Monday, August 8, 2016

Gorges du Durnand

Champex-Lac is the midway point on the CCC route and we spent a couple of nights nearby while Daniel did some training. It is accessed by an incredibly steep and winding road and we discovered that just off the road is a hidden valley with the Gorges du Durnand. The gorge was made accessible in 1877 and is ranked in the top ten most beautiful gorges in Europe!

We have visited a few gorges recently (Aare, DiosazChauderon), but this one was something special. It is accessed by wooden walkways and stairs (330 steps in total) which hang steeply over the raging torrent below. The climb up the 'floating stairs' is an adrenalin-inducing ascent, and even though we completely trust Swiss engineering, we felt the magnetic pull of the water down below! There are 14 cascades along the route accessible to the public, and visitors who make it to the top will be hard pressed to say whether it was the falls or the climb that took their breath away!

Waterfalls and wooden walkways
A very steep climb!
See some of the 330 steps up the side of the gorge

Beautiful cascades plunging into pools

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