An iconic mountain range

The rugged, 3 kilometre-long silhouette of the Dents du Midi mountain range dominates the Illiez and the Rhone valleys and is clearly visible from as far away as the shores of Lake Geneva. The 7 vertiginous summits are our ever-present guardians and have been an iconic local landmark since time immemorial.

In 2018, they inspired a stylised new logo, thus becoming the symbol of the newly-formed Region Dents du Midi tourist destination.

Walkers, hikers and trail runners

One of the oldest hiking tours in the Canton of Valais, the Tour des Dents du Midi was inaugurated in 1972. Adventurous nature lovers can circumnavigate the iconic mountain range in two, three or four days, enjoying the stark contrasts in landscape between the glacial peaks and the verdant alpine meadows. Experienced mountain runners complete the tour in less than a day, on the Trail des Dents du Midi (7 Summits Challenge) race.

Natural wonders

The Dents du Midi are our very own 7 natural wonders. Their shady forests, steep rocky mountainsides, rivers, lakes and glaciers here are home to countless species of fauna and flora. Keep a watchful eye out for wildlife when you’re hiking; you might spot a local chamois, ibex, marmot or ptarmigan. If you’re really lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of a spectacular, and rare, Bearded Vulture or its ‘bald’ cousin, the Griffon Vulture.

The 7 peaks

Ruptures and rockfalls in the massif have changed the shape of the teeth over time. Consequently, many of the peaks changed names as locals were inspired by geological evolution.

Cime de l’Est
3178 m

First summit climb on August 16th, 1842 by Nicolas Delez.
Until the middle of the 17th century, the Cime de l’Est was known as the Mont de Novierre. Following rockfalls in 1635 and 1636 that altered the mountain’s silhouette, it was called Mont Saint Michel and then the Dent Noire, only becoming the Cime de l’Est in the 19th century.

Forteresse
3164 m

First summit climb on June 7th, 1870 by E. Javelle et J. Oberhauser.

La Cathédrale
3160 m

First summit climb in 1890 by Nicolas Delez.

L’Éperon
3114 m

It is assumed that the ‘spur’ had two peaks until a landslide in the Middle Ages did away with one of them.

La Dent Jaune
3186 m

The Dent Jaune was known as the Dent Rouge as late as 1879.

Les Doigts
3210 m

The Doigt de Champéry (1882) and the Doigt de Salanfe (1886) later became, simply, Les Doigts.

La Haute Cime
3257 m

First summit climb in 1784 by the vicar Jean-Maurice Clément.
The highest of the 7 peaks, the Haute Cime has been known by many names, including the Dent de l’Ouest (1874), Dent du Midi, Dent de Tsallen, et Dent de Challent.