The Binn valley in the Swiss canton Valais is beautiful but rather unknown. But only because the crowds don’t flock into the valley doesn’t mean it’s not a wonderful place which offers some great hikes - especially if you’re a fan of rivers, streams and waterfalls.
One of the many streams you'll pass on the way to the Mässersee
The most common hike is the one to the Binntalhütte. But because I’m such a huge fan of water, I decided to hike to the Mässersee (Lake Mässer), a beautiful lake at 2130 meters above sea level. Together with my partner and mother-in-law, we started the hike in Binn (1400m). The hike starts straight away in the forest. Two thirds of the way leads through the forest, where you start off with some steady ascent and few views. Instead, I enjoyed the smell of the pine forest, the beautiful blooming alpine rose and the shadow on this hot summer day.
Once we got out of the forest, we got rewarded not only with wonderful views over the valley (you can even see the Aletsch glacier at a certain point), but also with many beautiful streams and rivers along the way. Apart from the lake, I didn’t know there would be so many others water sources, so they really came as a nice surprise!
From here you can peek into the Aletsch glacier from a distance
After about 2.5-3 hours we finally reached the highlight: the Mässersee (Lake Mässer). The lake is not particularly big, but very beautiful.
After taking a relaxing break at the lake (my partner even took a swim in the ice cold water), we decided not to turn back the same way, but continue further along the way. The path led us uphill from where we enjoyed a truly superb view over the lake and the surrounding mountains.
Afterwards the path took us back to the forest we came from via a wonderful valley.
In the forest we also took a different way back at a certain point. As the first part was rather steep, we decided to spare my weak knees and walk back along the road which is a lot more gradual.
On our way back we passed by Imfeld, from where we crossed over the bridge to Fäld, a tiny but beautiful, authentic Swiss village with wooden houses. From there we made our way to Binn along the river.
Fäld
