Saas Fee summer holidays

Holidays in Saas Fee

Saas-Fee is quiet and rustic, complete with old barns and narrow pathways but there’s nothing quaint about the activities: hike hundreds of kilometres, get stuck into adventure trails and cycle a gruelling stretch of the Tour de Suisse. If winter feels a lifetime away, get your skiing fill on the awesome Allalin glacier – look out for the pro’s who practice here in the summertime. At the end of the day, recharge those batteries at the Kneipp hydrotherapy area and Aqua Allalin or tuck into some well-deserved Swiss cheese from the local dairy. Then there’s the scenery – up in the Saas Valley, at the base of the highest mountain in Switzerland with sights of 4000m summits, it’s pretty dazzling around here.

Highlights: • Views from the rotating restaurant • 350km of hiking trails and Nordic walking routes • Acclaimed for family and hiking holidays

Saas Fee Walking

The Saas Valley, along with the slopes of mountains like Allelin and Dom, is the site of 300km of marked trails. Walking and hiking are the best ways to explore the remarkable landscape, which was formed by thousands of years of glacier movement. The 9km Gemsweg-Plattjen route exhibits some of the area’s best features – lakes, waterfalls, forest – and it’s nicely varied to keep you on your toes. Another favourite is the Alpine Passes Trail (you can access two stages of it from Saas Fee). Stage 16 is a dizzying romp above the valley that’s exposed and precarious at times, but offers unbelievable views of the Weissmeis, Fletschhorn and Lagginhorn. Less experienced hikers might prefer the previous stage, which is shorter, has less variation in height and is a bit easier on the limbs. It takes in some gorgeous old alpine buildings and if you’re lucky, you might meet a marmot... There are gentler walking routes lower in the Saas and Lotschental valleys; 54 delightful Alpine chapels in the latter are great to tour around. After all that, find some relaxation for the soul and mind with the Kreuzboden Wellness and Pleasure Trail, a 1.2km route which features quiet spots kitted out with hammocks - perfect for a mid-walk kip.

Saas Fee Cycling

The highlight of the mountain biking season here is the Saas-Fee Glacier Bike Downhill Race, a lightning fast descent of 1700m that’s run completely on snow and ice every spring for roughly 9km. You’d be forgiven for giving it a miss – it sounds petrifying – but fortunately Saas Fee has 70km of cross-country routes that are a lot more manageable during the summer months. We love taking the Furggstalden chairlift and shooting down to Saas-Almagell. There’s also a great route that comes away from Kreuzboden, the other end of the gondola coming out of Saas-Fee. The unspoilt surroundings here mean that it’s a joy to whizz round the mountain on top class singletrack, whether you bring your own bike or hire one in town.

If you want to cycle the tracks of Cavendish and Co., the start of the 2014 Tour de Suisse went through Martigny, followed by a really testing climb from Saas-Grund to Saas-Fee. Alternatively, break the mould on a scooter-bike ride – there are 3 designated routes in the area including a 5.5km unpaved stretch from Hannig and a trail from Kreuzboden to Saas-Grund that’s twice as long.

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