Evolene

Evolene sits at about fourteen hundred metres in the Val d'Herens with the Dent Blanche and the Dents de Veisivi above, and it is known within Switzerland for something quietly unusual: the local women's costume is still worn by some residents on Sundays and feast days as ordinary dress rather than as folklore, one of very few places where the practice never fully lapsed. The village keeps large timber houses with the dark Valais patina and stone-slab roofs. Its carnival has its own masked figures, the Peluches, dressed in skins and sacking. Above the village the valley continues to Arolla under the glaciers, and the Pyramids of Euseigne are on the road below.

What you actually see

• Costume worn by choice - Sunday dress rather than staged folklore.
• Dark timber houses - Valais building with stone-slab roofs.
• The Peluches - the village's own masked carnival figures.
• Arolla above - the glaciers at the head of the valley.

When to go

June to September, or the ski season. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The costume is not a performance and cannot be requested - seeing it is a matter of being there on the right day. The valley road is winding. Facilities are modest. Winters are cold and snowy.

Nearby

The Pyramids of Euseigne are below; Arolla is at the head of the valley.