Wallis, a Swiss canton bordering France and Italy, is a true paradise for mountainbikers. You can enjoy steep hills, endless mountain roads, many single tracks and a lot of altitude meters - always in sight of the very well known peaks of the Western Alps like Matterhorn or Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger.

In this hub I want to highlight a few places where mountainbiking is particularly rewarding in front of a sensational scenery. I will also provide many links to local websites which most of them feature also an english version, so you get more info there if you like. For german readers, you can also read my biking and climbing reports on feltout - my travel and outdoor blog.

If you are more into hiking, you can also check my other hubs - Hiking in Austria, e.g.

Idea: You can get great offers of mountain bike equipment at Wiggle!

This tour starts in the Rhone valley at Grengiols (890 m) and follows a very long, steep dirt road to the Breithorn (2.593 m). It takes you 14 hair pin bends to climb that way up. From the hight, you have a perfect view down to the valley as well as many high peaks in the south.

This is the highest point of the tour, and you will head back to the small picturesque village of Binn (1.400 m) for a coffee. To get back to Grengiols, you avoid using the tunnel but follow the scenic old road through the gorge. Along this historic path you will discover outdoor art installations. The tour is about 50 km long and has some 2.000 m altitude difference. A perfect way to start your mountainbike week in Wallis.

Just at the other side of the Rhone valley and almost at the opposite of tour 1 to Binn, you can use the small village of Fiesch as a starting point for a great MTB tour to the longest glacier of the Western Alps. First, you'll climb up the green wall up to the ski centers like Flieschalp to espace the heat in the valley. Once there (which is quite an altitude difference with about 1.200 meters), you continue to drive east until you arrive at a tiny tunnel. This tunnel is dark and about one kilometer long, but it will save you a lot of energy - at the end you will enjoy one of the most marvelous views of your Wallis week. The Aletsch glacier is around 37 km long, and it's far end, you may have luck and see the trio of Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger, three very mystic mountains among climbers.

You will return to Fieschalp and then continue to Bettmeralp (a fast downhill track) and finally to the bottom of the valley. Some great single tracks waits for you!

The very well known and touristy Zermatt lies at the base of the most famous mountain of Switzerland, the Matterhorn. Zermatt itself is almost car-free (you will see only electro cars) and very busy during the winter and summer season as well. The best idea to avoid the masses is to take your mountainbike and to circumscribe the valley.

On this round, you will have to climb 2.000 meters in sum, and to head down on ski slopes (which is sometimes no fun to be honest because of huge stone fields). The highlight of this tour is the constant view of the Matterhorn from different angles and directions.

This is a very demanding MTB trip as you will have to climb up to 2.500 meters altitude difference and you will have to push your bike for some kilometers as well. Start is in Brig, a very agreable city with a lot of history. You will follow ancient paths up to the Simplon pass at about 2.009 m altitude.

Once there, take a deep breath and soon start pushing your bike again - this time most of the next five kilometers up to the small pass to get to the next parallel valley - the Nanztal. If you're lucky you will have to cross only a few snow fields, and maybe the road back to Brig will be open. If not, after a 10km downhill single trail, you will get off your bike again - and push it another 400 m up through thick forest. But then you made it - almost. Head down (take care, it's very steep!) and arrive in Brig in time for a great beer in one of the many outdoor pubs.