Binntal – Binn Valley – a beautiful nature park with countless hiking trails | Valais, Switzerland

The Binntal – also called Binnatal – is a small valley in the Valais near Brig. From the north the road leads over the Grimselpass or the Furka. From the south, the route leads over the Nufenen and from the Lake Geneva region over Visp towards Andermatt. Beware, mountain passes have different times of winter closure.

Access to the Binntal

From Lax the often one-way road leads into the valley. The journey through a long, straight, natural tunnel is also spectacular. However, since post buses also run here, there is generally no problem with the height of vehicles with roof tents or vans.

By the way: Post buses always have right of way. No matter where you are. If it comes towards you, you will need to look for an alternative route or drive backwards. In addition, careful driving in the mountains is very important. Many of these mountain roads are unsealed and have no crash barrier on the side.

Binn Valley

The valley lies at about 1400 m above sea level and in Fäld/Imfeld the end of the road is reached. Since there is no transit traffic, it is very quiet. The mountain stream Binna, which gives the valley its name, flows through the valley.

Camping Giessen

Camping is prohibited in the whole valley. But shortly before the end of the road in Imfeld you will find the natural campsite Giessen. It is absolutely recommendable. The site is located directly on the bustling Binna river. There are shady places, partly bordered by trees. Most of them have grass as underground. But often very uneven, so I recommend to take wedges with you. The sanitary facilities are very clean and newly renovated. Shower has to be paid extra and costs CHF 1 per 4 min of warm water. You have to pay 20 Rappen for hot water when washing up. The overnight prices are reasonable by Swiss standards.

Hiking tour Mässersee

Mässerchäller

From the campsite there is a path along the Binna river to Fäld/Imfeld. In Imfeld the time to the Mässersee is indicated with 2 hours. The path is very well signposted. After a few meters on the tarred road a mountain path goes off to the right towards Mässersee/Mässerchäller. A steep path winds its way up through the forest in zigzags, only interrupted by a forest road. The Mässerchäller is at almost 1900 m. Here there is a well with drinking water, a small private mountain cabin and a great view towards the Binntal and the wildly rushing Mässerbach.

Mässerbach – Creek

The mountain path continues uphill, but now also increasingly along the slope. After a while you cross the Mässerbach on narrow temporary wooden bridges. The green meadows and large stones on the brook’s banks invite for a picnic. The rushing of the creek has an inspiring effect on me and the place is well suited for meditation. I even found a small fireplace that would be perfect for a barbecue. But after a short rest and thousands of photos, the hike continues for me towards Maniboden.

Maniboden

The Maniboden lies at about 2000 m above sea level. A narrow mountain path leads from here to Mässersee. After about 20 minutes the Mässersee comes into sight.

Lake Mässersee

The beautiful small mountain lake is situated at about 2100 m embedded in the beautiful Valaisan mountain world. The view reaches the Stockhorn at 2585 m and the Schwarzhorn at 3108 m.

The lake is crystal clear and swimming is allowed in one part of it. However, bathing is forbidden in most of it. With good reason! Because Merlin’s grass grows here at a depth of about one metre. It is rather inconspicuous, but sensitive to treading. It is a very rare plant in Switzerland, which is why it is under nature protection. It is evergreen and almost 10 cm tall.

The green meadow around the lake invites me to a picnic again. No sound can be heard except the gurgling of the water and the chirping of the crickets. A blessing for the mind and the body.

Way back to the valley

From Mässersee the path leads back to Maniboden. From here you follow the circular trail in the direction of Imfeld and Grube Lengenbach. As before, a narrow mountain path leads over roots and rocks down into the valley. After about 50 minutes you reach the Lengenbach mine.

Mineral Mine

The mineral discovery site in Lengenbach is unique worldwide. About 150 different kinds of minerals can be discovered here, 30 of which are only found here. The minerals contain sulphur, arsenic, lead, thallium, silver, copper, zinc, mercury, cadmium, tellurium and tin. The deposits were formed about 230 million years ago by submarine hot springs. At the tapping place everybody is allowed to search for minerals by himself and take them home. Today, scientific demolition is only carried out in the summer months.

Finishing off at the Restaurant Imfeld

It is still about 20 minutes from the mine to Imfeld. After the great hike, there is nothing better than to refresh yourself with a cool drink on the terrace of the Imfeld restaurant.

Hiking time without breaks: approx. 3 hours 30 minutes
Altitude difference: approx. 500 m
Length: approx. 7 km