Recently I have joined the most popular weekend activity during summer here in Switzerland: hiking. With the Alps in such a close range, within only an hour car ride to bases above 2000m altitude and the amount of published literature on hiking trails, no wonder everybody does it...

We started about a month ago with a several light trails, one from Morgins up trough the forest to Savolaire Farm, a nice observation point for the famous Dents du Midi mountain range (left image). Dents du Midi range is visible even from the Leman (Geneve) Lake, towering above Chillon Castle, one of the most famous swiss landmarks. Another same easy route lead ...

Last weekend, from 20 to 23 of August we had a Japanese friend visiting us from Romania. She was very interested in natural beauty of Switzerland more than other things, but the weather had other plans. I had in mind some interesting routes, but remote places should only be accessed on perfect weather, as at high altitudes the weather changes come very fast and sometimes even dramatic. As the weather was unstable, I selected two locations which could provide some activity even on rainy weather: Leukerbad for Saturday and Gruyere area for Sunday.

Leukerbad, or Loeche-les-Bains as it is known in French speaking part of the world, is located under Gemni Pass in the Valais ...