Valleys of Valais: Lötschental and Belalp

The Lötschental (Lonza Valley) is the longest valley in Valais north of the Rhone River. The Lonza travels 27 km (17 mi) through a valley surrounded by peaks well over 3,000 metres.

The trike gives us great views of meadows on the slopes of hulking mountains such as the Breitlauihorn.

With the trike, we get to see places not accessible by car. Many alpine villages in Switzerland are only accessible by trail or tramway, such as Weissenried, a very traditional-looking hamlet comprised of chalets that are often centuries old.

The trike also navigates through larger¹ villages with some road access such as Blatten, but even here most of the houses and chalets are quite condensed. As the trail above Blatten climbs into the Firtwald forest, one gets an aerial view of Blatten.

At the north end of the Street View trike’s Lötschental journey is Tellistafel, where a small group of cabins are framed by the glaciers of the mountain known as the Tellihorn.

Crossing over the Nesthorn from the Lötschental, we enter the resort area of Belalp, another village accessible only by trail or tram. East of the main village, we get a close-up view of the Bruchegg ski lift.

Along the Belalp trail are numerous houses and chalets clinging to the mountainside hundreds of metres above the valley bottom.

At the east end of the Belalp trail, the journey ends at the Hotel Belalp, a luxury hotel and restaurant which dates back to 1906.

Next door to the hotel is the Church of Aletschbord. A quick turn to the right, and the view opens up toward the valley of the Massa River.

Both Belalp and the Lötschental lie at two ends of the largest glacier in the Alps, the 120 km2 (46 sq mi) Aletsch. At the top of the glacier is the Jungfraujoch ridge. At 3,471 m (11,388 ft), the ridegetop is accessible from the north side by a railway built entirely inside mountain tunnels, but those coming from Belalp and the Lötschental must hike the massive glacier² to reach the Jungfraujoch. At the top, a small observatory sits alone, from which visitors can enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view. Lush green valleys reach out to the north; a stark contrast to the massive Aletsch, whose icefields stretch into the horizon.