THE GORGES OF THE VALLEY

The Trient valley offers a unique opportunity to discover its four very distinct gorges, all equipped with boardwalks and linked by the Mt-Blanc Express train and postal bus service.
(All these gorges have been tested and rated by a person who is subject to severe vertigo, who’s opinion has been included for those it concerns.)



The Triège Gorge

The Triège gorge is a near-vertical gash in the mountain, a wild tumble of marmite pools and falls with mossy trees crowding its lip, Sometimes crystalline and serene, at others a raging milky-hued torrent, its water flowing wild under ancient bridges and wooden boardwalks that cling to the cliff-side where stone steps could not be chiseled into it.

Immediately accessible from the village of Le Trétien, which clings to its edge, it is also one of the alternative “paths” up to the Wild Association’s premises; offering light plays in the morning, cool shade in the afternoon, and becomes a place for dragon stories, trolls, and faeries in fog or sunlit mist.

How to get there:
Mt-Blanc Express to Le Trétien train station. Walk down to the road in the village upper hamlet, take it left and to the little cabin beside the old bridge that crosses the gorges: this is the entrance. You are also on the Via Cook, the historic stage coach trail.

What you should know:
• There is a small entrance fee (2 or 3 Sfr.)
• The gorges are directly accessible from the village road.

Please note: The road ends in Le Trétien, i.e., goes no further, neither to the next village nor Chamonix. It reverts to the historic stagecoach trail. as it was 150 years ago, and is only practicable on foot or eventually on a mountain Bicycle, from there on until Finhaut.

The Triège gorges can be followed all the way up to their source, the little valley of Emmaney, on the altiplano, its trail passing through an amazing variety of biotopes, including a mossy forest, wild rock tumbles, up a steep incline along a very tall waterfall, through smaller gorges, and up to a marshy altiplano area. At the top, drinks, simple snacks and fresh cheese are sold at the farm at Emaney.

You can enter at the bottom and exit at the top to either:
- Take the path back down to the village (20 minutes)
- Take the path up to La Crêta and back down to Les Marécottes through an ancient forest (count 1 hour)
- Take the same path and hike up to Emaney on the altiplano (count 2 ½ hours from the Association + 25 minutes from the village.)

The entrance “chalet” occasionally bakes pancakes and sells drinks. Drinks and snack are also available at the village’s general store.

Drawings of the gorges, village, and local wild life are for sale at the Wild Association, and information on local fauna, flora, and sites is free.

Subject to vertigo? Enter at the bottom beside the village, look upward, and exit at the top to take the path back down to the village. You will be fine.





The Trient Gorge

The Trient Gorge, which makes the Trient Valley one of the steepest there are, is the archetype of Canyon-like depth, its river having gnawed through rock all the way down to the Rhône river valley’s bottom. This is a tranquil world of water and rock only, where a flat walkway hugs river polished stone walls no more than 8 feet above its placid flow: a place where dizziness doesn’t come from looking down but rather from looking up, appreciated by those who get queasy at even the slightest height. It is a short, restful amble and very easily accessible.

How to get there:
The Trient Gorge’s entrance is a 2 minute walk from the Mt-Blanc Express “Vernayaz” stop.

What you should know:
• There is a significant entrance fee (8 Sfr.)
• This is the easiest gorge to visit. People with canes and/or slight physical handicaps find it quite negotiable.
• The entry point is also the exit point.
• There is a restaurant by the train station.
• You can also walk the old stage coach trail down to the Rhône river valley’s bottom at Vernayaz. From Salvan (count 3 ½ to 4 hours.)

Subject to vertigo? Absolutely no problem at all: Here the heights are upward, not downward.

A visit to the Trient Gorges can be coupled with a visit to the Pisse Vache falls nearby (postal bus from Vernayaz train station) where a small park with an easy, near level trail leads to the fall’s foot. It is very tall, and delicate like gossamer. Its name, Pisse Vache, translates as “pissing cow”, which has nothing to do with the quality of its crystalline water but rather the force of its flow.



The Daillet Gorges

…are an invitation to hugging thin air, resting on a suspended boulder, and troding on see-through step. More of a suspended cliff-walk in the open than a hike into depth, the Daillet Gorges offer awesome sensations with, at the bottom, their torrent arcing into rainbow spouts before plummeting into nothingness (it subsequently becomes, further down, the Pisse Vache falls.) Like the Triège Gorges, the Daillet Gorges can be hiked all the way up to their source, the Salanfe lake, up on the altiplano.

How to get there:
By train and postal bus: Mt-Blanc Express to Salvan, postal bus to Van-d’en- Bas. The trail starts a few meters from the bus stop and is indicated by a sign.
Walking time from Salvan: approx. 1 ½ hours.
Closed in winter, open May to October, depending on weather.

What you should know:
• No entrance fee: a donations box welcomes small coins for materials. Upkeep is by volunteers.
• Getting to the Daillet Gorges requires a 30 to 45 minute walk on uneven, sloped terrain. Walking stick or poles advised.
• Hold on to your kids!:The trail to the gorges emerges on an unguarded cliffside.
• To exit the gorges, you must return to the unique entry and exit point.

Subject to vertigo? Challenging: Either go with someone you trust and consider it a challenge.(There is no danger: it is just very impressive),-or then opt for any of the other 3 gorges.


…Black Head’s Mysterious Gorges

… are an invitation to coolness full of green on a mossy path where the trees soften a drop more guessed at than seen.

Here too, steps have been chiseled into stone, and stairway like ladders complete the mostly earth-bound path, giving way to a boardwalk only at the bottom, hanging over a little gorge so narrow and black it seems at first bottomless. The boardwalk leads to a boulder balancing over the gorge, with steps suspended on its underside. Under; a small, turquoise lake with a cascade feeding it. This is the Nymphs Grotto.

How to get there:
Mont-Blanc Express to Finhaut, postal bus to gorge’s entrance trail.
You can also walk from Finhaut (count 45 minutes)
Take the postal bus from Martigny, via the Forclaz pass.

What you should know:
• There is no entrance fee.
• Considerable walking is involved (count 1 ½ hours down, 1 ½ hours up.)
• There are 2 entry or exit points.
• No snack bar in the area: go equipped.

Subject to vertigo? A wall of green masks the drop, all the way to the botom making it. Quite acceptable to even those with seveere vertigo. At it's low est point the boardwalk is not very high above the bottom: nor is the suspended part above the tiny lake.


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