A haven for peace and quiet, awesome vistas, hearty country food, and outdoor activities
By Bob Bestor

Drei Tannen

At the headwaters of the Rhône river is a high Swiss valley of wooden farm buildings blackened by weather, breathtaking vistas, simple little hotels and a time-honored cuisine.

Here is an absolute antidote to the traffic and noise of European cities crowded with tourists. Starting at the east end of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) the auto (or train) traveler can follow the Rhône river to it's source, the Rhône Glacier, high in the mountains between the Furka and Grimsel Passes.

At Brig, the road begins to rise and passes through - and by - a number of interesting mountain villages including Fiesch, Ernen, Niederwald and Münster (all accessible by rail as well as car). This section of the upper Rhône Valley is known as the Goms (Conches Valley).

One could easily conclude it is a place that looks much as it did a couple of hundred years ago. The area is characterized by spectacular mountain scenery and rough wooden buildings which weather to a deep brown that makes them appear almost charred.

After about 24 hours in the Goms, big-city culture hounds will probably be bored stiff. But the connoisseur of peace and quiet, awesome vistas, hearty country food, and outdoor activities, will relish every minute of his or her stay in this unspoiled corner of Switzerland's.