As of: 26 September 2026

Wild camping on the Belalp

The Belalp is the car-free resort above Blatten bei Naters, and the ground for a night is the alp shoulder by the Tyndall monument, 2'351 m, above the Aletsch glacier. Naters allows camping and overnighting on public ground only in zones it designates, and it has none.

Leon Helg
Leon Helg · Legal situation checked in September 2026
What do these mean?

Illegal A specific rule bans it, usually with a fine, and it can be enforced. Sleep somewhere else.

Not allowed No real place to camp here. A gated site, a developed area, or nowhere sensible to lie down, even if no fine is attached.

It depends You can sleep here, but there's a condition first: ask the landowner, book a spot, stay inside a set zone, or use a bivvy instead of a tent. The report says which.

Tolerated No rule clearly allows or bans it, but a single night is accepted in practice and nobody enforces against it. Normal for high bivouacs above the treeline.

Legal Camping one night is fine here. Either a rule allows it, or we checked every law and found nothing against it. Still: pitch late, leave early, no trace.

What "wild camping" means here: one night. A small tent or a bivvy bag, up towards evening, gone in the morning. Not a base camp, not a camper van. Most Swiss bans are written against camping; whether a single night also falls under them depends on the exact wording, so this article checks that wording. The full difference: wild camping vs bivouacking.

Wild camping on the Belalp: a resort, an alp and one shoulder above the glacier

Wild camping on the Belalp is a question about a resort and an alp at once. The Belalp is the car-free terrace above Blatten bei Naters in the Upper Valais, reached by cable car from Blatten. Around the top station stand the chalets, hotels and lifts of the resort, 68 buildings within 200 m of the station alone: that is not a pitch. What people have in mind when they say Belalp is the Aletschbord, the rim north-east of the village from which you look down onto the Grosser Aletschgletscher. All of it, up to the Sparrhorn and the Oberaletsch glacier, lies in the commune of Naters; Riederalp begins across the Massa gorge, about 1.6 km east of the rim.1

The ground a night would happen on is the shoulder by the Tyndall monument. Follow the Aletschbord from the Hotel Belalp, at 2'137 m, uphill to the north-north-east, and the first open alp ground above the tree line and clear of chalets and lifts is a grass shoulder of the Triembiel. On it stands a 4.75 m erratic boulder, the monument Louisa Tyndall had raised in 1911 for her husband, the physicist John Tyndall, who spent his summers on the Belalp. This report's pin is at the boulder: LV95 2'642'078 / 1'137'266, WGS84 46.385445 / 7.985626, 2'351 m. The flat part lies 30 to 70 m south-west of it, at about 2 to 3 degrees, beside the marked trail. The highest trees on the Aletsch flank stand at about 2'220 m and the legal forest ends at about 2'054 m, so the shoulder is well above the tree line. The nearest building is 489 m away, and the Hotel Belalp about 700 m down the ridge. Level, above the trees and half a kilometre from the nearest house: if anyone slept on the Belalp, it would be here.19

Everywhere else fails before the law comes in. The top station, Bruchegg, the Lüsga chalets and the hotel and chapel on the Aletschbord are the resort. The Lüsgersee, 700 m south-south-west of the monument, is an amphibian spawning site of national importance among chalets. The chairlift and T-bar corridors and the snowmaking reservoir on the Hohbiel are ski infrastructure. Below the rim the Aletsch flank drops in cliffs and rock ribs towards the glacier. And across the suspension bridge, on the Riederalp side, a federal game reserve begins. So the verdict is for the shoulder by the monument; the rest of the Belalp comes in where it changes your plan.15

The rule: Naters allows camping and overnighting only in zones it designates

The commune of Naters settles the night in one sentence of its police regulation, adopted by the Urversammlung, the assembly of the commune's voters, on 27 November 2013 and approved by the Staatsrat, the cantonal government, on 17 September 2014:2

"Das Campieren und Übernachten auf öffentlichem Grund und Boden ist nur in den von der Gemeinde dafür bezeichneten Zonen gestattet."Polizeireglement der Gemeinde Naters, Art. 19 "Campieren". In English: camping and overnighting on public ground is permitted only in the zones the commune designates for it.

The verb catches a bivvy bag. The sentence does not stop at "Campieren", camping: it adds "Übernachten", spending the night. A tent, a tarp and a bivvy bag on bare grass are all a night on the ground, so the question many Swiss bans leave open, whether a single night without a tent counts, is answered here. The rule names no altitude and no season: it runs from the valley floor to the glaciers.2

What it costs. Art. 2 fines any breach of the regulation up to CHF 5'000, and Art. 1 makes negligence punishable as well. Naters publishes no fixed fine for camping: the police court sets the amount case by case, and when the facts are admitted and the fine stays at CHF 500 or less, its president decides alone (Art. 3).2

No permit and no tolerance. Art. 19 names no permit and no exception, and Naters publishes no practice that lets a single night pass. That is the difference from Leukerbad, where the regional police publishes that one night on public ground above the tree line is accepted; its tolerance covers the eight communes it serves, not Naters, as the Daubensee report explains.2

The same sentence decides our Eggishorn report, in Fieschertal on the other side of the glacier. The national overview shows how the levels fit together.

No zone designated: the camping zone became a landfill

Art. 19 would allow a night in a zone the commune designates, and there is none. Naters did once have a camping zone, at Rischinu: its building and zoning regulation approved in 1997 had an Art. 88 "Campingzone" for camping, caravans and motorhomes. On 16 January 2008 the Staatsrat approved the landfill zone "Steinbruch Rischinu", which rezoned that camping zone into a landfill zone and ordinary communal land, and the 2008 revision turned Art. 88 into a zone for tourist buildings. Neither the commune's zoning plan nor the canton's harmonised zoning shows a camping zone anywhere in Naters today.4

Only vehicles have a signed place. The commune's parking regulation, approved by the Staatsrat on 13 September 2023, bans parking a vehicle for an overnight stay or for camping anywhere in Naters except at a site the commune has set and signed (Art. 6). Its annex names one, the pitches at Rischinen/Stalden, where "das Übernachten in Fahrzeugen", sleeping in vehicles, is allowed for a day rate of CHF 20 plus tourist tax. That is the Park'n'Sleep in the Rischinerwald above Blatten, far below the Aletschbord, and it is a rule for vehicles, not a camping zone for walkers.3

Why the Aletschbord counts as public ground

Art. 19 speaks of "öffentlicher Grund und Boden", public ground, so it matters whose land the shoulder is. The monument and the grass around it lie in parcel 8560, "Belalp-Inners Aletschji", 11.8 km² of alp and mountain. It belongs to the Burgergemeinde Naters, the corporation of the commune's Burger, its citizens by origin: on 12 November 2025 its assembly granted a building right on parcel 8560 for an extension of a gondola top station, which only the owner of a parcel can do.56

Three things make it public ground. A Burgergemeinde is a public-law corporation: the Valais municipal law applies to the "öffentlichrechtliche Körperschaften" and names the Einwohnergemeinden, the political communes, and the Burgergemeinden (GemG, Art. 1). The Burgerschaft itself calls its tasks "öffentlicher Natur", of a public nature, and says its forests, alps and commons serve farming and forestry "aber auch Einheimischen und Touristen als Erholungsraum", as recreation ground for locals and tourists too. And the rock and scree above the grass are the commune's public property by statute: the Valais introductory act to the Civil Code gives the communes "die nicht kultivierbaren Regionen, wie Felsen, Schutthalden, Schneefelder und Gletscher" (EGZGB, Art. 163 para. 3) and leaves their common use to the regulations of the canton and the communes (Art. 164 para. 2).76

What the commune has not said. Naters has not written in so many words that Art. 19 covers the Burgergemeinde's alps; that reading rests on the texts above. Read narrowly, as the political commune's own land only, "public ground" would leave the pasture out, and the Burgerschaft's consent would decide instead: it publishes none, and the rock above the grass would stay under Art. 19 anyway. Either way, nobody may simply spend the night there. The office that can say how the commune applies its rule is the Gemeindepolizei Naters, +41 27 922 75 77, gemeindepolizei@naters.ch.26

Other layers around the Aletschbord, and why they do not change the night

Real, but none of them decides the shoulder. No federal protected area covers the pin. Federal game reserve no. 32 Aletschwald, integral part, begins 1.47 km east, across the Massa gorge on Riederalp ground: free tenting and camping is banned there, CHF 150 under Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005 of the federal fixed-penalty ordinance, and the canton's Aletschwald decree bans "das Zelten und Campieren" too, so never cross the suspension bridge to camp. The cantonal hunting-ban area no. 77 Aletsch-Nesthorn, 60 m east on the glacier flank, bans hunting and nothing else. BLN object 1706, 127 m away, and the UNESCO World Heritage site Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch, 145 m away, bind the authorities, not you. The wildlife rest zones nearby, Bruchi and Chrache, are only recommended, from 1 December to 15 April.18

The path, the hunt, the fire ban and the last cable car

The path. The Tyndall trail, opened in 2022, leads from the top station to the monument and down to the Aletschbord, 3 km in about 1 hour 10 minutes. From the Hotel Belalp the marked mountain trail to the Hohbiel passes 2 m from the boulder, a route the tourist office rates "schwer", difficult. In winter the shoulder lies on a ski piste.915

The hunt. The Valais high hunt runs until 3 October 2026, Monday to Saturday, and the Aletschbord is open hunting ground; hunting is banned only on the flank beyond the rim. Wear something bright and keep to the trail.81

Fire. The canton has banned all fire in and near the forest since 15 September 2026, and the Belalp's public fireplaces are closed.19

The last cable car. If you come up for the evening light and go down again, the last run of the Blatten-Belalp cable car leaves the Belalp at 20:20 until 25 October 2026, with the service partly suspended on the first Tuesday of each month. From 26 October to 11 December it runs down only at 07:40, 12:00 and 17:00 on weekdays, and at weekends on request, booked by Friday 16:45.9

How it is possible: a hotel bed on the Aletschbord, a winter room or a bivouac hut

There is no lawful night outside on the Belalp and no consent route to one: Art. 19 names no permit, the commune has designated no zone, and no landowner can waive a police regulation on public ground. The lawful night by the glacier is a bed, and the nearest is on the same rim.24

Hotel Belalp, Aletschbord 20, 2'137 m, +41 27 924 24 22, info@hotel-belalp.ch. About 700 m down the ridge from the monument and 25 minutes' walk from the top station. Summer season until 25 October 2026, closed all day on Saturdays except 3 October; winter season from 18 December 2026. Per room and night with breakfast: a single from CHF 150, a double from CHF 210; a room with 15 beds takes groups of 8 or more at CHF 90 per bed.9

A night higher up. The Fusshornbiwak of the BelalpAlpinCenter, at 2'790 m, sleeps 8, about 3.5 hours away on a white-blue-white alpine route with chains: CHF 50 per person, booked online only, the key at the Belalp Bahnen counter against a CHF 50 deposit, and outside the summer season that counter is closed at weekends. The Oberaletschhütte SAC, at 2'640 m, 4 to 5 hours away on a T3 route, is closed for the season, but its winter room, 10 places with a wood stove about 50 m below the main hut, is open all year, reservation compulsory: CHF 51 for non-members, CHF 35 for SAC members, plus CHF 8 for wood, info@oberaletsch.ch. The hut's CHF 8 fee for people sleeping in tents or bivouacs applies only while it is staffed, and it is a charge for the hut's facilities, not a permit from the commune.10

With a tent. The campsite is in the valley: Camping Brigerbad, at the thermal baths in Brig-Glis, has a tent meadow and was open on 26 September 2026; reception daily 08:00 to 18:30, +41 27 948 48 37. The Park'n'Sleep above Blatten is the commune's signed pitch for campervans; whether it takes a walker with only a tent is not published, so ask Blatten-Belalp Tourismus first, +41 27 921 60 40.103

  • Hotel Belalp, 2'137 m, about 700 m from the monument. Summer season until 25 October 2026, closed on Saturdays except 3 October, rooms from CHF 150; +41 27 924 24 22.9
  • Fusshornbiwak, 2'790 m. 8 places, CHF 50 per person, booked online, key at the Belalp Bahnen counter; about 3.5 hours on an alpine route.10
  • Oberaletschhütte winter room, 2'640 m. 10 places, open all year, reservation compulsory, CHF 51 for non-members; 4 to 5 hours, T3.10
  • Camping Brigerbad, in the Rhone valley. Tent meadow at the thermal baths; +41 27 948 48 37.10
  • Not by the Tyndall monument, not in the resort, not at the Lüsgersee, not on the lift corridors, not on the flank below the rim, not across the suspension bridge. Naters' rule on overnighting on public ground, up to CHF 5'000; chalets, lifts and an amphibian site; cliffs; and across the bridge a federal game reserve, CHF 150.28

General rules for wild camping

This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which near the Belalp means a pitch at a campsite in the valley. It is not legal text, it is decency and common sense on an alp where sheep and goats graze freely in summer and hunters are out in the autumn.

  • No fire. An open fire has no place in the mountains. A gas stove is enough.
  • Pitch late, strike early. Set up towards evening, gone again early. A bivouac is one night, not a base camp.
  • Leave no rubbish. Everything you carry up you carry down, organic scraps and toilet paper included.
  • At least 50 metres from any water for the big business, so you do not foul what people and livestock drink.
  • Stay small and quiet. A small group, no speaker, no drone, dogs on the lead, and the alp staff's word goes.

Disclaimer

This article reflects my research and assessment to the best of my knowledge, as of September 2026. It is based on the publicly accessible and official sources linked below. It does not replace legal advice and is not a binding statement of the current legal situation.

The verdict rests on Art. 19 of the Naters police regulation with the fines of its Art. 2, on the absence of any zone the commune designates for camping, on the Burgergemeinde Naters owning the alp as shown by its assembly's building-right decision, and on the Valais municipal law and the Valais introductory act to the Civil Code. That Art. 19 covers the Burgergemeinde's alps as public ground is a reading of those texts; the commune has not confirmed it, and no published case shows how the police court applies the rule on the Belalp. The protected-area boundaries and every distance here are taken from the published geometry, which is as accurate as the data and not as a marker on the ground. Prices, dates, timetables and seasons are taken from their publishers as of September 2026 and can change; nothing posted on the Belalp was checked on site. Before every tour, check the current sources yourself and follow instructions on site. A genuine emergency bivouac in distress is a separate question from a planned night out. Anyone who spends the night outside bears responsibility for their own conduct and any consequences themselves. Hikebeast, Leon Helg and Saftladen GmbH accept no liability for decisions made on the basis of this text, and call on no one to break applicable law.

Frequently asked questions

Can I camp on the Belalp?
No, neither with a tent nor with a bivvy bag. The Belalp lies in the commune of Naters, whose police regulation allows camping and overnighting on public ground only in zones the commune designates (Polizeireglement der Gemeinde Naters, Art. 19), and Naters has designated none: its only camping zone was rezoned into a landfill zone in 2008. Breaches are fined up to CHF 5'000 (Art. 2), negligence included. The ground where a night would happen, the alp shoulder by the Tyndall monument at 2'351 metres, is alp of the Burgergemeinde Naters and counts as public ground. Sleep at the Hotel Belalp, about 700 metres down the ridge, in the Fusshornbiwak or the Oberaletschhütte winter room, or at Camping Brigerbad.
Is a bivvy bag without a tent allowed?
No. Art. 19 of the Naters police regulation names two things, "Campieren" and "Übernachten", camping and spending the night, and allows both on public ground only in the zones the commune designates, of which there are none. A night in a bivvy bag without a tent is still a night on public ground, so it falls under the same rule and the same fine of up to CHF 5'000 (Art. 2). That differs from bans that name only tents or camping, where a night without a tent can be an open question. On the Belalp, a lawful night up high means the Fusshornbiwak or the Oberaletschhütte winter room.
Is the Belalp really public ground?
The alp by the Tyndall monument lies in parcel 8560, "Belalp-Inners Aletschji", which belongs to the Burgergemeinde Naters: its assembly granted a building right on that parcel on 12 November 2025. Under the Valais municipal law (GemG, SGS 175.1, Art. 1) a Burgergemeinde is a public-law corporation, and the rock and scree above the grass are the commune's public property by statute (EGZGB, SGS 211.1, Art. 163 para. 3). The commune has not said in so many words that Art. 19 of its police regulation covers the Burgergemeinde's alps; the Gemeindepolizei Naters can confirm it, +41 27 922 75 77, gemeindepolizei@naters.ch. Read narrowly, the pasture would be the Burgerschaft's to allow, and it publishes no consent: either way, nobody may simply spend the night there.
Where can I sleep with a view of the Aletsch glacier?
At the Hotel Belalp on the Aletschbord, 2'137 metres, about 700 metres down the ridge from the Tyndall monument: summer season until 25 October 2026, closed all day on Saturdays except 3 October, winter season from 18 December 2026; a single room from CHF 150 and a double from CHF 210 with breakfast; +41 27 924 24 22, info@hotel-belalp.ch. Higher up, the Fusshornbiwak at 2'790 metres, CHF 50 per person, booked online; or the winter room of the Oberaletschhütte SAC at 2'640 metres, open all year, reservation compulsory, CHF 51 for non-members. If you only come up for the sunset, the last cable car leaves the Belalp at 20:20 until 25 October 2026.
Can I camp across the suspension bridge on the Riederalp side?
No. The suspension bridge over the Massa gorge leads from Naters ground onto the Riederalp side, and its east end lies in federal game reserve no. 32 Aletschwald, integral part, and in the Aletschwald reserve. In the game reserve free tenting and camping is banned (VEJ, SR 922.31, Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. e), with a fixed fine of CHF 150 (OBV, SR 314.11, Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005), and the cantonal decree protecting the Aletschwald bans "das Zelten und Campieren" as well (SGS 451.111, Art. 3 Abs. 1 lit. k). From the Tyndall monument the reserve begins about 1.5 kilometres east. Cross the bridge by day and sleep in the Hotel Belalp or a hut.
Leon Helg

Leon Helg

Swiss filmmaker and software developer. Spends his free time in the Swiss Alps and maps his favourite spots for Hikebeast. Posts as @leon.helg on Instagram and TikTok.

Swiss Guide Wildcamping Checker Color Grading

Sources

  1. Official geodata, queried on 26 September 2026. Federal identify service at the pin, LV95 2'642'078 / 1'137'266 (WGS84 46.385445 / 7.985626), swissALTI3D 2'350.9 m, tolerance 0, with a bogus-layer control returning HTTP 400 and the Kiental game reserve returned as positive control. Commune Naters from the current-year boundary, like the Belalp, the Hohbiel, the Sparrhorn, the Oberaletsch hut and the Fusshornbiwak; Riederalp begins 1'598 m east across the Massa gorge, Bitsch 1'904 m south-east. swissNAMES3D: "Denkmal Tyndalldenkmal" at the pin; "Belalp" at the cable-car top station, with 68 buildings of the federal register of buildings within 200 m. At the pin: no federal protected area. Nearest: federal game reserve no. 32 "Aletschwald", integral part, 1'473 m east-south-east on Riederalp ground, its partial part 2'569 m; the east end of the Belalp-Riederalp suspension bridge lies in the game reserve and in the Pro Natura reserve "Aletsch". Canton of Valais, hunting layers: cantonal Banngebiet no. 77 "Aletsch-Nesthorn", a hunting ban, 60 m east-north-east on the Aletsch flank. BLN object no. 1706 "Berner Hochalpen und Aletsch-Bietschhorn-Gebiet (südlicher Teil)", 127 m east-north-east; UNESCO World Heritage site Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch, 145 m; amphibian spawning site of national importance VS432 "Lüsga" (Lüsgersee), 468 m south; wildlife rest zones no. 19 "Bruchi", 939 m south, and no. 20 "Chrache", 2.5 km south-south-west, both "empfohlen", recommended, 1 December to 15 April. Empty at the pin: parks, floodplains, mires, dry meadows, Ramsar, Emerald, forest reserves, military areas. Terrain: about 2 to 3 degrees on the grass 30 to 70 m south-west of the boulder; slopes of more than 35 degrees from 111 m north-east, where the Aletsch flank begins; a wet hollow at the Bordjeri spring 150 m west. Forest: the legal forest tops out at about 2'054 m near the Hotel Belalp; the highest tree clusters, on rock ribs of the Aletsch flank, reach about 2'220 m. Buildings: the nearest 489 m away; Hotel Belalp 688 m south-east. Trails: the marked white-red-white mountain trail passes 2 m from the boulder. Forest fire, layers of the Federal Office for the Environment at the pin: region Aletsch at "Grosse Gefahr" since 28 August 2026; cantonal measure since 15 September 2026, "Absolutes Feuerverbot im Wald und in Waldesnähe". map.geo.admin.ch (game reserves), identify at the pin, sit.vs.ch, hunting layers. ↩
  2. Gemeinde Naters, Polizeireglement, adopted by the Gemeinderat on 7 October 2013 and by the Urversammlung on 27 November 2013, approved by the Staatsrat on 17 September 2014; a letter d was added to Art. 13 in 2022; it replaced the regulation of 13 August 1996 (Art. 30). Read on 26 September 2026. Art. 1 para. 3: "Die im Polizeireglement unter Strafe gestellten Übertretungen sind strafbar, auch wenn sie fahrlässig begangen werden." Art. 2: "Widerhandlungen gegen die Vorschriften dieses Reglements werden mit Bussen bis Fr. 5'000,-- bestraft." Art. 3: the Polizeigericht decides on communal offences (lit. a); where the accused has admitted the facts and the fine is not higher than 500 francs, its president or a member delegated by him decides as single judge (lit. b); a penalty order can be challenged by objection to the Polizeigericht, first-instance decisions before the single judge of the Kantonsgericht (lit. c). Art. 19 "Campieren": "Das Campieren und Übernachten auf öffentlichem Grund und Boden ist nur in den von der Gemeinde dafür bezeichneten Zonen gestattet." The commune publishes no list of fixed fines for it. Gemeindepolizei Naters, Bahnhofstrasse 9a, 3904 Naters, +41 27 922 75 77, gemeindepolizei@naters.ch, counter on Tuesdays 15:00 to 17:00; Gemeindeverwaltung, +41 27 922 75 75, info@naters.ch. For comparison: the Regionalpolizei Leuk-Leukerbad publishes, for the eight communes it serves, that a single bivouac or night on public ground in the mountains above the tree line is allowed; Naters is not among them. Polizeireglement Naters (PDF), Gemeindepolizei Naters, Regionalpolizei Leuk-Leukerbad, Wildcampen. ↩
  3. Gemeinde Naters, Parkplatzreglement, adopted by the Gemeinderat on 11 April 2023 and by the Urversammlung on 24 May 2023, approved by the Staatsrat on 13 September 2023, read on 26 September 2026. Art. 6 "Campieren": "Das Abstellen von Fahrzeugen zu Übernachtungs- oder Campingzwecken, ist auf dem Gemeindegebiet von Naters verboten, ausser wenn hierfür ein Standort durch die Gemeinde festgelegt und als solcher beschildert ist (Stell- / Campingplatz)." Annex, "Stellplätze": "Auf diesen Parkplätzen wird das Übernachten in Fahrzeugen ermöglicht", Rischinen/Stalden; tariff "Tagespauschale Fr. 20,-- exkl. Kurtaxe". Blatten-Belalp Tourismus, "Park'n'Sleep Stellplatz Rischinu", in the Rischinerwald above Blatten: a natural pitch for campervans with a toilet and a fireplace; the page says nothing about walkers without a vehicle. Blatten-Belalp Tourismus AG, +41 27 921 60 40, tourismus@belalp.ch. Parkplatzreglement Naters (PDF), belalp.ch, Park'n'Sleep Rischinu. ↩
  4. Zoning, consulted on 26 September 2026. Bau- und Zonenreglement der Gemeinde Naters, consolidated version on the commune's website: Art. 5, a building permit for "das Aufstellen von mobilen Wohnwagen, Zelten und dergleichen ausserhalb eines bewilligten Campingplatzes für mehr als 60 Tage"; Art. 86 lit. d protects the "Schutzgebiet Aletsch" against buildings, cableways and ski lifts and keeps "die extensive Erholungsnutzung" as it was, with no rule on nights; no article sets out a camping zone. Legal documents of the public-law restrictions cadastre of Valais: the regulation approved in 1997 and 2000 (attachment 6628) had Art. 88 "Campingzone CZ" for "Camping, Caravaning und Wohnmobile"; the Staatsrat's decision of 16 January 2008 (attachment 6631) approved the landfill zone "Steinbruch Rischinu" "(Umzonung von Campingzone in Deponiezone und übriges Gemeindegebiet)"; the revision approved on 9 June 2010 made Art. 88 the "Zone für touristische Bauten und Anlagen" (attachments 6634 and 6654). Naters' zoning data on map.vsgis.ch contain no camping zone, and the canton's harmonised zoning has its zones for camping in Brig-Glis, Ried-Brig, Mörel-Filet and Blatten (Lötschen), none in Naters. Bau- und Zonenreglement Naters (PDF), regulation of 1997 and 2000 (PDF), Staatsrat decision of 16 January 2008 (PDF), revision of 2008 (PDF), map.vsgis.ch, Naters. ↩
  5. Public-law restrictions cadastre (ÖREB) of Valais, extract for parcel 8560 of Naters, EGRID CH243052954537, 11'823'434 m², local name "Belalp-Inners Aletschji", read with geometry on 26 September 2026. At the pin: "Sömmerungsweiden", summer pastures, a "Skipiste" overlay, ski piste, and noise sensitivity level III. Nearest other restrictions: "Übriges Gemeindegebiet" 86 m; landscape protection area of cantonal importance (VAEW) 138 m; forest 604 m. No nature protection zone lies anywhere on the parcel. ÖREB extract, parcel 8560 (PDF). ↩
  6. Burgerschaft Naters, Schulhausstrasse 1, 3904 Naters, +41 27 923 06 10, info@burgerschaft-naters.ch, read on 26 September 2026. Minutes of the Burgerversammlung of 12 November 2025, item 6.1, "Baurecht zu Lasten der Parzelle 8560 und zu Gunsten der RIP Zone AG, Anbau Bergstation Gondelbahn Chiematta", approved unanimously. Page "Die Burgerschaft": "Die Aufgaben der Burgerschaft sind öffentlicher Natur." "Die bedeutendste Aufgabe ist und bleibt jedoch die Verwaltung und Nutzung des Burgervermögens, das sich in Naters vor allem aus den Wäldern, Alpen und Allmenden zusammensetzt. Sie dienen der Alp- und Forstwirtschaft, aber auch Einheimischen und Touristen als Erholungsraum", naming the ski and hiking area Belalp-Aletsch. Page "Alpbewirtschaftung Belalp": summer grazing from about 10 June to mid-September; the goats and sheep graze freely on the Belalp. minutes of 12 November 2025 (PDF), Die Burgerschaft, Alpbewirtschaftung Belalp. ↩
  7. Canton of Valais, read on lex.vs.ch on 26 September 2026. Gemeindegesetz (GemG), SGS 175.1, of 5 February 2004, Art. 1 para. 1: the law applies to the following "öffentlichrechtliche Körperschaften": "a) die Einwohnergemeinden; b) die Burgergemeinden". Einführungsgesetz zum Schweizerischen Zivilgesetzbuch (EGZGB), SGS 211.1, of 24 March 1998, Art. 163 para. 3: "Die Gemeindestrassen, die nicht kultivierbaren Regionen, wie Felsen, Schutthalden, Schneefelder und Gletscher, Seen, alle Wasserläufe, ab demjenigen Punkt wo sie entspringen, fallen in das öffentliche Eigentum der Gemeinden." Art. 164 para. 2: "Der Gemeingebrauch der öffentlichen Sachen ist durch das kantonale öffentliche Recht geregelt sowie durch die herkömmlichen Gebräuche und die gültigen Reglemente des Kantons und der Gemeinden." lex.vs.ch, SGS 175.1, SGS 211.1. ↩
  8. Verordnung über die eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiete (VEJ), SR 922.31, Art. 5 para. 1 lit. e: "Das freie Zelten und Campieren ist verboten. Vorbehalten bleibt die Benutzung offizieller Zeltplätze. Die Kantone können Ausnahmen bewilligen." Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV), SR 314.11, Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005: "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten", 150 francs. Federal Office for the Environment, object sheet "32. Aletschwald" of the 2023 revision: "Das Banngebiet umfasst einen integralen (I) und einen partiellen (II) Teil." Canton of Valais: Entscheid betreffend den Schutz des Aletschwaldes, Gemeinde Riederalp, SGS 451.111, of 12 January 2011, Art. 3 para. 1 lit. k bans "das Zelten und Campieren" in the reserve. Beschluss über die Ausübung der Jagd im Wallis 2026-2027, SGS 922.110: Patent A, for red deer, chamois and other game, from 21 September to 3 October 2026, Monday to Saturday; Art. 37 para. 3: "jegliche Jagd in den KBG und den gemischten KBG verboten", the cantonal and mixed Banngebiete, with no other rule for visitors. BLN object 1706 binds the authorities (NHG, SR 451, Art. 6). fedlex.admin.ch (VEJ), fedlex.admin.ch (OBV), object sheet 32 Aletschwald (PDF), lex.vs.ch, SGS 451.111, SGS 922.110, fedlex.admin.ch (NHG). ↩
  9. Hotel Belalp, Aletschbord 20, 3914 Belalp, 2'137 m, +41 27 924 24 22, info@hotel-belalp.ch, German pages read on 26 September 2026: summer season 4 June to 25 October 2026, "Alle Samstage ganztägig wegen Hochzeiten geschlossen! Ausnahme 03.10.2026", winter season 18 December 2026 to 4 April 2027; per room and night with breakfast buffet, a single from CHF 150, doubles from CHF 210, 240 or 260; a new room with 15 single beds, "Buchbar ab 8 Gästen", CHF 90 per bed and night with breakfast. Belalp Bahnen AG, +41 27 921 65 10: summer timetable 4 June to 25 October 2026, last run down from the Belalp at 20:20; "Kontrolltag: Jeden 1. Dienstag des Monats ist der Betrieb teilweise eingestellt"; from 26 October to 11 December 2026 down on weekdays at 07:40, 12:00 and 17:00, at weekends on request by Friday 16:45; counter outside the summer season Monday to Friday 07:20 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:45, closed at weekends; status page of 26 September 2026: the public fireplaces "geschlossen", "Camping Brigerbad offen". Blatten-Belalp Tourismus: the Tyndall monument on the Triembiel, a natural erratic boulder 4.75 m high and 1.5 m thick, erected in 1911 by Louisa Tyndall; the Tyndall trail, opened on 2 August 2022, from the top station to the Aletschbord, 3.05 km, 1 h 10; the walk from the Hotel Belalp to the Hohbiel past the monument, 2.91 km, 1 h 30, "Schwierigkeit: schwer". hotel-belalp.ch, rooms and prices, summer timetable 2026 (PDF), timetable, opening hours, status, Tyndall monument, Tyndall trail, Hotel Belalp to Hohbiel. ↩
  10. Oberaletschhütte SAC, Sektion Chasseral, 2'640 m, info@oberaletsch.ch, pages and price lists read on 26 September 2026: 58 places, staffed in spring and summer, now "geschlossen"; the winter room in the small hut about 50 m below the main hut, 10 places, beds, blankets and a wood stove, "Eine Reservation über das Reservationssystem ist zwingend erforderlich"; winter-room prices 2026 including VAT and tourist tax: SAC members CHF 35, non-member adults CHF 51, non-members up to 17 CHF 31, wood CHF 8 per person and night (price list of 21 August 2026). Access from the Belalp top station: 4 to 5 hours, 9.8 km, 960 m up and 400 m down, T3. Price list of the staffed season: "Infrastrukturgebühr Selbstversorger und Biwakierende", "Wenn die Hütte geöffnet ist und die Personen in Zelten oder Biwaks schlafen", CHF 8.00. Fusshornbiwak, BelalpAlpinCenter, 2'790 m, +41 79 630 97 11, info@belalpalpincenter.ch: "Das Biwak ist für alle offen!" (status July 2026); 8 places, gas and a small food stock; CHF 50 per person and night, "Reservationen nur über die online Buchungsplattform"; the key from the tourist office or the Belalp Bahnen counter against a CHF 50 deposit; access about 3.5 hours on a white-blue-white route, "die Ketten im Zustieg sind montiert". Camping Brigerbad, Thermalbad und Camping Resort, Brig-Glis: a tent meadow, reception daily 08:00 to 18:30, +41 27 948 48 37, camping@brigerbad.ch. Oberaletschhütte, winter room, winter-room prices 2026 (PDF), prices, access, Fusshornbiwak, Camping Brigerbad. ↩