Bister on the hillside terrace

Bister is situated on a hillside terrace west of Grengiols, at 1,054 m above sea level. The scattered settlement has the main hamlets of Egga and Dorfji. Bister is one of the four villages in the Binntal Landscape Park. For geographical orientation, it is important to distinguish between the village’s location and the municipality’s territory: the municipal area extends from the Rotten at 770 m above sea level to the 2,993-metre-high Bättlihorn. It consists mainly of forest as well as meadows and pastures used for agriculture. The elevations therefore do not describe the same area. Bister is a municipality in the canton of Valais; on 31 December 2024, it had 37 residents.

St. Anne’s Chapel and cultural trail

St. Anne’s Chapel stands in the hamlet of Bänna in Bister. It was built in 1651 and has a Baroque altar dating from 1698. The two dates distinguish the year the chapel was built from the later date of the altar. The chapel is open during the day; as opening arrangements may change, check them before your visit. The Grengiols–Bister cultural trail leads to the chapel in Bister. It is therefore an explicitly named destination on a trail and, at the same time, a specific cultural point of interest during your stay.

Choosing a trail: circular route or tree walk

The Grengiols–Zenhäusern–Bister–Grengiols circular route passes through Bister and follows the old “Milleri” irrigation channel. On the return to Grengiols, it follows the Roman road, also known as the military road. Unlike the cultural trail, which leads to the chapel, the circular route describes both a sequence of places and notable sections of its route. When comparing the trails, you can thus contrast the chapel as a destination with the irrigation channel and the return along the road.

The Grengiols–Bister tree walk is a themed trail: it leads to Bister and from there returns to Grengiols via Vogelturm along a little-used path. Along the way, it passes through a birch avenue in the hamlet of Bächerhiischere. This gives you a clear distinction when choosing: the cultural trail identifies the chapel as its destination, the circular route highlights the old irrigation channel and the return along the road, and the tree walk features the birch avenue and Vogelturm. This makes it easy to distinguish the three trail profiles by their specific destinations and landscape features. It is advisable to check current trail conditions before setting out.

Getting there and your stay

Bister is around 20 km from Visp by car, and the drive takes about 26 minutes. Use these approximate figures as a first guide and check your specific route before setting off. Bister’s postal code is 3983 and can help when searching for an address. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Bister, you can consider travel arrangements and the places you want to visit as separate factors: the distance describes the journey, while the chapel and trail profiles offer different destinations locally.

Discover more destinations: Blatten, Eischoll, Bürchen, Riederalp, Kippel, Wiler (Lötschen), Bitsch, Steg.

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