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On waterways
The new Pro Patria stamps are dedicated to the Valais bisses. Hiking along these historic irrigation channels, you can get an idea of just how hazardous their construction must have been.
Hikes along the bisses are varied sometimes idyllic and easily accessible, sometimes adventurous, with narrow paths that take you across spectacular slopes with fantastic views. There’s something for every hiking level: the rippling of the water is relaxing, and the kids can have fun with their games. And the centuries-old water pipes also tell their story of traditional en- gineering. The open water pipes are laid in the ground, cut into rock or suspended from steep rock faces, all to channel glacier water from the mountain streams to the pastures, fields, vine- yards or orchards in the dry areas below.
Bisse de Gorperi
Little rain and long periods of sunshine to make cultivation of the dry landscape of the Lötschberg south ramp hiking trail possible, the irrigation channels were created under the most difficult conditions. One of these is the Bisse de Gorperi, built in 1640. At an altitude of 1,220 metres, it carries water from the Baltschiederbach stream to the slopes around Eggerberg. You can follow its course through impressive gorges and over steep rock faces on a hike from Ausserberg through the Baltschiedertal valley to Eggerberg. The hike along the bisse is one of the most spectacular in Valais, offering an interesting glimpse into traditional irrigation engineering and beautiful views of the surrounding area. You can avoid some exposed stretches by going through tunnels so don’t forget your torch. But be careful the passage along the Niwärch bisse runs along a wooden walkway on a vertical rock face, so this is a hike that is only for the sure-footed with a head for heights.
Grand Bisse de Lens
Despite its extremely difficult passages, the 14-kilometre Grand Bisse de Lens was built in just two years in the 15th century in part to supply the surrounding vineyards with water. Like many of the Valais bisses, it runs along steep rock faces, and the hike from Icogne to Lens near Crans Montana is as adventurous as that suggests. The hike offers sensational pano- ramic views of the Rhône Valley. But you will have to negotiate narrow stretches protected by ropes and railings, at which point the risks and huge effort involved in its construction become all too clear. Here again, this hike is only for the sure footed with a head for heights.
