Introduction to Mottec

Located at the entrance of the Zinal valley, at 1550 m altitude, Mottec was once a natural stopover for Anniviards going to the mayens and travellers heading for hotels in Zinal.

The village name probably comes from the word motec which means “small mound” in local dialect.

The banks of the Navisence were dotted with small rustic mayens. (small houses associated with mid-mountain pastures) In January 1897, a traveller numbered about six hundred inhabitants in the valley between Mottec and Zinal.

JUntil the 1950s, when people were leaving Ayer, last village inhabited all year, on their way to Zinal, they followed the road to the Pont du Bois, then “attacked” the climb to the Lovérèche chapel. They then crossed Mottec, before going to Pralong, Bouillet and Zinal. This valley, with its beautiful green meadows and flat land, appeared then to travellers as a kind of Arcadia, a paradise.

The construction of the road and the hydroelectric plant permanently changed the appearance of the place.

Today, the village has about twenty inhabitants.