Easy to access, but with a feeling of real remoteness. This is the largest valley on the northern side of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais, with a relatively small population of only 1500 people – and sadly, you probably have heard of it because of the landslide that covered the northern end of the valley in May 2025.
The Lötschental was likely first settled during the Roman period, but remained largely cut off from the outside world – a remote and difficult to access place, especially during the winters. The railway, and eventually a road, came in during the 20th century.
We love the small towns and historic architecture, including creepy mask carving traditions. Blatten in particular has a ‘place that time forgot’ energy about it. The skiing was excellent and we’d recommend the area for a summer hiking trip.
Lodging & Food in Blatten (the part covered by the landslide)
- We’ve stayed at **Hotel Edelweiss in Blatten several times – Galen actually stayed twice as a child. It’s friendly and remodeled (we are consistently pleasantly surprised), with a sauna that fits about five. Rooms are a bit small, get one of the larger options. The restaurant is good (on our 2024 trip, even better than we remembered) and the staff pleasant and engaging.
- **Hotel Breithorn, also in Blatten, has been remodeled recently and has cozy, well-appointed rooms. The restaurant is also good, aiming a little fancier than the Edelweiss.
To do in the summer – stay (or eat) at the fancy new hiking hut Anenhutte – a two hour hike from Blatten up the valley.
Ski Notes (**Lauchernalp ski area)
Steep! No crowds, great views. Very high elevation (3100M at the top, mid-mountain is about 2000M). All above tree line, wide open, great off piste and multiple, very long, steep piste runs. It’s extremely secluded and it appears only locals know about it. Very good late season spot.
On the hill, **Berghaus is a good lunch spot, tasty food with a view overlooking the valley. There are also a variety of “drinking huts” for breaks next to the main chair/tram stops.
The historic town of Kippel at the base of the tram has a museum (haven’t been yet, tricky hours and doesn’t seem to be open in the winter at all) and more hotel options. Like Blatten, Kippel is packed with ancient houses, and is worth a wander. I like the church – far more colorful inside than is typical for Switzerland. We had an okay dinner at the very cute, local-feelking **Dorfkeller. They specialize in Fondue, Cordon Bleu, and käseschnitte. It wasn’t bad, but I prefer the restaurants in Blatten.
We would also consider staying on the hill – it’s a bigger area than Belalp, mostly self-catering house rentals. https://lauchernalp-resort.ch/ appears to own most of the higher end properties on the hill (not cheap!).
