Quiet Charm of an Alpine Village

The stream at the southern end of Saas Fee.

How could we let a summer in Switzerland pass without a trip to the mountains? So, my wife and I, along with another couple who are our long-time friends, looked at the weather forecast, found a three-day period of sunny weather in August, and packed up. Saas Fee (pronounced as Fay), a village in the Swiss Alps region, located at an altitude of 1,800 metres above sea level, was selected as the destination. This village, advertised as “the pearl of the Alps”, is one of the two in Switzerland where no mechanised vehicle is allowed to enter (the other is Zermatt). In both places, small battery operated vehicles ferry passengers, luggage and other materials. What distinguishes Saas Fee is that one can drive right up to the edge of the village and get a ride to the designated hotel or apartment. For Zermatt, one has to leave one's vehicle much farther, in a place called Tasch, and then take a train up to the village.

Wildlife: a marmot.

Google map estimates the driving time from Geneva to Saas Fee as 2 hours and 53 minutes. But we added a half hour break for tea/coffee at Martigny. The roadside service station there was on the shore of a small but pretty lake at the foot of a hill. So, we couldn't resist the temptation of taking a break. All of rural Switzerland is picturesque; but the route towards Saas Fee (passing by Vevey, Montreux, Martigny, and Visp) is particularly so. Starting from about Visp, the road started climbing up the mountain, and in places, the turns were really sharp. So, although the views with pretty villages on the mountain slopes, small streams and alpine forests were breathtaking, I couldn't enjoy it fully because I was driving.  

As restaurants stop serving lunch after 2:30, we promptly headed to the nearest one and had lunch. Although it was a little chilly for the time (August), the sun was out. So, we were able to walk with only a single layer of warm clothes. All four of us started together and headed south where the playgrounds, the golf course and the ski slopes were located. It was not easy to visualise the lush green golf course and the ski slopes get buried in several feet of snow in winter. Since we are not skiers, summer is the time for us to enjoy the beauty of the alpine valley. And within a few minutes, we reached the southern edge of the village from where one could have a good view of the valley which looked like a flat bottomed bowl at the feet of mountains of various heights. As we were walking at different speeds, we parted at that point and went in different directions. I went further south following the stream that was running down from higher altitudes. Soon I reached a point where it looked almost like a small waterfall. That was also the area where, I was told, one could see some wildlife including Marmots that live in holes under the ground. However, on the first couple of days, I was not so lucky to meet any of them. I guess, given the number of people walking along, the animals were too frightened to come out of their holes. But the bridge on the stream was no less attractive a place to sit and enjoy the environment. The only sound around me was that of water rushing down. And I enjoyed the sound of silence till the sun went behind the mountain. Although daylight remained for another couple of hours or so, the area around me was deprived of sunshine. So, I started to return to the village. But on my way back, I came across a huge area covered with purple wild flowers that seemed to have sprung out of the ground just to greet those who might pass by. In one place, there were wild cows with huge horns bent almost like a half-moon. When I repeated this trip on the third day of our stay, I was lucky to see one Marmot basking in sun and eating grass and flowers with its sharp teeth.

Wild flowers

We took cable car rides (there are several lines going in different directions) to go further up from Saas Fee and have a closer view of the snow covered mountains. The hotel had given us special passes with which we could have free rides during our stay. So, we merrily went up and enjoyed the breathtaking view of the snow covered range of Alps. A nice restaurant with outdoor seating arrangement made the place doubly attractive; and we enjoyed the view as we sipped the coffee of our choice. But in order to “earn” our coffee, we did take a little walk around the place which is at an altitude of 2,830 metres from the sea level. Given the altitude, there was no greenery around. But to me, the view of the snow covered peaks from such a short distance (see photo) made up for the rugged nature of the valley.

One cable car took us to a mountain called Hannig where farmers raise goats. The small valley at an altitude of 2,500 metres was green. And there were indeed goats. Children accompanying their parents were delighted to see them from close quarters; but there was a clearly displayed notice advising tourists not to feed the animals. Obviously, that was designed to prevent the animals from being overfed or fed something that would cause harm to them.

The museum showing the lifestyle of people in the village in the “good old days” before it had been touched by “development” and modernisation.
Three days passed very quickly, and the time came to leave the charming and quiet alpine village. As if out of sadness, the sky turned gloomy in the morning. Of course, the sun came out briefly to say good bye to us as we boarded the little battery operated car and headed towards the car park.

View of the mountains and the edge of the terrace of the restaurant.