Three Bisses Circular Route starting from Venthône

Starting from Venthône:

• On Sundays: a fairly large car park is available on Route de Planige, at the junction with Chemin des Barnes. Parking is limited to six hours on other days, which is just enough for the full hike (or you’ll need to shorten it slightly; see “Practical Information” for alternative routes).
• From the B422 bus stop “Venthône Rétana”: the start of the Bisse Neuf (signposted) is just before the bus stop. Follow the bisse and join the route described in section (2).
• From the “Venthône village” stop (terminus for some buses), it is best to walk to the car park on Route de Planige.

(S/E) From the car park, continue north on Route de Planige for about 300m.

(1) Take the first path branching off to the left, signposted "Bisse Neuf". Cross a track by continuing straight ahead until you reach the bisse a little further up.

(2) Turn right along the bisse. Follow the bisse for a long stretch, heading north then north-west. Cross a gully and head north-east.

(3) At a junction, continue straight on along the bisse. Walk eastwards for a long stretch, still following the bisse.

(4) Cross a road and continue along the irrigation channel, which turns left below the road.

(5) A little further on, the signposted path turns right towards La Proprija. Do not follow it (unless taking the shortcut, see “practical information”), and continue straight on along the path that climbs alongside the bisse. This section of the bisse looks more like a mountain stream than a canal, but it is in fact man-made. Continue to the source of the bisse: the water intake on the Raspille.

(6) You will then reach a marked track; follow it to the right and cross the Raspille (you are now entering Upper Valais and the German-speaking area). Turn left at the next junction (a sign indicates that the path on the right is private).

(7) At a T-junction, turn right to descend to the Bisse de Varen.

(8) Follow the bisse to the left (marked route). Continue along the bisse for a good while. It eventually crosses a wide track (cross it and continue straight on), then another marked path that descends.

(9) Continue straight on at this junction (unless taking the shortcut, see “practical information”). The bisse then crosses a stream, before passing a small chapel. Shortly after this, you reach another junction with a signposted path.

(10) Take this path to the right and downhill. You will then reach a wider track: continue straight ahead on this.

(11) At the next junction, turn right onto a track that leads into the vineyard. After a series of left-right bends, join another track and follow it to the right (marked route “chemin du vignoble”). At the next junction, go straight on along the track, which remains level. The track crosses a vineyard, then a small stream.

(12) Shortly after the stream, take a path on the right that climbs alongside the vines. You will reach a road.

(13) Then take a path immediately on the left. It soon joins the Bisse de Mengis: turn right along the bisse and cross the road again.

(14) Return to the road and cross it to continue along the bisse. It remains straight and almost level for a good while, then veers left as it crosses a valley. The path then becomes a wider track.

(15) After about 300 m on this track, a path marked in yellow branches off to the right. Do not take this one, but take a second path on the right just after it. There are no official markings (yellow signs) but a sign indicates the Cascade de la Raspille. At the next junction, turn left.

(16) At the next junction, after a stream, a sign points to the Cascade de la Raspille on the left. Take this path there and back to the waterfall (about 20 minutes round trip). Please note, the final descent to the foot of the waterfall is very steep. A fixed rope has been installed to make the passage easier.

(17) Retrace your steps back to the previous junction.

(16) Continue along the path to the left until you come out onto a wide track.

(18) Follow this track to the left. Ignore a few small paths that climb up to the right.

(19) At a three-way junction, turn right onto a path that remains roughly level (let the track descend to the left).

(20) You’ll come out onto a track (part of a route marked in yellow) and follow it to the right. After about fifty metres, take another unmarked track to the left.

(21) Then take a path that branches off to the left. Continue straight on (westwards) on a slight descent. Then head south-west and, at a junction, continue straight on.

(22) Join a track and follow it to the right, staying above the vineyards.

(23) You’ll come out onto a road; follow it to the left and downhill. After about fifty metres, turn sharply right onto a track that runs along the top of the vineyard. At the end of the vineyard, continue along a path that winds its way through the trees.

(24) At the junction that appears shortly afterwards, turn right onto a path that climbs alongside a stream situated below on the left.

(25) You’ll come out onto a road; follow it to the right (unless taking the shortcut, see “practical information”). After about 20 metres, turn left onto a path that climbs up to the Bisse Neuf.

(3) Turn left along the bisse and follow the outward route in the opposite direction.

(2) Continue straight on (leaving the bisse) and descend the winding path to a road.

(1) Follow the road to the right to the car park at the start (S/E).

A GPS is useful for following this route, particularly if you want to take shortcuts, as there are numerous side paths that can be confusing.

Several suggested alternatives if you want to shorten the route a little without losing too much of its appeal:

• at point (5), follow the marked path to the right to La Proprija, then head up to the left to the Bisse de Varen to rejoin the route at point (8). This alternative avoids some of the climb by not going via the Bisse Neuf water intake. However, this part of the walk is lovely as the bisse is a bit wilder there.
• At point (9), head down to the right and follow the marked path until you reach the road at a hairpin bend just before point (13). This alternative route is slightly shorter, but as a result the route passes through the vineyards very little, except for a short stretch at point (23). This is a bit of a shame, as the vineyards are a typical feature of the Valais landscape.
• At the point (25), you can turn left straight onto the road to reach the car park instead of heading back up to the Bisse Neuf. It’s just less pleasant to walk along the road than along the bisse (though it is a small road with little traffic).