LEUK STATION
Leuk and Susten: two villages, one community in the heart of Valais. With an average of 3,500 hours of sunshine per year, Leuk not only offers ideal conditions for producing good wine, but some very rare plants also grow here alongside more than 130 different bird species.
Stroll through the main square of Leuk on a pleasant morning and you will feel as though you have been transported back to the 16th century, with traces of history evident everywhere in the narrow alleys and quiet nooks and crannies. Many historic buildings and structures bear witness to Leuk’s rich past, from the Roman fireplace to the medieval Bishops palace.
But Leuk also has one eye on the future. Under the guidance of the world-famous architect Mario Botta, the Leuk Castle is being renovated and converted for a new purpose. Susten is the gateway to the Pfynwald Nature Reserve, the largest contiguous pine forest in Central Europe. You are sure to be impressed by its rich variety of habitats, which includes the cold “Rotten” (Upper Rhone) and its gravel islands, boiling hot steppes, dry pine forests, as well as primeval alluvial forests, ponds and meadows, all on a relatively small area. It provides a natural habitat for more than 100 species of breeding bird, including some very rare ones, and the flora here is second to none.
Highlights:
– Hiking and bird-watching tours in the Pfyn Nature Park.
– Hiking area in the Leuk district, with more than 200 km of marked hiking trails at between 600 and 2,500 meters above sea level.
– Leukerbad thermal baths