Belalp is a village and

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

in the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

canton of

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

, situated at approximately above sea level in the municipality of

Naters Naters is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Brig (district), Brig in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Birgisch and Mund merged into the mun ...

. Because of its altitude, Belalp is a vantage point offering views of the Dom and

Fletschhorn The Fletschhorn (3,985 m) is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, located between the Saas Valley and the Simplon Valley, in the canton of Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerlan ...

mountains and other peaks of the Pennine and

Lepontine Alps The Lepontine Alps (, , ) are a mountain range in the north-western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Canton of Uri, Uri and Graubünden) and Italy (Piedmont and Lombardy). The Simplon Tunnel, Simplon rail tunnel ...

. Close to the village are the summits of

Nesthorn The Nesthorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps. It is located in the Swiss canton of Valais north of Brig. The mountain lies between the Oberaletsch Glacier on the north and east side and the Gredetschtal on the south side. It is part of the subr ...

, Hohstock and Sparrhorn mountains. Belalp is a car free village. It can be reached from Blatten bei Naters by cable car. With a length of , this rises and can carry a maximum of 740 passengers per hour.

Notable residents

The British and Irish physicist

John Tyndall John Tyndall (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was an Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the physical properties of air ...

maintained a holiday home in the village from 1877. After his death in 1893, a memorial (the ''Tyndalldenkmal'') was erected at an elevation of on the mountain slopes above the village, and in sight of the

Aletsch Glacier The Aletsch Glacier (, ) or Great Aletsch Glacier () is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about (2014), a volume of (2011), and covers about (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Valais. The A ...

, his studies of which had originally brought him to the area.

References

External links

Official website
Villages in Valais Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland Car-free villages in Switzerland {{Switzerland-sports-venue-stub