Viacook – the First Conducted Tour of Switzerland
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ViaCook Geneva–Kandersteg of Switzerland of tour conducted The first – ViaCook Until the17 today’s ViaCookCulturalRoute. JemimaMorrell,whose diaryisthebasisfor One was31-year-old andtheBerneseOberlandtoLucerne. Geneva, throughtheValais Switzerland. Eightintrepidtravellersjoinedhis«expedition»from In 1863ThomasCookledthefirstgroupofBritishtouriststo 3 and remotevalleys. of theruralpopulationwhomshe foundlivingincrampedhovels only sceneryof«bewilderingbeauty» butalsotheextremepoverty Shementionsnot natives, ofbaggagetransportandhospitality. wittily expressed.Shewritesofobstinatemulesandcunning Jemima Morrell’stravelnotesarefullofaccurateobservations, to travelwithoutfamily. success, especiallyamongwomen,whoforthefirsttimewere able The conceptofwell-organised,lowpricedtourswasahuge Cook proposedhisfirsttriptoScotland;othercountriesfollowed. people. Thustheideaofpackagetripswasborn.Fouryearslater, which atthattimewasnormallybeyondthemeansofmany foraspecialrailexcursion, a largereductioninthepriceoftickets negotiated useofallthesefactorsandin1841 how hecouldmake new age.BusinessmanThomasCooksiezedthemoment.Hesaw more andareasoflife,therisingmiddleclass–heraldeda therationalisationof therailway, technical developmentslike nobility andadventurers.Changesinsociety–industrialisation, Cook travel poster, ca.1900(ThomasCookArchives) Cook travelposter, Brig a s 4634 o R e t n th o Lötschbergtunnel Oeschinensee 3699 Dufourspitze 4505 centurytravellingforpleasurewasconfinedtothe M 1176 Balmhorn Weisshorn Kandersteg 4478 1402 736 Leuk Matterhorn Leukerbad 4357 Dent Blanche Inden 2314 Salgesch 534 Schwarenbach Sierre Gemmipass St-Léonard e n ô h R 491 4314 3248 Sion ITALIA Grand Combin Wildhorn Riddes SUISSE Saxon Saillon Schweiz 3210 467 Martigny 5 Les Diablerets Leuk Branson Pont de e Finhaut n ô h 1909 R Vernayaz Le Le Montenvers Trétien Mer de Glace 4807 Argentière 1037 Mont Blanc Chamonix- Mont-Blanc n a m Cluses é L e FRANCE L Bonneville Annemasse Légende Legend Randonnée Hike Lausanne Chemin de fer/tunnel Railway/Tunnel e n 375 ô h Bus Bus R Genève Chemin de fer de montagne Mountain Railway N 0 10 km Lieu d’étape Recommended recommandé Stopover © 2012 swisstopo (BA120020 / BA120021) 5 The Daubensee on the Gemmi 5 Gemmi road, going to Kandersteg 5 Kandersteg, Ruedihus guesthouse (1753) The programme presented below is suitable for a trip of several 4th stage: Sion–Sierre Practical information Journey stages Journey days, or for day trips. It took the English visitors of 1863 six days stages Journey Today’s travellers are fascinated by the «bisses» irrigation channels information Practical to cover this section of the ViaCook. The first day they spent in in the gorge of the river Liène, although Jemima Morrell missed www.viacook.ch Geneva, where they attended the English Church and visited out on them. Rousseau’s birthplace as well as the cathedral. Season hike Sion–St-Léonard: 5 hr, 16 km, uphill 350 m, downhill 350 m The ViaCook is practicable from June to October. In case of doubt, train St-Léonard–Sierre: 7 min local tourist offices can provide relevant information. 5th stage: Sierre–Leuk 1st stage: Geneva–Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) Paths In Sierre the carriage halted so the tourists could stroll through Monday, 29 June 1863. The group travelled by carriage straight to The suggested itineraries use paths included in the official the village lanes. High above the Rhone are many other villages Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. From there a mountain guide led them to network of the Swiss Hiking Federation, that are classified as easy waiting to be explored. the Mer de Glace. or medium. Names of destinations are on yellow signposts. Users bus Geneva–Chamonix-Mont-Blanc: ca. 2 hr hike Sierre–Leuk: 4 hr 15 min, 14 km, uphill 700 m, downhill need to be surefooted and for the path up to the Gemmi to have a 500 m good head for heights. cog railway Chamonix-Mont-Blanc–Le Montenvers: 20 min hike Le Montenvers–Chamonix-Mont-Blanc: 2 hr 30 min, 7 km, th downhill 850 m 6 stage: Leuk–Leukerbad Hiking times The English tourists waved briefly to the inquisitive villagers in The suggested times are for guidance only, and do not include 2nd stage: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc–Martigny Leuk; their destination, Leukerbad, the «summer town of baths breaks for eating or for visits. In many places it is possible to Cook’s group crossed the Col de la Forclaz to reach the Rhone and chalet-hotels» was near. shorten the routes by using public transport (www.sbb.ch). Valley. Today the route via the Trient Valley is recommended. hike Leuk–Inden–Leukerbad: 4 hr 15 min, 10 km, uphill 950 m, Equipment downhill 200 m bus and train Chamonix-Mont-Blanc–Finhaut: ca. 1 hr You should plan your trip carefully and take suitable equipment hike Finhaut–Vernayaz: 4 hr 20 min, 13 km, uphill 200 m, including good walking boots, adequate clothing for variable 7th stage: Leukerbad–Gemmi Pass downhill 950 m. Recommended: visit to the Gorges du Trient weather conditions and 1:25 000 maps. train Vernayaz MC–Martigny: 8 min At Leukerbad Cook’s travellers observed the guests «commencing their day’s soak». Then they set off on foot for the Gemmi Pass. ViaStoria – Cultural Routes of Switzerland 3rd stage: Martigny–Sion hike Leukerbad–Gemmi: 2 hr 45 min, 5 km, uphill 950 m The ViaCook is one of the routes of ViaStoria – Cultural Routes At Martigny, Cook’s group took the train to Sion. Today we of Switzerland. These routes are based on scholarly research inclu- suggest a hike on the southern side of the Rhone. 8th stage: Gemmi Pass–Kandersteg ding the Inventory of Historical Traffic Routes in Switzerland hike Martigny–Riddes: 5 hr, 18 km, uphill 350 m, downhill 350 m Jemima Morrell was enthralled by the spectacular view from the (IVS). Appropriate restoration of the historic roads and using them train Riddes–Sion: 14 min Gemmi Pass. The descent made her think of a staircase for giants. for tourism is an important contribution to the sustainable development of the man-made landscape. www.cultural-routes.ch hike Gemmi–Kandersteg: 4 hr 10 min, 15 km, downhill 1250 m.