ViaCook Geneva– of The first conducted tour ViaCook – Until the17 today’s ViaCookCulturalRoute. One was31-year-old JemimaMorrell,whosediaryisthebasisfor Geneva, throughtheValais andtheBerneseOberlandtoLucerne. Switzerland. Eightintrepidtravellersjoinedhis«expedition»from In 1863ThomasCookledthefirstgroupofBritishtouriststo 3 and remotevalleys. of theruralpopulationwhomshe foundlivingincrampedhovels only sceneryof«bewilderingbeauty» butalsotheextremepoverty natives, ofbaggagetransportandhospitality. Shementionsnot wittily expressed.Shewritesofobstinatemulesandcunning Jemima Morrell’stravelnotesarefullofaccurateobservations, to travelwithoutfamily. success, especiallyamongwomen,whoforthefirsttimewere able The conceptofwell-organised,lowpricedtourswasahuge Cook proposedhisfirsttriptoScotland;othercountriesfollowed. people. Thustheideaofpackagetripswasborn.Fouryearslater, which atthattimewasnormallybeyondthemeansofmany a largereductioninthepriceoftickets foraspecialrailexcursion, how hecouldmake useofallthesefactorsandin1841 negotiated new age.BusinessmanThomasCooksiezedthemoment.Hesaw more andareasoflife,therisingmiddleclass–heraldeda technical developmentslike therailway, therationalisationof nobility andadventurers.Changesinsociety–industrialisation, Cook travelposter, ca.1900(ThomasCookArchives) th centurytravellingforpleasurewasconfinedtothe

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Oeschinensee Kandersteg é m a n 1176 L Schwarenbach Lausanne L e Balmhorn Schweiz 3699 Gemmipass Lötschbergtunnel 2314 1402 3248 Inden Leuk Les 736 Brig 3210 R h ô 534 n

FRANCE e Sion 491 St-Léonard e n ô e h n R ô R h Annemasse Saillon Genève 375 Pont de Branson Vernayaz Riddes

Saxon Le Trétien 4505 Bonneville Martigny Cluses 467 Finhaut Légende Legend SUISSE 4357 Randonnée Hike Argentière 4478 Chemin de fer/tunnel Railway/Tunnel Chamonix- Grand Combin 4634 Mont-Blanc M o n t e 4314 R o s a Bus Bus 1037 Le Montenvers 1909 Chemin de fer de montagne Mountain Railway Mer de Glace N 0 10 km Lieu d’étape Recommended Mont Blanc ITALIA recommandé Stopover 4807 © 2012 swisstopo (BA120020 / BA120021) Journey stages Valley. Today therouteviaTrientValley isrecommended. Cook’s groupcrossedtheColdelaForclaztoreachRhone suggest ahike onthesouthernsideofRhone. At Martigny, Cook’sgrouptookthetraintoSion.Today we 1 the MerdeGlace. Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. Fromthereamountainguideledthemto Monday, 29June1863.Thegrouptravelledbycarriagestraightto 3 2 Rousseau’s birthplaceaswellthecathedral. Geneva, wheretheyattendedtheEnglishChurchandvisited to coverthissectionoftheViaCook.Thefirstdaytheyspentin days, orfordaytrips.IttooktheEnglishvisitorsof1863sixdays The programmepresentedbelowissuitableforatripofseveral         rd nd st train Riddes–Sion: 14min hike Martigny–Riddes: 5hr, 18km,uphill 350m,downhillm train Vernayaz MC–Martigny: 8min downhill 950m.Recommended: visittotheGorgesduTrient hike Finhaut–Vernayaz: 4hr20min,13km,uphill200m, bus andtrainChamonix-Mont-Blanc–Finhaut:ca.1hr downhill 850m hike LeMontenvers–Chamonix-Mont-Blanc: 2hr30min,7km, cog railwayChamonix-Mont-Blanc–LeMontenvers:20min bus Geneva–Chamonix-Mont-Blanc:ca.2hr stage:Geneva–Chamonix-Mont-Blanc(F) stage:Martigny–Sion stage:Chamonix-Mont-Blanc–Martigny 5 TheDaubenseeontheGemmi

Journey stages 4 . Thedescentmadeherthink ofastaircaseforgiants. Jemima Morrell wasenthralledbythespectacular viewfromthe their day’ssoak».Thentheyset offonfootfortheGemmiPass. At Leukerbad Cook’stravellersobservedtheguests«commencing and chalet-hotels»wasnear. Leuk; theirdestination,Leukerbad, the«summertownofbaths The Englishtouristswavedbrieflytotheinquisitivevillagers in waiting tobeexplored. the villagelanes.HighaboveRhonearemanyothervillages In Sierrethecarriagehaltedsotouristscouldstrollthrough out onthem. in thegorgeofriverLiène,althoughJemimaMorrellmissed Today’s travellersarefascinatedbythe«bisses»irrigationchannels 8 7 6 5       th th th th th hike Gemmi–Kandersteg: 4hr10 min,15km,downhill 1250m hike Leukerbad–Gemmi: 2 hr45min,5km,uphill950m downhill 200m hike Leuk–Inden–Leukerbad: 4hr15min,10 km,uphill950m, 500 m hike Sierre–Leuk:4hr15min, 14km,uphill700 m,downhill train St-Léonard–Sierre:7min hike Sion–St-Léonard:5hr, 16km,uphill350m,downhillm stage:GemmiPass–Kandersteg stage:Leukerbad–Gemmi Pass stage:Leuk–Leukerbad stage:Sierre–Leuk stage:Sion–Sierre 5 Gemmiroad,goingtoKandersteg

Practical information development of theman-madelandscape.www.cultural-routes.ch for tourismisan importantcontributiontothe sustainable (IVS). Appropriate restorationofthehistoric roadsandusingthem ding theInventoryofHistorical TrafficRoutesinSwitzerland of Switzerland.Theseroutesare basedonscholarlyresearchinclu- The ViaCookisoneoftheroutes ofViaStoria–CulturalRoutes ViaStoria –CulturalRoutesof Switzerland weather conditionsand1:25000 maps. including goodwalkingboots,adequateclothingforvariable You shouldplanyour tripcarefullyandtake suitableequipment Equipment shorten theroutesbyusingpublictransport(www.sbb.ch). breaks foreatingorvisits.Inmanyplacesitispossibleto The suggestedtimesareforguidanceonly, anddonotinclude Hiking times good headforheights. need tobesurefootedandforthepathupGemmihave a or medium.Namesofdestinationsareonyellowsignposts.Users network oftheSwissHikingFederation,thatareclassifiedaseasy The suggesteditinerariesusepathsincludedintheofficial Paths local touristofficescanproviderelevantinformation. The ViaCookispracticablefromJunetoOctober. Incaseofdoubt, Season www.viacook.ch Practical information 5 Kandersteg,Ruedihusguesthouse(1753)