Leukerbad (Loèche-les-Bains)
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Not just for the ill and infirm.

Must you be ailing to enjoy Leukerbad? Not at all. You can sample many of the thermal springs even if you're in the best of health, but that's just for starters. Other activities in and around Leukerbad include hiking, mountaineering, escorted walks, indoor and outdoor tennis, badminton, squash, minigolf, parasailing, ice skating, a chamber-music workshop, a summer clown   festival, and the usual array of winter sports. (Karin Roten, the Swiss ski racer and Olympic competitor, is a native of Leukerbad.)

Leukerbad has several aerial cable cars for skiers, sightseers, and hikers:

The Gemmipass Seilbahn holds runs from June through October and again during the ski season. The large gondola takes 6 minutes to haul you to the Gemmipass, one of the most scenic areas of the Valais. (A trail covers the same route, so you can easily go one way by cable car and in the other direction on foot.)

The Rinderhütte Seilbahn operates from early June to early November and again from Christmas until late April.

The Albinenleitern-Rinderhütte Lift uses small gondolas to connect the Albinenleitern with the Rinderhütte, with an intermediate stop at Torrentalp. The lift runs from late June until mid-October and again during the ski season. (You can reach Albinenleitern by bus route 100.83 if you aren't up to walking.)

How to reach Leukerbad

Leukerbad is in the mountains just below the Gemmi Pass, on the north side of the Rhône River  between Sion and Brig. Most trains on the Geneva-Lausanne-Italy and Geneva-Lausanne-Gotthard routes stop in the valley at Leuk-Susten, where you can catch one of the frequent buses to Leukerbad.

If you're driving, take the highway east or west through the Rhône Valley. (From Lausanne and Montreux, this starts out as Autobahn N9.) When you reach Leuk-Susten, follow the signs for Leukerbad.

Hotels, Web links

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Photo: Aztech Corp. 

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