Discover Ayer

Ayer is characterized by a cluster of timber buildings around the church. The village’s history and the trails around it offer different starting points for planning your trip: the historic walking tour focuses on the architectural heritage, while nature trails and mountain biking routes highlight other destinations and themes.

Village history around Sainte-Anne

The historic walking tour visits ten of Ayer’s most notable sights. It conveys the village’s past and present history through its architectural heritage. These include Sainte-Anne Church and the historic mill, which remained in operation until 1941. The church was consecrated in 1920. Several frescoes by the Florentine painter Alfredo Cini (1887–1970) date from 1949; they are located both outside and inside, including on the chancel arch.

Smaller exhibitions also offer insights into local working life. One building displays butchers’ tools on the ground floor and dairy-farming tools on the upper floor. A small museum now houses tools and equipment that belonged to Daniel Melly (1919–2002). Together with the stops on the walking tour, these examples show different aspects of village life and its history.

Bread-making tradition and rural landscape

The communal bread oven is part of the local heritage. The dough for rye bread is made from boiled and mashed potatoes, rye flour, and cornmeal, then left to stand overnight. The oven is still used to bake rye bread once or twice a year.

Agriculture also shapes the landscape around Ayer. In summer, the Nava alpine pasture above the village accommodates cows from the region. In mid-September, at the end of the summer season, there is an opportunity in Ayer to watch the cows being driven down from the alpine pastures to the villages of Val d’Anniviers. This is an opportunity at a specified time, not a generally guaranteed annual event.

Nature trails and routes to various destinations

The 6 km Zau Zoura nature trail leads from the old village of Ayer to the Mayen des Moyes. Information panels explain the ecosystem between Ayer and the Mayen and how people fit into this environment. The trail therefore combines a specific route with a subject that goes beyond village history. Trail conditions may vary seasonally.

For mountain bikers, a route to Barneuza starts in Ayer and runs via Navetta and the Mayens des Moyes to the Mayens de Barneuza. Another mountain biking route leads from Mission in Anniviers to Tsahèlett in Ayer; the final stretch to the destination follows an unpaved path. The route descriptions differ in their starting and ending points and the stated trail surface. Conditions on these routes may also vary depending on the season.

From Tsahèlett, you can walk to Col de Bella Vouarda; from there, the route continues to Lac de Toûno or into the St-Luc region. Together with the Zau Zoura nature trail, this highlights the difference between a route described with a set length and endpoint and a trail continuing on to several named destinations.

Discover more destinations: Pralong, Chippis, Icogne, Chandolin, Saint-Luc Vs, Crans-Sur-Sierre, Sierre, Venthône.

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