Hiking in Salanfe, Switzerland

There is no doubt that Switzerland is a hiker's paradise. There is no dearth of scenic locations in Switzerland, and there are hiking trips of all difficulty levels.

This blog post is regarding our recent hike to Salanfe lake (Lac de Salanfe) in the Valais region. Like most Indians, our hiking skills and physical fitness levels are often found wanting on hiking trips; but the effort has always been rewarded by awe-inspiring natural beauty.

Transportation

The best place to start the hike is the campground of Van d'en Haut. You can find instructions to reach the campground by both car, and public transport here: (transportation link).



On the way to the campground, right after crossing Salvan

Hike

From the campground, the plan is to hike up to the small mountain inn "Auberge de Salanfe" following the well marked hiking path. The uphill climb takes around 1.30 hours with sufficient breaks in between. The climb is not too steep, but not flat either - so proper hiking shoes with sticks are definitely recommended, though not compulsory.

The hike also takes you up to the Salanfe dam - one of the many dams at very high altitudes in Switzerland - most of which were constructed during the 1950s.



Once at the inn, you can enjoy a relaxing lunch primarily of Swiss / Italian delicacies, e.g. Fondue. As can be expected, there are not too many vegetarian options; but the hosts there all speak English and you can ask them for the best "veg" option for that day. They do have chicken burger and fries on the regular menu which might be a life saver for those who are not strict vegetarians. The prices are comparable to Swiss prices - there is no "high altitude" tax fortunately :)




The inn is right in front of the Salanfe lake, so a hike around the lake is definitely recommended post lunch. Keep about 1 hour for walking around the lake, and another 1.30 hours for returning.

What we realized during the hike, much to our dismay; was that even hiking downhill was not as easy as one would imagine - especially when one is already tired after hiking the whole day. So do not take the return hike lightly, and definitely take that into account while planning your hike around the lake.

However, if you are still have enough energy left after hiking around the lake, feel free to wander a bit more to see the glacier. The glacier is not among the most impressive we have seen, but is still a glacier - if you have never seen one before in your life :)

Iceland - glaciers galore (Part I)

If you are only interested in the pictures (which is quite natural):
Flickr link

Iceland is a nature lover's paradise. Iceland is like reaching the end of the world, literally! If you are looking for a place far far away from the hustle bustle of daily life, and also away from the hordes of tourists  flocking the usual touristic hot-spots in summer, Iceland is the place to be in. Of course, this also means that Iceland is NOT the place to be in for tourists who enjoy crowds and look forward to the place's nightlife.

Tips:
- Don't forget to bring a good camera with you or you will regret it later (and don't tell us that we did not warn you!).
- Can get really cold during night even in Apr, so be prepared.
- All advertised tours do not operate throughout the year.  Tourism in Iceland is still developing which also implies that there are often too few tourists for the group tours. So please confirm beforehand with the travel agency who can then also arrange private tours for you (for an additional fee) if required.
- One of the primary attractions of Iceland is the 'Northern Lights' (aka Aurora Borealis) and it is mostly seen in winter. So this might also influence your travel dates.

Travel

Travel to Iceland is expensive. There are no direct flights from major European cities (Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich) to Reykjavik (the capital of Iceland). You will have to change in either Helsinki or Stockholm. Iceland is in Schengen, so while your Schengen VISA will be sufficient to visit Iceland - the trip would be very expensive esp. because of the lack of direct flights.

However if you are already resident in Europe or US and wish to take a transatlantic flight, then it might be worthwhile to lookout for discounted deals to visit Iceland. Because Iceland is almost midway for most transatlantic flights, they usually offer package deals which include spending a few days in Iceland in between.

Places to see

Iceland is a place of natural wonders. Simply driving along the country side is a visual delight (see the pics below).

A very popular tour here (which almost every 'average' tourist takes) is the 'Golden Circle' tour. The tour is not very costly (~70Euros per person) and it allows you to cover a lot of wonders in only half a day - so it is efficient both from time and cost perspectives. Highlights of the tour include:

Strokkur geysir (hot springs)

Hot springs are an interesting natural phenomenon and seem quite remarkable when you see them for the first time. You will basically see columns of water shooting high up in the air from time to time. There are actually quite many in Iceland (you can even see them close to the road while driving - the pic below) and we were told that there is some serious effort ongoing in Iceland to harvest this energy.  

One of the stops in the Golden Circle tour is the Strokkur geysir where you can see hot springs shooting water up to 30 meters in the air.

Gullfoss (Golden Falls) waterfalls

Another marvel in the Golden Circle tour is the Gullfoss waterfalls. We have been to Niagara Falls, however that in no way affected the impressiveness of Gullfoss for us. In a way, Gullfoss can be considered as the "wilder" cousin of Niagara. Surrounded by civilization and easily accessible, Niagara doesn't give you that "wild & dangerous" feeling. However, you very easily get that feeling here when the river Hvítá falls straight into a rocky crevice some 30 meters deep.

Kerið volcanic crater lake

The geology behind the formation of this volcanic crater lake eludes us now, but the crater is still quite deep and impressive. More scientific details here: Wikipedia.We understand that one of the specialties of this place is that the volcanic rocks are 'Red' here in comparison to the usual 'Black'.




To be continued ...