ViaCook Geneva–Kandersteg of Switzerland 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
5 Leuk
Oeschinensee Kandersteg é m a n 1176 L Schwarenbach Lausanne L e Balmhorn Schweiz 3699 Gemmipass Lötschbergtunnel Wildhorn 2314 Leukerbad 1402 3248 Inden Leuk Les Diablerets Salgesch 736 Brig 3210 R Sierre 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 Weisshorn Trétien 4505 Bonneville Martigny Cluses 467 Finhaut Dent Blanche Légende Legend SUISSE 4357 Randonnée Hike Argentière Matterhorn 4478 Chemin de fer/tunnel Railway/Tunnel Chamonix- Dufourspitze 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 Gemmi Pass. 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)