These same 4,000-plus metre peaks protect central Valais' terraced vineyards that green the dramatic Rhône Valley's south-east facing slopes. Meanwhile, in the exposed alpine pastures of German-speaking upper Valais, native breeds like Valais Blacknose sheep and horn-locking Herens cattle clang their bells in the shadow of the Alps. The alluvial soils of lower Valais' gentler slopes are carpeted with fruit orchards, where some 70 varieties of apricots ripen in the region's Mediterranean-like summers. Switzerland may be dubbed "Europe's water tower", but one region, the Valais in south-western Switzerland, has historically endured aridity exacerbated by the foehn, a notoriously dry, warm wind found here.īordering Italy to the south and France to the west, the L-shaped region stretches from the mighty Matterhorn to Lake Geneva. It was a perilous job that cost lives – but spared one corner of Switzerland from near drought. The 15th- Century Rhône Valley farmers and vintners who dared to build these suspended irrigation channels had nothing more than a shovel, pickaxe and worn ropes. It was only thanks to the mounted guardrails and safety nets that we could walk the 6km-long trail – known as Torrent Neuf – at all. Tacked on to a sheer rock face, a series of weathered wooden channels led our hiking group across vertical cliffs at a dizzying 1,200m.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |