Hike Bisse de Salins - Bisse de VexDébutez votre balade au cœur du village de Beuson. Profitez-en pour contempler quelques instants la petite chapelle avant de prendre la route.
Montez tout droit par la petite route qui passe à côté de la chapelle. Continuez votre montée jusqu'à la rue du Stade. Longez le stade de football puis traversez une dernière fois la rue transversale pour poursuivre votre ascension jusqu'au départ du bisse de Salins.
Cheminez ensuite le long du bisse de Salins. Après quelques kilomètres le long du bisse de Salins et un pont relativement élevé, prenez le sentier qui monte dans la clairière sur votre droite, en direction de Clèbes.
Profitez de cette ascension pour admirer la magnifique vue qui s'ouvre sur les villages de Basse-Nendaz et Haute-Nendaz. Arrivé à Clèbes, traversez le village et ses rustiques raccards d'époque.
Suivez le chemin de croix qui commence au sommet du village de Clèbes pour rejoindre le bisse de Vex, en dessous du hameau de Verrey. Au lieu-dit le Chity, quittez le bisse et suivez la route forestière qui redescend dans la vallée. Arrivé au lieu-dit Plan Désert, poursuivez sur la petite route goudronnée jusqu’à votre point de départ.Bisse de Vex (Florian Bouvet-Fournier)Village Clèbes 2018 (Inès Bonvin)Bisse de Salins passerelle 2020 (Florian Bouvet-Fournier)Bisse de Salins vue 2020 (Florian Bouvet-Fournier)989.65802001953BeusonNestled in the hollow of the Nendaz valley, this charming village is renowned for its illuminations in the run-up to the end of the year. Every winter, Beuson is transformed into a fairytale setting. The inhabitants install lights on the roofs of their houses, the chapel and on the bridge for an amazingly magical effect.
There was a time when Beuson was the industrial centre of the municipality. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this village was as populated as Basse-Nendaz, the main town of the area. The proximity of the Printse river was a real asset because the hydraulic power was the only one capable of running the industry of the time (flour mill, sawmill and tannery).
Beuson is also a starting point for your hikes. From the heights of this village, the bisse de Salins departs, dating back to 1435 and thus being one of the oldest bisses in the region. An impressive metal footbridge overhangs the river Ogeintse for a very aerial passage..Village Beuson automne 2017 (Inès Bonvin)Beuson village 2017 (Florian Guntern)Village Beuson Nuit 2015 (Etienne Bornet)Village Beuson 2015 (Arnaud Delhez)1153.5783691406Bisse de SalinsWith a construction dating back to the Middle Ages, it is the oldest bisse in the district. With a length of 12 kilometres, the Bisse de Salins still irrigates the mid-mountain pastures, meadows, orchards and crops of Beuson, the Bioleys and Salins.
Its path passes though various environments: first of all a humid forest right above the village of Beuson before reaching the metal footbridge over the Ojintse torrent, then a dry meadow on a moraine. The unique fauna and flora of this arid region is worth the visit.
A BISSE, WHAT IS IT ?
The bisses were originally irrigation channels that diverted water from the rivers to water the farm land crops growing on the mountain slopes. They are true historical relics and bear witness to the Valaisans' relentless fight against drought. It is their construction that makes them so special. Indeed, these channels had to adapt to the different terrain and environments encountered along the way, giving rise to impressive workmanship, especially when we imagine what the means of construction were at the time. The bisses of our region take their source from the Printse, a river that flows along our valley. Of the eight bisses located in Nendaz, six still have water flowing within their banks and are still carrying out their original task of irrigation.Bisse de Salins pont 2020 (Florian Bouvet-Fournier)Bisse de Salins vue 2020 (Florian Bouvet-Fournier)Bisse de Salins passerelle 2020 (Florian Bouvet-Fournier)Bisse de Salins 2020 (Florian Bouvet-Fournier)1270.5914306641ClèbesThe heart of the village of Clèbes is composed of stone houses dating from the beginning of the 20th century. In the afternoon of the 8th of August 1904, a fire broke out. The flames destroyed a large part of the houses, which at that time were built close together and mostly of wood. As a result, the village was rebuilt exclusively in stone.
Today, there are still small barns used in the past to store hay, straw and cereal.
At the far end of the village, a path located on a glacial moraine leads to the bisse de Salins.Village Clèbes 2018 (Inès Bonvin)Clèbes Champlan 2017 (Florian Guntern)1366.5284423828Bisse de VexThe Bisse de Vex takes its source in the Printse river at 1500 metres above sea level in the picturesque hamlet of Planchouet. Through wooden troughs, underground passages or channels dug into the ground, the water flows peacefully over a distance of 12 kilometres to Les Mayens-de-Sion. It first waters the mid-mountain pastures and then runs through the forest for several kilometres before emerging into the dry meadows above the hamlet of Clèbes. The bisse then passes through the charming village of Veysonnaz and continues through the forest to Les Mayens-de-Sion.
In 1453 the inhabitants of Vex, needing water to irrigate their fields, applied to Nendaz, at that time under the control of the Duke of Savoy, to obtain permission to collect water from the Printse by building a canal to bring it to Vex. An agreement was signed under the condition that the inhabitants of Vex would deliver each year, instead of those of Nendaz, a wooden beam of Larch to the town of Sion for the maintenance of the bridge over the River Rhone. Original documents dating back to 1453 and 1476 are deposited in the archives of both municipalities.
With the decline in farming and the introduction of more modern watering systems, the bisse fell into disuse and was abandoned in 1971. Thanks to the initiative committee for the reconstruction of the Bisse de Vex whose members were from Nendaz, the bisse was put back in water on September 30th 2000. Today it is one of the most beautiful bisses in the Valais and a magnificent family walk.
In winter the bisse is open between Veysonnaz and les Mayens-de-Sion and between Veysonnaz and Verrey, the rest of the path is closed due to the danger of avalanches.Chapelle de Planchouet extérieur été 2022 (Florian Bouvet)Bisse_de_Vex_Planchouet_pont_en_bois_vue_Nendaz_2018 (Veysonnaz_Tourisme)Bisse de Vex été 2022 (Florian Bouvet)Bisse_de_Vex_mayens_de_Sion_enneigé_2021 (Veysonnaz_Tourisme)Bisse_de_Vex_Mayens_de_Sion_2017 (Veysonnaz_Tourisme)Bisse_de_Vex_Planchouet_pont_en_bois_luminosité_automne_2017 (Veysonnaz_Tourisme)Bisse_de_Vex_Planchouet_2013 (Aline_Fournier)974.86480712891992.415649414061021.50286865231033.20104980471043.99963378911057.49792480471060.74792480471062.19567871091076.63696289061090.89892578121095.45837402341126.14611816411146.53271484381161.61975097661151.96643066411163.79174804691145.40954589841159.48889160161139.76708984381134.33264160161138.49853515621132.28210449221137.24084472661149.49853515621145.77661132811146.10864257811142.80493164061158.49743652341140.84387207031152.3964843751127.93090820311136.03051757811131.96301269531124.14099121091117.65649414061122.60766601561121.5839843751112.69067382811115.44543457031129.50341796881136.65026855471140.4218751149.88122558591187.65649414061234.24060058591261.88806152341272.12255859381280.54943847661302.15417480471312.96228027341327.31958007811364.00451660161372.64465332031385.71606445311376.63781738281388.11804199221393.13122558591405.03637695311400.91625976561400.51379394531427.70825195311434.60363769531425.54309082031405.82800292971405.94714355471414.33691406251425.54089355471375.32653808591351.24096679691352.03906251333.49987792971331.0566406251318.18969726561316.82629394531304.71838378911327.80944824221330.46850585941294.57592773441290.56237792971294.37780761721279.77270507811269.84008789061251.51086425781228.55505371091216.60119628911214.09167480471205.14221191411196.95715332031181.79418945311166.34118652341161.61975097661146.53271484381126.14611816411095.45837402341090.89892578121076.63696289061062.19567871091060.74792480471057.49792480471043.99963378911033.20104980471021.5028686523995.22607421875974.81774902344