In the Valais, cable cars are part of public transportation. We are taking advantage of this and hop on the gondola to the village of Unterems after the ride along the Rhone to Turtmann. For the rest of the ascent it takes muscle power. We pass Ergisch and struggle up to Tschorr, bit by bit. The flora here is completely different than yesterday in the areas with southern exposure between Crans-Montana and Leuk. The forest is much greener, the meadows are visibly more luscious and the dry pines have been replaced by moss and ferns.

But the Wallis Panorama Bike route would not live up to its name if it didn’t offer a fantastic all-around view every day. The Bietschhorn towers into the sky on the opposite side, on the left you see the Wildstrubel area and further back is the Finsteraarhorn region. Up and down it continues – on trails but primarily on gravel roads– to the village of Zeneggen. Here awaits an unobstructed view of the next peak: the Dom. The majestic mountain is the highest peak located entirely in Switzerland and forms the backdrop of the downhill ride to the Visper Valley. Along the small river we coast into Visp, which has developed into a mountain bike magnet in the Valais – and rightfully so, as the Wallis Panorama Bike route clearly shows.