Arolla is a village in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

Evolène Evolène is a municipality in the district of Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It includes the villages of Evolène, Les Haudères, La Sage, Villa, La Forclaz, and Arolla, the hamlets of Lannaz and La Tour, and the hollow of ...

in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

canton of

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

. It is situated at the end of the Val d'Hérens, south of the cantonal capital, Sion.

Geography

Arolla is situated at 1998 m above sea level, at the foot of Mont Collon in the

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la, Alpes Poeninae), also known as the Valais Alps, are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy ...

. The village is also overlooked by the 3796-metre

Pigne d'Arolla Pigne d'Arolla (3,796 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. The first ascent was made by A. W. Moore and Horace Walker with the guide Jakob Anderegg Jakob Anderegg (11 March 1829, in Oberwil im Simmental – 17 Septemb ...

, which can be climbed from the Cabane des Vignettes or Dix Hut. The Arolla Glacier is located south of Arolla, between Mont Collon and the Pigne d'Arolla. Pra Gra is an abandoned hamlet above Arolla at 2479 m, which can be reached on foot in approximately 90 minutes. The views of Mont Collon and the glacial trench at the end of the valley are particularly notable from this location.

Tourism

Arolla's location makes it a popular starting point for mountain expeditions. Routes such as the Patrouillle des Glaciers and the Haute Route, a classic high-altitude mountain trek between

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it ha ...

and

Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO ...

, pass through the village as well. There are over 100 kilometres of

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and p ...

paths in the area. Arolla's ski area lies above the village on the western side of the valley, with five lifts and 47 kilometres of pistes. Its high altitude guarantees snow well into the spring. Hotels in Arolla include the historic Hôtel Mont Collon, located near the entrance to the village, and Hotel Kurhaus, situated at the top of the series of hairpin bends that rise through the village. There is a post office, mountain sports equipment shop, hotel, and bus stop in the small village centre.

Flora and fauna

The

Arolla pine ''Pinus cembra'', also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine or Arolla pine or Austrian stone pine or just stone pine, is a species of a pine tree in the subgenus ''Strobus''. Description The Swiss pine is a member of the white pine group, ...

or Swiss pine, a high-altitude species in the

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been furthe ...

group, is named after the village and grows in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

and the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

References

Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland Villages in Valais {{Valais-geo-stub