Valley Of Derborence

Derborence is one of the wildest corners of the Valais Alps, a high basin tucked beneath the Diablerets massif above the village of Aven, in the commune of Conthey. The valley owes its landscape not to a glacier but to catastrophe. In 1714 and again in 1749 vast sections of the mountain wall collapsed, burying alpine pastures and chalets under a chaos of boulders and damming a stream to form the Lac de Derborence. The scars are still visible today, and the broken ground gives the valley its unusual look.

The disasters left behind an unexpected gift. Ground that was once farmed became too rough to cultivate, and the forests that grew back were largely left alone. Today the Derborence reserve holds some of the most natural, old-growth woodland in the Swiss Alps, with spruce, fir and moss-covered logs rotting on the forest floor, a habitat that is rare in a country where nearly every forest has been managed for centuries. The silence and thick vegetation make walking here feel quite different from more typical alpine meadows.

The valley also inspired literature. The Swiss writer Charles Ferdinand Ramuz set his novel Derborence here, drawing on the legends of the mountain slides and the farmers who lived beneath them. The story is part of the valley's identity and a reminder that the landscape carries real human history as well as geological drama.

Access is by a narrow, winding road that climbs from the Rhone valley through tunnels and rock galleries, and which can be closed by snow in winter. Once there, visitors find a quiet landscape of forest, rockfall and meadow, with the lake as a focal point and footpaths circling it. Rock formations such as the Quille du Diable, the Devil's Skittle, rise above the valley. In summer, walks range from easy lakeside strolls to more demanding hikes toward the mountain huts and passes above.

Expect chamois in the open slopes, many forest birds and, in early summer, a profusion of alpine flowers on the pastures. Weather can change fast at this altitude, so bring layers, water and sturdy shoes. The valley suits hikers and photographers who prefer solitude and a landscape with a story to a busy resort.