Leukerbad - A Spa in Switzerland

By Ilona Biro

LEUKERBAD, Switzerland - As I stood on top of Switzerland’s legendary Gemmi Pass, surrounded by breathtaking Alpine views, I tried to imagine hundreds of fluffy sheep in the throes of celebration. Our guide had been describing the annual Shepherd's Festival, as lively a display of mountain culture as one will find, with plenty of yodelling, folk music and sporting events, topped off with generous helpings of raclette and wine.

Before the Swiss engineered the roads and railways that make travelling here such a pleasure, the Shepherd's Festival was the main event in this part of the world - the only time that villagers from opposite sides of the mountain were able to get together. Each year, on the last Sunday in July, thousands of locals and visitors hike or take the gondola up to the Gemmi Pass for the festivities. At exactly 11 o'clock in the morning, the hundreds of assembled sheep are let loose to feast on a special bran and salt concoction spread on the hillside in their honour. Once the sheep are munching, the festival has officially begun.

But as we imagined the sunny mountaintop festival, a sudden cloudburst forced us back to the gondola station and down to Leukerbad, or Loeche-les-Bains, its French name. On our way we saw one of the sure signs of approaching winter when an avalanche dog, his Red Cross pennant flapping in the wind, came streaking along the path with his trainer in tow a few metres behind.

Leukerbad has been a resort town for centuries, drawing spa and sport enthusiasts to its magnificent setting, healing thermal waters and wide range of activities. Just a short train ride from Lausanne or Geneva, and boasting a state-of-the-art spa complex called the Alpentherme, Leukerbad enters the 21st century primed to take its place alongside other notable Swiss resorts. But before you get the wrong impression, Leukerbad will never be a disco village, a new Zermatt or St Moritz. For the Swiss, Leukerbad is synonymous with rest and relaxation - a place to recharge one's fading batteries. With their typical attention to detail, the town burghers have even ensured their visitors get a good night's sleep - by banning all traffic in town from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

But don’t let all that emphasis on R and R mislead you. With the increasing popularity of active holidays, Leukerbad has created a sporting infrastructure that few towns its size can match. The 18 million dollar sports centre hosts international hockey and curling tournaments on its indoor rinks, plus tennis, squash courts and a fitness centre. Winter offers the best of both worlds, with downhill and cross-country skiing adding to the roster of activities. The rest of the year, hikers are drawn to Leukerbad's 60 kilometres of trails, over the Gemmi Pass to neighbouring villages, or winding through the nearby Rhone Valley vineyards. Local summer festivals include the 8th International Literature Festival in early July and a Clown and Cabaret festival later in the month.

All-inclusive passes available at the tourist office combine admission to Leukerbad's spas with use of the sports centre, gondolas, buses to neighbouring towns, ski-lifts, and many other activities. Or, you can opt out of all the activity and watch the rest of the world go up and down the mountain - while soaking in the outdoor thermal pool.

Leukerbad has six public thermal baths, and an array of private spas within some of the luxury hotels and sanatoria. The best selection of spa services is offered at the brand new Alpentherme - an ultra-modern granite and glass complex offering sports massage, mudbaths, electrotherapy, and a popular moss treatment called fango. A whole floor of the Alpentherme is devoted to the Roman-Irish bath - a carefully-timed series of saunas, steam baths, and immersions, in addition to a vigorous soap and brush rub-down. After completing the circuit, an attendant wraps you in a duvet for a little shut-eye.

Snug in my cotton cocoon and resting under a palm tree, I had to marvel at the Swiss. They inhabit a vertical land which they have tamed with clever inventions like cogwheel trains and gondola lifts. They have created scrumptious cheese repasts to linger over with friends. And, they have put bubbly hot pools under some of the most majestic mountains I have ever seen. It was going to be hard to leave.

In spa towns, where average stays stretch to two or three weeks, one tends to settle into a routine. Mine was an early evening soak in the Alpentherme's outdoor pool. As the bubbles churned away around me, and the moon rose over the craggy Alps, only one thought disturbed my inner peace: Will it be raclette or fondue tonight?

IF YOU GO:

I flew to Zurich on Swissair, and transferred in Zurich airport onto the Swiss train system. My baggage was transferred via Swissair's Fly/Baggage service, right to my hotel (or the nearest bus or train station), for 20 dollars per piece.

A week in a hotel in Leukerbad, with access to the baths and half-board can run from 325 dollars in winter to 1100 dollars in summer. For hikers planning to walk the mountain trails, staying at the Wildstrubel, on top of the Gemmi Pass, could be ideal. For five-star service and a private spa within the hotel, stay at the Source des Alpes, a Relais et Chateaux hotel.

Leukerbad's tourist office offers week-long passes that include ski lift tickets, gondolas, local buses, and the spa and sports centre. Day passes to the Alpentherme are 18 dollars and the Roman-Irish bath costs 38 dollars.

Information on Leukerbad and its environs is available at the Swiss National Tourist Office at 926 The East Mall, Etobicoke, Ontario, M9B-6K1, or by calling (416) 695-2090.