Trail “A story of water”

In the middle of the 20th century, thousands of workmen dug the bed of a giant underground river. Meltwater from 35 glaciers is channelled along this,via a main collector, to the Grande Dixence dam.The digging of the Bertol tunnels to supply water from Ferpècle and Arolla to the main collector occupiesa special place in the mythology of major building projects.

This trail is dedicated to that site and to the workmen who built it. Its course is marked out by
photographs and explanations of the work carried out between 1951 and 1963. The remains that you will see bear witness to this fantastic epic.

The brochure is available at the dam information centreinformation du barrage – version pdf (FR)

Length4.19 kilometres
Travel timeapprox. 2½ hrs. (for the outward journey)
Vertical rise420 metres
Difficultymedium
Cookie policy
By continuing to browse this site, you agree to the use of cookies to improve your user experience and for the generation of visit statistics. You can customise the use of cookies using the buttons below.
My preferences
x Winter closure The Grande Dixence site is closed until early June 2025. Please do not hesitate to contact us : visites@grande-dixence.ch