Top 10 Points of Interest & Landmarks in Canton of Valais, Swiss Alps

A monument for the mountain panorama The pedestrian suspension bridge, named after main sponsor Charles Kuonen, measures a proud 494 meters in length and stretches up to a height of 85 meters above the Grabengufer ravine in Mattertal valley. The bridge is intended to be a “monument for the mountain panorama”, whereby utmost emphasis was placed on interfering as little as possible with nature – a design that worked. The transparent construction of steel cable and wire mesh integrates perfectly into the environment. Working at a dizzying height, Swiss company swissrope finished construction of the bridge in only two and a half months by using special “assembly sleds”

The Simplon Pass (French: Col du Simplon; German: Simplonpass; Italian: Passo del Sempione) (2,005 m or 6,578 ft) is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont (Italy). The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland. The Simplon Tunnel was built beneath the vicinity of the pass in the early 20th century to carry rail traffic between the two countries. The lowest point of the col, and the lowest point on the watershed between the basins of the Rhone and the Po in Switzerland lies in marshland about 500 m (1,640 ft) west of the Simplon Pass settlement at an altitude of 1,994 m or 6,542 ft.[2] Rotelsee is a lake located near the pass at an elevation of 2,028 m (6,654 ft).

The Matterhorn Museum – Zermatlantis offers insight into the development of Zermatt. It shows the triumph and tragedy surrounding the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Here one is immersed in the mountain world of past generations: One sees how the people lived in Zermatt in the 19th century and shudder at the sight of the broken rope from the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four of the seven climbers lost their lives at that time. And one looks in wonder at “Theo,” the 16th century mercenary who did not succeed in crossing the Theodul Pass.

The mountaineers’ cemetery is a moving reminder of the accidents that have occurred in the mountains around Zermatt. The tranquil site is a memorial to all climbers who have lost their lives here. The inscriptions reveal that women and men from all over the world have died on the Matterhorn, Täschhorn, Weisshorn, Liskamm, Obergabelhorn and on the Monte Rosa massif. At the mountaineers’ cemetery, visitors can see the graves of about 50 climbers who perished in the surrounding mountains. Most date from the 19th century, some from the early-20th century. Grave of two climbers from the first ascent of the Matterhorn One gravestone is an exception. It commemorates two famous climbers who died naturally rather than on the mountain: Peter and Peter Taugwalder, father and son. These were the mountain guides of the first person to climb the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper. Only these three out of the original party of seven returned to Zermatt alive. The ascent, on 14 July 1865, was a success: on the way back down, however, four of the climbers fell to their deaths, including Michel-Auguste Croz, a mountain guide from Chamonix. His gravestone stands beside that of the two Taugwalders. Two of the English climbers who died on the descent were laid to rest at the English Church in Zermatt: D. Robert Hadow is buried outside, while the Reverend Charles Hudson lies by the church altar. The third English climber who lost his life on the expedition, Lord Francis Douglas, has no grave as his body was never found. Another tombstone in the mountaineers’ cemetery belongs to probably the most famous female mountaineer of the 19th and 20th centuries: Eleonore Noll-Hasenclever (1880–1925). She lost her life as she descended the Bishorn on 18 August 1925, carried away by an avalanche. Symbols of mourning Some of the memorial stones bear candles and flowers left by relatives and fellow climbers. In some cases, the stones reveal the causes of accidents: an avalanche, a rockfall, a crevasse. One memorial to a young climber carries a simple and striking statement: “I chose to climb”. The mountaineer’s own red ice axe adorns the stone, along with the US flag.