After a few days of rain and cold weather, such that the mountains were covered to below 2,000m (6,500ft) with a dusting of snow, I decided to take a walk down the west side of the valley to Sion. It’s a drop of 900m (3,000ft) but there are sufficient undulations to rack up a height gain of over 600m (2,000ft).
As you will see from the first few images below, it was a bit of a gloomy day to start with, but the sun soon came out. However, I was just beginning to think that there were very few flowers in bloom and therefore very few butterflies, when I came across a ‘hot spot’ (see pics 13 to 18), which included a first for me – the Cardinal Fritillary. And, just like London buses, where you haven’t seen one for ages, 2 or 3 came along at once. The Dryads were in abundance too.
When I reached the river bed, just before Bramois, there were two Buddleia plants doing there best to grow. As you might expect, this also proved to be a good place to capture a few more butterflies – including yet another Cardinal! Even though they are widespread in southern Europe, they seem to be confined mainly to the Valais region of Switzerland. Click here for a distribution map.
Storybook views! I love the balcony with flowers spilling out everywhere. Great shot of the motion of the waterfall. Thank you so much for this beautiful walk Mike! Really appreciate the escape!
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I recently discovered that I could alter the settings on my point and shoot quite easily, by turning the dial at the front. I never seem to get good pictures of running water, so I thought I’d try the classic ‘delayed’ shot. (I’m not usually a fan of them, but hey, you have to try these things occasionally). And I was quite pleased with the outcome, especially considering it was hand held.
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Lovely walk, love all those butterflies! The waterfall scene is gorgeous and I love the black stone of the family shot! 😉
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I’m glad you liked the photos. I immediately thought of that black stone of the family. It seemed strange that the builders had decided to put that one odd stone in there. I imagine they had a bit of a laugh to themselves when they did it. 😊
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Such a house was seen in a Hindi movie long ago, very beautiful.
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I presume you mean the Valère Basilica and not one of the wooden chalets(?) If so, you may be interested to read that there is also a castle called the Chateau de Tourbillon on another hill which is very nearby. Here is a picture I found: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/switzerland/articles/Sion-Switzerland-a-cultural-city-guide/
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Thnx , thnx alot sir it’s informative n interesting article 😀🙏👍
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I’m glad you found it interesting. Sion is the ‘capital’ of the Valais canton. Each canton (like a county in Britain) has a certain degree of autonomous rule – as does each local commune (or sub-division of the canton). Taxes are paid to each, very roughly 40% of the tax that individuals pay, with the other 20% going to the state, or Federal government. They each decide how to spend the money in their area. It’s an fascinating country altogether.
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