A Hut Hike in the Val d'Anniviers

Every September, Raunaq and I try to do a hut-to-hut hike to close out the summer season. I love hiking this time of year, when the weather stabilizes, the mornings and evenings are crisp and cool, and the huts are quieter (usually, anyway). This year, we planned a route around the Val d'Anniviers in Valais. Over three days, it took us from an impossibly turquoise lake to the foot of a glacier, over barren, windswept passes, and down into golden moorland. Along the way, we stayed in two huts that couldn't have been more different: one famous, modern, and surprisingly packed, the other rustic, remote, and intimate. It was a spectacular way to experience this corner of the Alps.

P.S. I didn’t realize while planning, but it turns out these huts are part of a wider tour of the area.

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Day 1: Grimentz - Cabane de Moiry

As with all of our hut hikes in Valais, the day started with a long journey on public transit. Raunaq slept his way through most of it (eye mask on and all), which made me laugh. I guess that's how you know you've lived in Switzerland for eight years: when you'd rather sleep than have your nose pressed against the train window. However, we were both wide awake for the most dramatic stage of the journey: an hour-long bus ride along the cliffs that took us from Sierre into the Val d'Anniviers. Finally, we arrived in Grimentz.

Grimentz seems like a very charming village, a tangle of narrow streets, sun-baked wooden chalets, and flower boxes filled with geraniums. Sadly, we only caught a brief glimpse of the town, as our travels weren't quite over yet. As a final step, we took a gondola from the village center up to the Espace Weisshorn mountain station. By the way, if you're willing to shell out some extra CHF, you can also ride in one of the special glass-floored "panoramic" cabins, but considering I spend every cable car ride with my eyes squeezed shut, counting down the seconds until I'm no longer dangling over an abyss, we figured it wasn't worth the cost.

So, five-ish hours after leaving Zurich, we were at the top and ready to hike. From the mountain station, it was only a short ascent to the top of the first col and our first view of Lac de Moiry. I had already anticipated that this would be the highlight of the day (and the next). I'd seen pictures of the reservoir and knew its reputation, but as with most things, pictures simply don't do it justice. The water didn't even look like water. It looked more like a vast basin of paint, in a shade of electric cyan so thick and opaque I felt like my eyes were playing tricks on me. It's something you have to see in person.

The hike down to the lake was steep, zigzagging toward the curved wall of the dam. We traversed the cliffs above the lake's left side and stopped for a long lunch on a small plateau that jutted out over the water. Before long, the lake was behind us and we were facing the final climb of the day, and we were no longer alone. For a hut at nearly 3,000m beside a glacier, the Cabane de Moiry is surprisingly easy to reach, thanks to bus stops at both ends of the reservoir. From there, it's only about a two-hour hike up. Plenty of hikers were coming down, likely day-trippers who had made the climb that morning, and we joined a long line of people making the ascent. This last push was short but steep, and I was so grateful when the peak of the hut's roof finally came into view. The best feeling!

Now, let's quickly talk about this hut. Cabane de Moiry is probably one of the most Instagram-famous huts in Switzerland, thanks to both its location and its striking modern extension. The new building has a gorgeous, light-filled dining room, with enormous panoramic window that frame the Moiry glacier and really highlight the mountainous setting. It's undeniably beautiful, but I’ll tell you, not especially practical: at dinner, the evening sun shone directly into everyone's eyes, and the room heated up like a greenhouse. We were all collectively sweating until the sun went down.

Overall, if I'm being completely honest, this wasn't my favorite hut experience. It just didn't feel like a Swiss hut to me; it felt more like a hotel. Part of that may have been the surprising number of amenities: Wi-Fi, showers, flush toilets, even scrambled eggs at breakfast (!!). The Wi-Fi in particular made me a bit sad, because I'm sure it's there because of demand, and don't we all go to the mountains to get away from exactly that? I saw lots of people scrolling on their phones. I couldn’t even resist connecting for a bit, before I got annoyed with myself and turned it back off. It was also the first time I'd seen multiple content creators at a hut, complete with tripods, drones, and video cameras. I don't know, it all just felt different. I want to be clear that this is in no way a criticism of the hut staff! I think it's more a consequence of the hut's online fame. Oh, and it was completely full, on a Sunday night, in September. Which is actually pretty rare.

We did stay in the old building, though, so our sleeping situation was a very typical 12-mattress dormitory. And the stars that night - wow!

A few things to note:

• There was no potable water available when we were there, and bottle water is expensive (12CHF for a 1.5 liter bottle). Consider bring a water filter.

• I often find the picnic lunches that huts offer a little sad, but this one was really hearty! We each got a huge sandwich on fresh bread, a granola bar, a chocolate bar, peanuts, and a piece of fruit.

ROUTE

Day 2: Cabane de Moiry - Cabane de Becs des Bosson

We lingered at breakfast to wait out some morning rain. As I mentioned, this hut had one of the better breakfast spreads I've seen, so I was more than happy to eat my fill of eggs and have a second cup of (real!) coffee. After packing up, we made our way back down the mountain and began the traverse above the other side of the lake. This stretch of trail was spectacular, with the glacier, mountains, and lake all filling the panorama. Lac de Moiry was a slightly different color than the day before, softer and more turquoise than yesterday's electric cyan, and it shimmered in a way that made it look a touch more like actual water.

And then: ascent, ascent, and more ascent. We didn't get lucky with ibex on this hike, but marmots were scurrying all over the place. Over the next pass, the landscape changed, the mountains turning black and barren, beautiful in a windswept, remote kind of way. I know this type of landscape isn't for everyone, since it doesn't match the typical "Swiss Alps" image most people expect, but I love it. We took a short break at Lac de Lona, and uncharacteristically, I did not go for a swim (the wind had picked up by then and it was too cold, even for me!). The wind was strong and relentless for the rest of the day. Raunaq remarked that it was the first hike of the season that felt like "proper alpine weather," and he was right: the 2026 summer was so blazingly hot that even at high altitudes, it hadn't felt like mountain weather. I'm not a fan of the wind, but it was nice to finally have a reason to put on a jacket this season!

Then we arrived at the hut, and I can't imagine a starker contrast to Cabane de Moiry than Cabane des Becs de Bosson. This hut is exactly what I picture when I think of a Swiss hut. It's far more rustic, with dry toilets, no running water, and no electricity in the rooms - but for a mountain refuge at nearly 3,000 m, that’s how it should be. The location is fantastic, the wardens were kind and organized, and the vibe is just… what you want it to be. There were only ten of us staying there, which naturally made for a cozier, more intimate experience. On top of that, we were treated to not just a spectacular orange-and-red sunset but also an equally stunning sunrise. If you can’t tell, this was my favorite hut stay of the season.

ROUTE

Day 3: Cabane Becs Bosson - Vercorin

You know another reason I loved this hut? They gave each group its own room! So Raunaq and I both got a decent night's sleep, which is never a given in a hut but always a pleasant surprise.

Today's hike was short, mostly a long descent through the protected Vallon de Réchy. Apparently, it's one of the last completely road-free valleys in Valais, home only to streams, small lakes, moorland, and rare plants. I imagine it's vibrantly green at the height of summer, but in September, everything had turned golden and autumnal. It was such a different landscape from the past two days, too.

We made our way down past marshes, moors, and waterfall-fed plateaus until we finally reached the Crêt-du-Midi gondola station, where we each inhaled a rösti before riding the gondola down to Vercorin.

ROUTE

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If you are interested in doing something like this, but are a bit intimidated with all the planning, I’m happy to help! Check out my hike planning services here.