacier…
22.71 MILES
Especially in the early morning light, you can see how the vaporous, 297m-high Staubbach Falls captivated prominent writers with its threads of spray…
22.49 MILES
These glacier falls are a bang-crash spectacle. Inside the mountain, up to 20,000L of water per second corkscrews through ravines and potholes shaped by…
13.03 MILES
Central Switzerland's tallest mountain, Mt Titlis, is known for the world's first revolving cable car. This was completed in 1992 and is still one of the…
17.11 MILES
The Aletsch Glacier is a mind-boggling sight and riverside Fiesch on the valley floor is a top place to access it. From the village, ride the cable car up…
Nearby Valais attractions
1.02 MILES
Marking the cantonal frontier with Uri is the vertiginous Furka Pass (2431m), the run up to which offers superlative views over the fissured Rhône glacier…
2.75 MILES
From the tiny Valais village of Gletsch (1762m; 10km to the Furka Pass), a steep 6km hairpinned road climbs north to the mighty Grimsel Pass (2164m),…
4.16 MILES
This 15km-long tunnel, opened in 1982, plays an important part in the history of the Furka Pass. It runs from Oberwald in Valais to Realp, 8km short of…
7.36 MILES
At Ulrichen, 21km on the Valais side of the Furka Pass, a clearly marked road turns southeast and twists its way south out of the Valais and into the…
7.73 MILES
The Hasli Valley is laced with 300km of signposted walking trails. A huge hit is this 170m-long, 100m-high suspension bridge, Europe’s longest and highest…
6. Museo Nazionale San Gottardo
8.94 MILES
Once at the top of the St Gotthard Pass, visit the Museo Nazionale San Gottardo, which covers the commercial, political and cultural significance of the…
10.92 MILES
This 2961m mountain, reached by cable car, attracts hikers in summer and skiers coming for the snow-sure slopes in winter. The region is also beloved of…
11.53 MILES
At the end of the Val Bavona, just after San Carlo, a cable car rides up to Robiei dam and its startlingly turquoise reservoir, tailor-made for a day’s…