After 4 days full of activities in Tignes, on we headed to the next ski resort we wanted to check out – Verbier in Switzerland. Why Verbier? I had many times read about free ride skiing in Verbier during the winter, and enjoyed awesome pics, so considered it should also offer interesting activities in the summer, like in Tignes.

Well, it didn’t. To our disappointment the resort was almost empty, with only few people hiking the beautiful Alps around the village. The resort website listed some summer activities, but we couldn’t find any sign of them however we tried. Pity.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the view (below)

But, much more we liked the views from the exciting campsite 20 kms from Verbier we had accidentally come across. As it turned out, we had found the ‘best small charming campsite for 2011’ in Switzerland (nominated by some touring organization), and it indeed deserved this recognition.

What’s special about this campsite?
* The Location. Camping Forèt des Mélèzes is located at 1600 m height (there were patches of snow around, in August!) nested in between several peaks from the Swiss alps, inside a charming forest and just next to a river. The holiday village next to the campsite – Bonatchiesse – is so small and so high in the mountain it wasn’t even available on the GPS! Imagine how green and peaceful was it all around, with no cars passing by, no crowds, no dirt. Amazing!
You can set up your tent just on the river bank, and let the kids throw pebbles and play around all day long. They say if you are lucky, you can also get a wild goat staring at you, from the other side of the river.

* The peace. The campsite is quite big and really peaceful. I think it said 200 places, but actually the site is so big, you think there’s just a few people on the campsite (and there were many, we just didn’t see them). You don’t get disturbed by others, and don’t worry about disturbing others.

* The facilities. First campsite I’ve seen with a barbecue and table/benches for every tent place. The bathroom facilities were the best we’ve seen so far, and there was also a Sioux village with indian-style tents.

* The sightseeing. Lots to see and do if you stay in this campsite. There are many lakes around, wonderful forests with many pedestrian routes, waterfalls and several small villages down the road you could hike to.

You can also rent an e-bike from the campsite (was kind of expensive though..approx 35 CHF/~ 25EUR for ½ day). And if you prefer more social activities – there seem to be regular contests and fests organized in Bonatchiesse (we watched a pétanque contest on a Sunday).

The cost of this campsite? Approx 20 EUR per night. It was nothing, compared to the cost of basic food supplies for 1 day in the nearest local supermarket 🙂 Which, by the way, was so kind to open just for us, 3 hours after closing time.

So, if you decide to hike Switzerland some day with your family, and enjoy camping – definitely pay a visit to this campsite, and its surroundings.