The history of Evolène is founded on peasant civilization: a hard and hard-working world that has also overwhelmed the village. And so the rural architecture, perfectly in tune with the surrounding environment, is the country's greatest wealth. Cereals were once stored in large quantities in the raccards, the old larch wood granaries, while les greniers (attics) built with narrower planks were used as safes. Another type of construction still visible is the grange-écurie (the stable). The village, especially in summer, when the houses show spectacular blooms on windows and balconies, is an intact icon of an extinct alpine world. Walking through Evolène you can feel the flavor of the past life, each house tells a story. Paintings and decorations (family emblem flowers, coats of arms or religious symbols) on the facades are an open-air art gallery. The interiors are another blast from the past.
In the heart of the village, in an eighteenth-century Evolènarde residence, there is the Musée d'Evolène created in 1999. It is crammed with local objects that date back to the agro-peasant culture of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: traditional costumes, hats, carnival masks , documents, musical instruments and much more.
The traditional costume is not only kept in the Evolène Museum, but is really found in the wardrobes of most families. It is worn regularly for important family events and, even today, many young Evolénards choose to wear these traditional clothes on the occasion of their wedding. The village festivals are also occasions to wear the chùtso for women and the rocheuttes for men, a real ritual. Among these festivals, the most beautiful and representative of the spirit of the region is undoubtedly that of mid-summer which takes place every year on August 15th. For the occasion, the crafts of yesteryear are staged on allegorical floats during a large parade. Some of these ancestral skills are practiced all year round, as in the Fondation Marie Métrailler which aspires to rehabilitate the old village weaving workshop that made the region famous in the 1940-1970s. Many mountain farmers repeat gestures that are hundreds of years old. This results in the production of local meat such as Fleur d'Hérens or Raclette PDO, tome and other famous Alpine cheeses.
The charming historic village of Lannaz is protected and classified as a site of national importance. Built in the shape of a ring, the ancestral houses and the chapel of Saint-Laurent form a circle around a lawn. Lannaz is also the starting point for the ski lifts that lead directly to the ski area and to the Alpage de Chemeuille at over 2,000 meters. Fascinating place is the bucolic village of Arbey, made famous by its lake and the extraordinary view of the Dent Blanche. Les Hauderes, amidst pine forests at 1450 meters above sea level, is surrounded by formidable mountains that reach 3500m: Dents de Veisivi, Tsa de l'Ano and Mont de l'Etoile. The famous Combats de Reines, the battles of the queens, fights between cows of the d'Hérens breed take place in the town arena. By contacting the tourist office, you can take an interesting guided tour of the Hérens breed cows directly in a stable, during the daily work of a farmer who tells the life and habits of these extraordinary animals. La Sage is another small village watched over by the Chapelle Saint-Christophe 662 m), which has watched over the village from a hill for centuries. Originally (14th century) it was so small that there was only room for the officiating priest, and so the faithful remained outside. The hamlet of La Forclaz has a beautiful view of the Dent Blanche (4357 m), an unforgettable climb reserved for experienced climbers accompanied by a guide. Needless to say, the incomparable spectacle that dominates from the summit. To stay on the subject of climbing, via ferrata lovers should not miss the Via Ferrata which is located near Evolène (about 1.5 km). Technically it is a very steep and technical climb but divided into sectors and therefore with different escape routes. You reach the highest point in Rocs de Villaz at 1700 m (walking time about 2.5 hours). Finally, at the bottom of the valley on the border with Italy, the hamlet of Arolla, which once housed mainly alpine pastures and pastures, has become one of the first high-altitude tourist centers in Valais thanks to the construction of fabulous hotels in the second half. from the 19th century.
If there is a place where the roots of a community revive in a tradition this place is Evolène. Nothing more than Carnival perpetuates the ancestral spirit of the origins.The masks speak in the local dialect, the patois, the mother tongue, the best barrier to prevent dangerous modern contamination. There are two masks that will be the masters of the village throughout the carnival period: the Peluches and the Empaillés. The former wear coarse, foul-smelling untanned skins of sheep, marmots, foxes, goats, or chamois sewn into heavy jackets a dozen pounds. They wear animal masks and represent the forces of nature. They can appear anytime between January 6 and Shrove Tuesday, but become more numerous on Friday and Saturday nights. On the other hand, stuffed items do not appear until the last Sunday before Shrove Tuesday. They are wrapped in sacks full of straw and frighten passers-by with their imposing mass and particular pattern. Empaillés and soft toys have an apotropaic meaning: they serve to ward off evil spirits, to protect the village of Evolene and the Val d'Hérens.
