Discover Brig: mountains, gorges and culture

The Brig district ranges from 649 to 4,193 m above sea level and covers 434.20 km². Between gorges, mountain passes and historic sites, you’ll find a variety of themes to help plan your trip. In Gondo, the Gondo Gorge leads into a striking rocky landscape; in Brig, the castle rooms and exhibitions tell the story of the region.

Gondo Gorge and gold-mining history

The Gondo Gorge is five kilometres long; its starting point is on the Simplon Road in Gabi/Gstei. The hiking trail through the gorge passes the «Alte Kaserne» museum and runs underground through the former Gondo Fort. The route is open seasonally. Plan your walk according to the time of year and check conditions before your visit.

In Gondo, the gold-mining museum in the Stockalper Tower displays contemporary and historical photographs, mine documents and plans, as well as rock samples. This gives you a chance to explore the subject of mining not only through images, but also through documents and material from the mine. The museum also offers gold panning and guided tours of the gold mines as possible activities; check the current programme in advance.

Castles, museums and local stories

Stockalper Castle is the landmark of the town of Brig and is considered the largest secular Baroque building in Switzerland. On a guided tour, you can visit the Dreikönigsaal, with rare panoramic wallpapers from the 19th century, and the castle chapel, with a precious silver altar from Augsburg. On the ground floor, the permanent exhibition «Passage Simplon» explores the eventful history of the Simplon Pass through seven themes across around 200 m². It opened in 2012.

The Simplon Fortress in Naters offers another insight into military history. The museum is housed in an artillery fortress that remained top secret for 60 years. The exhibitions include the army’s positions at the outbreak of war, the Swiss Army’s withdrawal to the Réduit and the weapons used in the past. At Simplon Pass, a stone eagle over nine metres high, built from roughly hewn stones, also commemorates the «Wacht am Simplon» (Watch on the Simplon) during the Second World War. From the «Simplonpass, Simplon Blick» bus stop and the Simplon Pass car park, the monument is about a five-minute walk in either case.

Simplon Dorf also offers several ways to explore its local history. The village centre is classified as a site of national importance. At «Simpilär Handwerk», local residents demonstrate traditional crafts in the village square; during the summer months, they work there once a week, usually on Friday afternoons. On «Simpilär Dorfgschichtä», the «Simpilär Ziegenhirt» (Simpilär goatherd) leads a 90-minute walk through the village, sharing anecdotes and stories from times gone by in the local Valais dialect. The walk includes culinary stops; dates are arranged on request. Simplon Dorf is also known for Valais rye bread and its award-winning raclette cheese.

Choose hiking trails to suit your time and ability

The route details offer different time commitments to compare: the Achera Biela nature trail in Ried-Brig is 1.46 km long, rated easy and listed as taking 40 minutes. The Termen mountain farming experience trail is 2.67 km and takes one hour; it is rated moderate. The Gamsen Landmauer cultural trail covers 10.28 km, is rated easy and takes three hours. The duration and difficulty rating can help you choose, although trail conditions may change.

For a more demanding high-alpine hike, the Zwischbergen–Tschawinersee–Monscerapass route is 13.03 km long and rated difficult. It follows an old smugglers’ path over two alpine pastures to the clear waters of Lake Tschawinersee and onwards to Monscerapass. Described as a circular route, it starts at the Gondo post bus stop and ends at the Zwischbergen (Bord) bus stop; take the weather and seasonal conditions into account when planning. For a different kind of trail experience, the 124 m-long Belalp–Riederalp suspension bridge crosses the Massaschlucht at a height of 80 m in front of the glacier gate of the Great Aletsch Glacier, connecting Belalp with Riederalp. Access depends on trail conditions. For mountain biking, the Blatten-Belalp destination lists 15 km of bike trails in the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mountain lake, thermal baths and practical information

Lake Hopschusee lies at Simplon Pass at an altitude of 2,048 m and can be reached from the pass road on foot. It is located in the Simplon-Hopschusee raised bog, which has been a protected area of national and cantonal importance since 1996. Swimming is not permitted at this sensitive, protected site. Brigerbad thermal baths has several indoor and outdoor pools with natural thermal water; its spa includes saunas and steam baths. On 26 August 2026, travel from Brig station to the thermal baths by public transport was listed as taking up to 20 minutes. Check connections for your travel date. Outside the large bathing complex, Brigerbad also has an old village centre and a large biotope.

The World Nature Forum is about a five-minute walk from Brig station. Alternatively, local bus route 1 takes one minute from Bahnhofplatz to the «Aletsch Campus» stop; the Forum is another minute’s walk from there. If you are travelling by car, the public «Aletsch Campus» car park is on Kehrstrasse. Simplon Hospice can accommodate up to 130 guests and is open year-round; check the latest operating information before your trip. In winter, the road to Rosswald is closed to traffic, and the village can then only be reached by gondola. Check its operating status for your travel date.

Discover more destinations: Brig, Naters, Termen, Rosswald, Ried-Brig, Birgisch, Belalp, Simplon Hospice, Zwischbergen, Mund, Rothwald, Simplon, Eggerberg.

Back to the main travel overview: Valais.