Switzerland · CH

Lac de Salanfe

High in the Valais Alps above Salvan and Les Marécottes, Lac de Salanfe is a glittering artificial reservoir cradled in a glacial basin at about 1,909 m, its mirror-still water throwing back the jagged wall of the Dents du Midi and the snow-dusted cone of the Tour Sallière. Reachable on a single good day's walk from the idyllic Vallon de Van, it is one of the most rewarding mountain excursions near the Rhône Valley—and one of the earliest and best-loved hikes in the canton. The lake was made by humans, not glaciers alone: a monumental 52-metre gravity dam, commissioned in 1950, holds back some 40 million cubic metres of glacier melt and frames the walk with a dramatic feat of engineering. Around the water, a marked loop carries hikers past surreal rock formations, the river delta at the dam's foot and the startling "Black Glacier," while a friendly mountain lodge offers a terrace overlooking the reservoir. For a alpine day that pairs scenery, a satisfying walk and a good lunch, Lac de Salanfe is hard to beat.