The road to Grande Dixence Dam, the tallest gravity dam in the world
The Grande Dixence Dam is a concrete gravity dam at an elevation of 2.141m (7,024ft) above the sea level, located at the head of the Val d'Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
The dam is masterpiece of civil engineering. Built in the years from 1951 to 1965, it is said to be the tallest gravity dam in the world, with a height of 285m. The dam collects the meltwater of 35 Valaisian glaciers in the region surrounding Zermatt and leading up to Val d’Hérens. The dam is the starting point for several hiking tours and it’s open to the public from June 15 through September 30.
The curvy access road to the Grande Dixence dam is totally paved. It’s closed for the winter season from October to mid-June. It’s 17.4 km (10.81 miles) long starting from Hérémence. There’s a parking lot at the end of the road. The last 5 kilometres wind up the end of the valley on superb and steep hairpins before the route ends at the bottom of the massive dam wall.