The Trient Valley from Martigny to Châtelard-Frontière and the Espace Mont Blanc
2 March 2024
The distance from Zermatt to Chamonix is 60 kilometres as the crow flies. The route by rail or road is about 140 kilometres. The distance of the hiking trail depends on the route and difficulty and is between 170 and 200 kilometres, but then you get something. Mountain passes, glaciers, numerous streams and waterfalls, valleys, flora and fauna, villages and towns and (with clear weather) the Matterhorn or Mont Blanc in sight.
The Mont Blanc
A combination of transport is also possible. From Zermatt, a train runs through the Matter Valley, and from Stalden ( the other split runs through the Saastal), it goes through the Visper Valley to Visp (named after the river Vispa). Along the way, there are several opportunities for walks with views of Switzerland’s highest mountains.
From Visp, a train or motorway goes to Martigny, with well-known places along the way, including Leuk, Leukerbad, Siders, Crans Montana, Verbier and Sitten and, among others, the Löschental, Turtmanntal, Val d’Anniviers (roughly the canton’s language border), Val d’Hérens, Val de Bagnes, Val d’Entremont and Val Ferret.
However, this contribution focuses on the much lesser-known stretch from Martigny to one of Switzerland’s smallest border towns, Châtelard-Frontière. This route in the Vallée du Trient is 20 kilometres long. This region is also known for the Espace Mont-Blanc project of France, Italy and Switzerland.
Picture: Espace Mont Blanc
Martigny
Martigny has a rich (Celtic and Roman) history and a rich cultural offering (including the Fondation Pierre Giannada, the Fondation Barry and the Médiathèque Valais). At Martigny, the Rhone bends to the north.
The Rhone on its way to Lake Geneva
After the rise of (English) tourism from 1850 onwards, there was a connection by diligences from Martigny to Chamonix, la Route des Diligences. With the railway construction in 1906, it became less and less important. This railway operated only in summer until 1935, then also in winter. Finally, the car made the diligence completely obsolete. However, remnants, including road signs and bridges, can still be seen at Le Trétien.
The road to the French border passes through the villages of Vernayaz, Salvan, Les Marécottes, La Médettaz, Le Trétien, Finhaut, Châtelard-Village, and Châtelard-Frontière, among others. Le Tour des hameaux can cover several hamlets on this route.
The battery of the SBB in Vernayaz
Vernayaz
Juste après Martigny, en direction de Châtelard-Frontière, se trouve la Vallée du Trient. C’est dans les Gorges du Trient, près de la ville de Vernayaz, que s’est déroulée en 1844 l’une des dernières batailles (oubliées) sur le sol suisse. Cette belle vallée est un lieu de randonnée idéal et se trouve à seulement 20 kilomètres de la frontière française.
Salvan
The first larger village after Vernayaz is Salvan (home of a Titanic cook and birthplace of telegraphy). The road through the Dailley Canyon (Gorges du Dailley) was built in 1895 and reopened to the public in 1995 after a renovation.
Les Marécottes
The village of Les Marécottes is known, among other things, for its zoo, the vegetable chou-rave valaisan (rutabage in French), which originated in Sweden (Rotabaggar) but has taken on a life of its own in this and surrounding villages. Jean-Charles Squinabol (1769-1836), a deserter from the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, settled in the village and introduced this vegetable to the region.
La Médettaz
La Médettaz
Even the hamlet of La Médettaz had a tourist accommodation in 1900, Pension de la Creusaz. Today, there is a campsite. The main attractions are the Gorges du Triège, the ski resort La Creusaz, and the artificial lake Combassas (created in 1898).
This village is best known for the Gorges du Triège (Gorges du Triège) and its many bridges (built in 1870), the route to Col de la Forclaz, and the Martigny-Chamonix route. The first hotel was built in 1888, la Pension de La Dent du Midi, then la Pension du Mont-Rose (1893) and le Chalet de la Forêt (1913).
Diligences and traders with their mules had been passing this gorge near the village for centuries. The most famous bridge on this thoroughfare is the 1808 stone bridge, which replaced the wooden bridge from previous centuries. The Jean-Charles Squinabol built this bridge.
The bridge and le sentier de Muletiers (1808)
The present-day bridge
The Gorges du Triège and its bridges
This road is included in the federal inventory of historical traffic routes (l’inventaire des Voies de communication historique de la Suisse) because of its cultural-historical value. The picturesque village is included in Switzerland’s cultural heritage (ISOS).
Former hotel and glacier du Trient
Finhaut already had three hotels in 1865; by 1913, on the eve of WWI (1914-1918), there were as many as 19 in this small village, partly due to its location on the Martigny-Chamonix (railway) road, proximity to the Swiss Alps, including the Trient glacier (Le glacier du Trient), nature and the Mont Blanc Massif.
La pension de la Croix- Fédérale (1860), Hôtel-Pension Bel-Oiseau (1879), le Beau Séjour (1892), le Chalet Suisse (1895), le Grand Hôtel de Finhauts (1896), le Mont Fleuri (1906), le Victoria ( 1906) and the famous Bristol hotel (1908), where, among others, Belgium’s King Albert I (1875-1934) regularly stayed, were the main guest accommodations.
Finhaut, Railway station
Bristol Hotel
The church and Chalet Suisse
English visitors built an English church around the turn of the century. After WWI and especially after WWII (1939-1945), the village could no longer compete with other winter sports villages and their modern facilities. However, it remained a busy holiday resort, especially in summer. Other attractions include the 1929 church, a successor to the old chapel from 1649, the old post office and le café de la Poste.
Châtelard-Village
Châtelard-Village is particularly famous for its dams and the Funiculaire. The Swiss railways (SBB/CFF) built the first hydroelectric power station to supply trains with electricity as early as 1917. Those visionary Swiss!
The hydroelectric power station of the SBB
They used water from the Barbarine, the Eau Noire, the Trient and the Triège. Vernayaz is home to the other power station and the modern battery. These reservoirs were extended by the Vieux-Ermosson in 1955, the Ermosson in 1955 and Châtelard II in 1977. On the French side, the hydropower plant at Vallorcine uses the Ermosson reservoir.
The hydroelectric power station Vallorcine
Châtelard-Frontière
Châtelard-Frontière (la Porte du Valais) owes its existence to the abbey of St Maurice. The abbot authorised inhabitants of Salvan to mine and inhabit the area in 1288. Valais was then a county with the bishop of Savoie as count and supreme secular administrator. Savoy governed Vallorcine.
Châtelard-Frontière, railway station
This border has not changed since then, except that the Duchy of Savoie ( part of the kingdom of Sardinia) joined the French Empire of Napoleon III (1808-1873) in 1860 after a referendum, and Valais has been part of the Swiss Confederation since 1815.
One of its first buildings was Madeleine Castl, built in 1323. Châtelard-Frontière makes a deserted impression today. The situation was different in the nineteenth century. Several Grand-Hotels were built around 1850, including L’hôtel Suisse (1840) and L’hôtel Royal (1875).
Unknown artist, 1793. Lithography de La Porte du Valais. Private collection
Châtelard-Frontière is also the transfer point for the local French train to Chamonix (and St Gervais). On this short route of about 11 kilometres, there are hiking trails and winter and summer sports facilities. But that’s another story.
Impressions of the surroundings
Argentière (France)
