Discover Isérables: hillside setting, history and trails

If you are planning a hotel stay in Isérables, the village’s history, trails and landscape offer different ways to tailor your trip to your interests. The village is perched on a steep hillside and offers sweeping views of the Rhône valley and the Bernese Alps. Individual buildings and routes also tell the story of how closely the history of the place is tied to its hillside setting.

Landscape and viewpoints

Crête-à-Chapelle sits on a rocky outcrop and offers a viewpoint overlooking the village and the plain below. Pra da Dzeu presents a different kind of landscape: this large, unusual open space lies at the edge of the forest near Isérables and is suitable for picnics all year round. More than 250 larch trees grow on the wooded pasture of Balavaux, in the municipality of Isérables. One of them is described as the largest in Europe, and is estimated to be between 850 and 1,000 years old.

The viewpoints and the larches at Balavaux represent different aspects of the landscape: on the one hand, views over the village and plain; on the other, a wooded pasture with a particularly well-known larch. Pra da Dzeu, meanwhile, offers an open space for a picnic. These features give you specific landscape highlights to consider when choosing where to stay, without limiting you to a single viewpoint.

Village history and architecture

The permanent exhibition at the Musée d’Isérables presents the cradle as one of the characteristic features of Isérables. The museum also displays historical documents and tools, explores the importance of cereal cultivation, and shows how the village adapted to its steep hillside setting. A temporary exhibition on the broader theme of “La pente” is held each year. You can continue your visit outdoors along the educational trails La Voie des érables and Le Chemin de l'Ecoute. The Chemin thématique de l’écoute draws attention to the soundscape of the village and its surroundings, inviting visitors to notice and interpret it.

The Eglise d’Isérables was built in the 1820s. It preserves the choir and bell tower of a chapel consecrated in 1613 and is classified as a historic monument. The surviving choir and the lie of the land explain its asymmetrical shape; a tunnel runs beneath the church. This building thus reveals both the chapel’s long history and the way the structure was adapted to the terrain.

The Scierie de Plantorny is another of the historic sites described in the village. It has been renovated and put back into operation. Water channelled through the bisse once again drives the large waterwheel and saw blade. The Raccards in the hamlet of Le Cotayer are traditional raised storage buildings. Formerly used to store grain, their elevated design was intended to keep rodents out.

Choosing bisses and trails

The Bisse de Saxon carried water from the Printse to Saxon, passing through forests, alpine pastures and mayens in the municipalities of Nendaz, Isérables and Riddes. It is considered the longest bisse canal in Valais. The 110-metre-long Passerelle des Dzoras suspension bridge connects two sections of the Bisse de Saxon and provides a safe crossing between Isérables and La Tzoumaz.

Several specific details are available for hiking. Du bisse aux mélèzes is an 8-kilometre circular hike that takes approximately three hours. La Grimpette des Bédjuis follows the route of the former mule track and includes almost 1,000 metres of elevation gain. For the first route, the distance and approximate duration are the key details; for the second, it is the elevation gain. La Voie des Erables is a 6.4-kilometre day route. The surrounding area also has numerous trails for different fitness levels, so the specific profile of each trail is what matters when choosing one.

More activities

The Tour VTT à Isérables mountain-bike route passes through the village. Those interested in the soundscape can experience the surroundings in a different way on the Chemin thématique de l’écoute. La Prairie aux Alpagas offers guided walks, visits, animal-assisted activities and educational activities. For details of the various offers, consult the booking information.

In winter, the Patinoire des Comballes offers ice skating in a clearing near the Faraz river, at the entrance to Isérables. The activity is seasonal; operating details may vary. Check the latest information before visiting. This makes it easy to distinguish between the year-round picnic spots, the trails and the winter activity when planning your trip.

Discover more destinations: Martigny-Combe, Fully, Saillon, Saxon, Trient Vs, Arbarey, Riddes, Martigny.

Go to the main travel overview: Martigny.