Heimischgarte-Trail
Saas-Balen
2/8°
ClosedOn the Heimischgarte Trail, the Saastal shows its calm side. This wonderful snowshoe hike above Saas-Balen leads through the snow-covered natural forest reserve «Löübinobodme» with views of the breathtaking mountain and glacier landscape.
Difficulty
DifficultLength
9.13 kmDuration
4:00 h
Description
The trail begins in Saas-Balen, the smallest of the four Saas mountain villages. The path initially follows the forest road uphill along the valley to the 40-meter-high Fellbach waterfall. This offers an impressive natural spectacle, especially fascinating in very cold winters as a spectacular ice column. Over the small bridge, it continues uphill until the trail veers right onto the hiking path after about 500 meters. From here, it goes uphill in several switchbacks. At Ze Gartu, the most challenging part is overcome. The path becomes flatter and leads through snow-covered larch forests to the Alp Heimischgarte. At the old Walser settlement, a breathtaking view opens up to Saas-Fee and the impressive mountain backdrop of the Saastal. At the Heimischgarte chapel, it is worth taking a break and letting your gaze wander over the wintery Saastal. At the southern end of the valley lies the Mattmark dam, the largest earthen dam in Europe.
From Heimischgarte, the approximately 5 km descent to Saas-Grund follows. Across snow-covered alpine meadows, it goes down to the rustic hamlets of Obru Brend and Unnru Brend. After the houses of Unnru Brend, the path enters the forest and leads through the natural forest reserve «Löübinobodme». With a bit of luck, native wildlife can be spotted among the pines over 400 years old. Over the forest clearing of Alp Bodme, the trail continues to the whitewashed St. Josef chapel. Here you can enjoy the magnificent view again of the glacier landscape of the Saastal. Afterwards, the descent to Saas-Grund follows, where the trail ends.
Turn-by-turn directions
Start
Dorfplatz, Saas-Balen (1486m)
Destination
Saas-Grund valley station (1553m)
Author's recommendation
- At Rittmal, there is the possibility to descend directly to Saas-Balen via the Tewaldji Trail.
Technical information
Altitude
2090m
1487m
Ascent
+602m
Descent
-520m
Stamina
Experience
Landscape
Best time of the year
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Tags
Public transport
Take the SBB train to Visp and change there to the post bus towards Saas-Fee (Bus 511). Get off in Saas-Balen at the Dorf stop.
Approach
The Saastal is easily and conveniently accessible by car from all directions, whether from Switzerland or abroad. From the north you reach us via Bern through the Lötschberg car shuttle. From the east you come via the Furka Pass or the Furka car shuttle. From the south we are accessible via the Simplon Pass or the Simplon car shuttle and from the west you drive via Lausanne along the Rhone Valley to Visp and from there towards Saas-Fee.
From Visp drive south towards Saas-Fee. At the "Killerhof" roundabout near Stalden, take the second exit towards Saas-Fee and follow the main road to Saas-Balen.
Parking
After the bridge, the public parking lot of Saas-Balen is on the right.
Source
This activity is brought to you by Saas-Fee/Saastal. Valais/Wallis Promotion is not responsible for the content provided.