We took it easy on our first day in Vals, exploring the surroundings of the beautiful Zervreilasee (Zervreila lake). After the long rainy and lazy spring, I didn’t want to exhaust myself on the first day of our trip. But the second day we decided to make a bigger effort and look for some nice views. Once we were sure that the snow wasn’t going to be an impediment, we headed again to Zervreila lake to start one of the prettiest routes in the valley: the drei Seen Wanderung, the trail of the three lakes of Vals.
When we started the ascension to the first lake, only a few clouds adorned the sky. I stopped for a few minutes to take a few more shots of the Zervreilahorn reflected on the lake before we headed to the little chapel of the previous day. But once we arrived there, instead of continuing the easy path along the Zervreilasee, we hiked up until we reached the first of the lakes: Guraletschsee, a little lake formed at the moraine at the front of the now disappeared Fanellagletcher. But before we reached the lake, I could see a little brown furry thing moving in one of the snow patches in the area: a marmot!! It was just a brief encounter, but I could get close enough to take some photos of this funny animal. After that, we continued our trail on the slopes of Guraletschhorn until we reached a beautiful green pasture full of alpine flowers. Here, we saw a lot more marmots, playing, casually walking on the green pastures, eating flowers… It was a really fun sight! After a few more photos of the marmots, we reached the second lake, the small and dark Ampervreilasee. On our way to the third lake, the clouds surrounded us and it started raining and hailing (luckily, we learnt our lesson in Zermatt last year and this time we were prepared for this changing mountain weather). Fortunately, it was a brief summer storm and the clouds started to open soon, giving the landscape a very dramatic look with the fluffy white clouds covering the valley below us. We continued then our hike and reached the third lake, the small and crystalline Selvasee.
After enjoying the returning sun in Selvasee for a few minutes, we started our descent to the Peil valley, where we passed a few Alpine farms and got to meet the more than 200 goats of Geissalp Peil while they were doing their daily travel from the alpine pastures to their farm. From there, we walked a few more kilometers following the river Peil (Peilbach) until we reached the town of Vals at the bottom of the valley.
As you’ll see in the photos, it was a long and beautiful hike, with many different sights and funny encounters with wild and farm animals along the way. And the best part, the ascension didn’t tire me as much as I imagined it would… And now that I know I can endure some long hikes, I’m more looking forward than ever to spend all summer weekends in the mountains again! 🙂
Zervreilahorn. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 42mm f/11 1/320sec. ISO160
The chapel, the lake and the mountain. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 55mm f/11 1/250sec. ISO100
Alpine flowers. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 55mm f/22 1/160sec. ISO100
The Marmot and the waterfall. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 400mm f/5.6 1/200sec. ISO250
Marmot. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 400mm f/5.6 1/250sec. ISO250
Reflections in Guraletschsee. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 50mm f/11 1/320sec. ISO100
Guraletschsee. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/320sec. ISO100
Panoramic views of Zervreilasee. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 50mm f/11 1/500sec. ISO100
Marmots. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 400mm f/5.6 1/1000sec. ISO250
Marmot. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 400mm f/5.6 1/640sec. ISO320
Ampervreilsee. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/100sec. ISO100
Zervreilahorn in the clouds. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 400mm f/11 1/3200sec. ISO100
Little cabin in the clouds. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 100mm f/11 1/1000sec. ISO320
Selvasee. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/1000sec. ISO100
Young ladies. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 35mm f/11 1/640sec. ISO320
Swiss cows. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/11 1/640sec. ISO320
Alp Selva farm and the Peil valley. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 50mm f/11 1/200sec. ISO100
The goats of Peil. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/5.6 1/640sec. ISO320
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