Saas-Fee
Saas Fee was not a place I knew about in detail before coming here. In fact in terms of names, outside the big cities of Switzerland, I am quite familiar with Interlaken, Grindelwald, Zermatt, etc .. these are big names. However, I was not familiar with Saas-Fee. Well I am pleasantly surprised. I can come back here over and over, although it is a very cloudy day.
Saas-Fee is often called the “Pearl of the Alps” as I am told by locals after coming here — and for good reason. It’s a high-mountain village in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, perched at 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and encircled by some of the highest peaks in the country, many topping 4,000 m. It sits on a plateau above the Saas Valley, with glaciers literally spilling down toward the rooftops.
Like Zermatt, Saas-Fee is completely car-free. Only little electric taxis and hotel shuttles are allowed. This makes the air crisp and the village very quiet — especially at night. I changed a few trains from Wengen to get to Visp and then took a bus just outside the station to get here. Took me little over 3 hours and 40 minutes to get here from Wengen.
It is raining from yesterday afternoon so peaks and top of glaciers are behind the clouds here as I took the cable car up to Hannig. Life up there is simple and perfectly balanced!
I took a panoramic cutoff the valley below. Clouds adds to the mystical nature of the valley.
Saas-Fee is surrounded by 13 peaks over 4,000 m, including the Dom (the highest mountain in Switzerland at 4,545 m). The Feegletscher (Fee Glacier) comes right down near the village. However lot of that is not visible now and I will try it tomorrow morning again if clouds clear up.
Down to the Village
Saas-Fee feels a bit more relaxed and traditional, which I like a lot. The old village still has wooden chalets and granaries dating back centuries, with the typical Valais darkened timber. In fact I took this picture as I was having a pint of Amber at Pubwise.
You can see the old and new side by side on this two pictures. Pubwise had a decent Amber for 5 CHF which for a tourist town is rather good.
Being in Valais, Saas-Fee is known for raclette, fondue, dried meats (viande séchée), and local wines. I wasn’t feeling hungry and it started to rain hard so I was going to get a bottle of wine and tuck in early.
I am told that Saas-Fee is in the Valais, the largest wine-producing region in Switzerland and since I like whites, I am recommended Heida (Païen / Savagnin Blanc) and Fendant (Chasselas). I got the second.
I thought as I have the wine with some Edamame beans (try it, you won’t regret) I should shoot some time lapse video of clouds moving over the village.
https://youtu.be/7hgsRI7McQE?feature=shared
Enjoy!
