Gasterntal

The Gasterntal runs east from Kandersteg between walls that rise well over a thousand metres, floored with braided glacial river and boulder fields and closed at its head by the Kanderfirn. Getting in is part of it: the road was cut into the gorge wall, is single-lane with rock overhangs, and operates on a timed alternating system, so traffic goes up for a set window and then down for the next - miss it and you wait. Beyond the hamlet of Selden there is no road, only paths continuing toward the Lotschen and Muttenhorn passes. The Lotschberg rail tunnel runs deep beneath the valley. There is no permanent winter population, and the few inns close with the road.

What you actually see

• A timed one-lane gorge road - traffic alternating direction on a schedule.
• A glacial trough - braided river and boulder fields under thousand-metre walls.
• The Kanderfirn at the head - the glacier closing the valley.
• Seasonal habitation only - inns and huts that shut with the road.

When to go

Late June to early October. A day.

Honest expectations

The access road is genuinely narrow with drops and is not for nervous drivers; the postbus is the calmer option. Everything closes in winter and the valley is avalanche-prone. Facilities are two or three inns and nothing else. Weather turns fast at the head.

Nearby

Kandersteg and Oeschinensee are below; Blausee is down the main valley.