Valais Panorama Bike 1. Grimsel-Reckingen
Obergoms
12/17°
On this leg, you'll discover the Grimsel water tower and the source of the Rhône, delve into the history of the muleteers and enjoy a breathtaking Alpine panorama.
Difficulty
DifficultLength
30.67 kmDuration
4:20 h
Description
Valais Panorama Bike (VPB) - stage 1
Depart from Oberwald by postbus and travel in comfort to the starting point at the Grimsel Pass. First pass the Totesee lake, then head west along the historic mule track. Worn stone slabs bear witness to the countless hoofbeats of these pack animals. A high mountain path with short ascents and descents takes you to the Üerlichergale mountain pasture, where you’ll follow a forest track to Ulrichen. From 2025, this descent can also be made on a magnificent singletrack. After a short break to regain your energy, it's time for the real challenge of the day: the ascent via Chietal to Moosmatte. Those wishing to shorten the climb can take the postbus to Kittbrigg or Ladstafel. Once at the top, a newly-developed singletrack takes you over the mountains to Flesche, from where you’ll descend quickly on a forest trail to the valley, before covering the last few kilometres along the “young Rhône” to Reckingen, your destination for the day.
Our favorites
Our favorite itineraries are part of a selection of the best routes in the region and are proposed by Valais/Wallis Promotion to best meet the expectations of our guests.
Turn-by-turn directions
The Postbus will transport you and your mountain bike from Bellwald to the Grimsel Pass in comfort. After the Hotel Grimsel Passhöhe, leave the pass road, pass the Marmot Park and take the historic path on the left. Walk briefly past the Totesee lake, then take the rocky, technical sections to the south-west.
At Nassbode, descend to the junction using an alpine track, turn right and follow this upwards via Unnerbodme and then Gämschfax to Üerlichergale. This road then descends gently into the valley to Ulrichen. On the other side, the historic pass road will take you up the Ägene valley in places, from Zum Loch to just above Kittbrigg. Approximately 60 metres before the suspension bridge, turn right and cross the new pass road onto the forest track to Moosmatte. From here, 175 metres of ascent await you as far as Chietal. The final descent via Flesche and Breite Wald takes you through larch forests on briefly steeper sections, before returning to the end of the valley, where you can have a relaxed ride on Cycle Route 1, alternating left and right of the Rhône, as far as Reckingen.
Start
Grimsel pass (2,164 m) (2161m)
Destination
Reckingen (1,327 m) (1315m)
Author's recommendation
Experienced sportsmen and women can take the Postbus to the Nufenen Pass, at an altitude of 2,478 metres, and follow a technically demanding trail back to the original route.
Technical information
Altitude
2238m
1314m
Ascent
+1200m
Descent
-2000m
Technique
Stamina
Experience
Landscape
Best time of the year
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Tags
Public transport
Approach
From Zurich: take the A1 motorway to Bern, then the A6 to Spiez and continue towards Kandersteg; use the Kandersteg-Goppenstein car train and continue towards Wiler.
From Geneva: take the A1 motorway to Lausanne, then continue on the A9 towards Brig as far as Gampel; continue towards Goppenstein, then Wiler.
From Milan: take the A8/A26 motorway towards Simplon; use the Iselle-Brig car train and continue towards Visp (Visp), then Gampel; continue towards Goppenstein, then Wiler.
Parking
Follow the directions for parking in Oberwald. For this leg of the Valais Panorama Bike (VPB), we recommend that you park your vehicle in Reckingen and get to Grimsel pass using public transport (regional train and post bus). Remember to reserve a place for your bike on the Resabike platform for the Oberwald-Grimsel pass bus line.
Source
This activity is brought to you by Valais/Wallis Promotion
