Lötschental Marketing Dorfstrasse 80 CH-3918 Wiler

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Last inhabited place in the Lötschental valley, at an altitude of 1,540 metres, the picturesque village of Blatten was destroyed when millions of cubic metres of rock fell from the Small Nesthorn peak (3,342 metres), accumulating on the Birch Glacier and causing it to collapse on 28 May 2025.

As the mountain was under close surveillance due to signs of an impending landslide, the village's three hundred inhabitants and the livestock were evacuated before the disaster struck. Only a shepherd and his sheep perished, as the evacuation perimeter had been underestimated.

Blatten was part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn UNESCO World Heritage Site, and if there was one village in the Lötschental that was a must-see, it was this one.

Its 19th-century neo-Gothic church had been demolished and replaced by a new modern-style building that contrasted curiously with the rest of the village (some of whose cottages dated back to the 16th century), but the charm was still there, and an old oven, a former sawmill and the village hall still bore witness to the self-sufficiency of centuries past and the community spirit that went with it.

Blatten had remained very isolated, with agriculture and livestock farming dominating until 1954, when a road suitable for motor vehicles was built, enabling residents to travel to the plains to work for the day or the week.

The village had nowadays become a pretty little tourist destination without losing any of its charm. With barely 300 inhabitants and very limited infrastructure, it escaped mass tourism, much to the delight of those seeking authenticity above all else.

The village of Blatten was our favourite place in this mysterious valley on the edge of Upper Valais. In 2021, we created a large virtual stroll featuring nearly a hundred 360° panoramas. These images are still available on our website pictorialguides.com, on Google Maps and Street View. They are now the only way to visit this village that has been wiped off the map.