Switzerland’s Secret Village Walk - Champery
2008 Itinerary
Day 1:
Arrive to Geneva airport and meet up with your driver to transfer by bus from Geneva airport to Champéry, just a quick 80 minute drive. Champéry is a lovely typical Swiss village located at 1100m above sea level at the end of the Illiez valley in the well known canton of Valais. With great views over the famous Dents de Midi and the Dents Blanches, Champéry will not disappoint. Plenty of nice restaurants, shops and bars await you as well as the Sports Center and natural springs. Evening dinner at the Residence and meeting with guides.
Day 2:
Today you will walk to Grand Paradis and up to the romantic farms of La Barme. The massive limestone mountain range of the Dents du Midi gives you spectacular views during your walk. You will have time for ample cheese sampling or tea time during the day before continuing up to Col de Cou on the border with France before returning back to Champéry. Allow 5 hrs.
Day 3:
After breakfast, you begin today’s walk with a cable car ride to Planachaux. You will experience the breathtaking views of the valleys and peaks that take on a grander scale from the air. As you walk the paths and trails to Croix de Culet and Champossin and possibly to the village of Morgins you will understand the way the Rhone River affects this area and appreciate why it is one of the two chief sources of wine production in Switzerland. Allow 5 hrs.
Day 4:
Today you hike up to the Cabane de Susanfe in the Nature Reserve and adjacent to the famous Dents de Midi. This area and these villages of Switzerland are still the same as they have been for hundreds of years – wild, remote, beautiful, and slightly unruly. You will see mazots (barns balanced on stone columns to keep mice out of winter food stores) and gain an appreciation for the nimble farmers who call these vertiginous slopes home. For the more experienced hikers, we can continue to the lake of Susanfe. Allow 5 to 7 hrs.
Day 5:
You will begin today’s walk by strolling down the Illiez Valley through the charming villages to Monthey on the valley floor. The shadow of the Matterhorn and the impressive peaks of the Dents Blanches will provide great views as you take in the splendor of the valley nestled among them. At the end of the hike you will have a relaxing train ride back up to Champéry, stopping off at the natural springs, famous in this part of Switzerland.
Day 6:
Begin the day with a walk across the border to the charming village of Avoriaz in France. After meandering through the village and having a short rest, you continue down to the village of Morzine, a traditional market town in the heart of the area known as the Portes du Soleil. Morzine is dominated by attractive chalets spread across a river gorge, bordered by partially wooded slopes – it is the most northerly of the French Alpine resorts (with the exception of the areas of La Grande Terche at St. Jean D'Aulps and Mont Drouzin), and weather wise benefits year round from the Mont Blanc microclimate. Afterward, you enjoy a scenic cable car ride back to Champéry.
Day 7:
Departure Day. You will depart at 10:00 AM from Champery back to Geneva.
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