Valais is the most spectacular canton in the Swiss Alps — home to the Matterhorn, more 4,000-metre peaks than anywhere else in Switzerland, the great Aletsch Glacier, and dozens of side valleys most visitors never reach. This guide is the result of over five years of scouting it on foot, by car and by mountain bike: 50 photography locations across the entire canton, from the icons to the quiet corners I stumbled on by getting lost.

It isn't a list scraped from the internet. Every spot is one I've stood on, photographed and can tell you the truth about — the easy wins, the long climbs, and the occasional "honestly, skip this part." If you're planning a Swiss trip and want to come home with images worth the journey, this is the legwork already done.

What's inside

• 50 photo locations across all of Valais (and a few just beyond, around Lake Geneva)

• 100+ pages and 200+ example photos, each with camera settings

• Hundreds of Google Maps links — including the exact point each example photo was taken from, to within ~30 m

• The complete Zermatt & Matterhorn guide, included in full

The regions covered

• Goms & the high passes — Furka, Grimsel, the Rhône Glacier

• Aletsch Arena — Eggishorn, Bettmeralp

• Binntal —  the mineral country

• Lötschental — the golden-larch valley

• Saastal — Saas-Fee and Hohsaas

• Zermatt & the Matterhorn — 9 locations, from Gornergrat and the Riffelsee to Höhbalmen and Zmutt

• Val d'Anniviers — St-Luc, Zinal, Grimentz, Lac de Moiry

• Val d'Hérens & Mont-Noble — La Sage, Arolla, Ferpècle, Nax

• Nendaz & 4 Vallées — Veysonnaz, Mont Fort

• Sion region — the Bisse de Mont d'Orge, Derborence, Savièse, a meadow above Ovronnaz

• Verbier & Val de Bagnes — example photo locations: Pierre Avoi, Lac Louvie, the high cabanes

• Pays du St-Bernard — the Great St Bernard Pass and Lacs de Fenêtre

• Martigny & Lake Geneva — Lac d'Emosson, the Gorges du Durnand, Château de Chillon, Les Pléiades

Every location includes

• How to get there — GPS, car parks, hiking-trail info, cable cars and public transport

• The best time of year and time of day to shoot it

• Honest, practical tips — what to look for, what to watch for, how to plan around it

• A weather forecast linked to the exact GPS point, plus PeakFinder and other useful links

• Hiking details — distance, ascent/descent and walking time, with a map link

• Google Maps links to the precise spots the example photos were taken from

Over five years of research and scouting — so you can save days of yours.

Language: English · Format: PDF (100 MB, 100+ pages)