Val d’Hérens 1- Pretty Village of Evolène
Val d’Hérens - Evolène
As part of
the excellent Swiss Travel System, inter-city bus travel was included on our
SwissRail passes. And like Swiss trains, we had to assume the 8:40 a.m. bus we
were catching would leave right on time.
After
breakfast and checking out from the Hotel du Rhône, we quickly headed for the bus station,
Thankfully,
our walk was all downhill this time, and we only needed to follow the
topography’s natural slope to find our way to the bus station.
It’s a bit
of a white-knuckle bus ride up the narrow, two-lane road that twists and turns
with tight switchbacks as it climbs out of Sion. The bus was equipped with
seatbelts, but we didn’t use them; if we went off the road, we probably
wouldn’t survive anyway. Besides, this was a regularly scheduled bus route, and
our driver (smoothly shifting a manual transmission while negotiating the tight
esses) was an experienced pro.
Val d'Hérens
is the steep-sided alpine valley of the Borgne River, a tributary of
the Rhône. The spectacular valley
was formed at the end of the last ice age by the retreating Hérens
glacier, and is a popular starting point for mountain expeditions.
The valley
extends from the Rhône valley to several high peaks, most notably La Dent
Blanche (White Tooth) at 4,357 metres, and La Dent d'Hérens (Hérens’ Tooth) at
4,171 metres. The road led right through a geological surprise, the
Pyramides d’Euseigne,
a series of
tall hoodoos capped and protected by big boulders.
Mireille
Millier Bourban, from Tourisme Val d'Hérens, met us at the bus stop for the
little village of Evolène, and drove us into town. In 2012, a regional
magazine, L’Illustré, elected Evolène the “prettiest village in
French-speaking Switzerland.” The village takes its name from “Ewouet leine,” a
creek running right through town that is slightly geothermal, and stays 10°C
all year ’round. In the ancient dialect still spoken around Evolène, the name
means “easy water.”
Many of
the local population, families that have lived and farmed the region for
centuries, have painstakingly restored and maintained Evolène’s old buildings.
Former haylofts and barns retain their dark, weather-worn exteriors, but have
had their interiors transformed into cozy chalets.
Christa
Gaudin, who works for the Evolène Office of Tourism, joined us on our stroll
through the narrow cobbled streets and passageways of this quaint old village.
We saw buildings engraved with dates as far back as 1693.
These
traditional homes have two halves: the north-facing half was always built of
stone (for cooking, and for preserving food in cold rooms),while the
south-facing was built from wood (to absorb heat from the sun for the living
quarters). Mireille and
Christa showed us around one historic house
with an open
fireplace in the stone half,
which
radiated heat via a ceramic stove into an adjacent bedroom once shared by the
whole family.
Have a look
at the beds, with slide-out kids’ beds to save floorspace during the day.
Our two
guides also brought us into the superb museum, Musée à Evolène. The exhibits
include local costumes that are still worn on special occasions today. Read
more here: http://www.museums.ch/org/en/Mus--e----Evol--ne
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