Heading Into August in Arolla

August is surely the fullest month of summer in Arolla. The days are still long, the alpages at the peak of their green, and the cultural life of the valley in full swing. It is the moment when mountain and village answer each other best, between open-air walks and gatherings at the heart of the Kurhaus.

1 August, a village celebration

The national day opens the month in style. At the Grand Hôtel & Kurhaus, we celebrate it with a great brunch and, come evening, with the bonfires and songs that echo through the valley. It is a family day, simple and warm, in the image of the place.

Culture climbs to altitude

The valley’s summer is also lived in music. The Festival de musique des Haudères, the intimate concerts of the Tibor Varga school students, and the famous Tournée des Refuges, which carries music up to nearly 3,000 metres: so many gatherings where art and mountain meet. In the hotel lounge, exhibitions regularly welcome visiting artists.

The mountain at its highest

August is also when the high mountains give themselves most readily. The trails are dry, the huts in full season, and the great routes towards the summits and glaciers are arranged with the guides of Hérens Montagne. The high-altitude hut remains an ideal day’s goal: you climb to it for the panorama, you lunch facing the ice.

A word on the weather

At 2,000 metres, August can be generous but remains the mountain: mornings are cool, afternoons sometimes stormy. You set off early, you carry a fleece, and you always keep a fallback day at the table of L’Honorine or by the fire. That too is the charm of a summer at altitude.

Heading into August, then: a month when Arolla gives the best of its summer, between celebration, music and great walks. The rest of the season, quieter, will be all the gentler for it.