The Simmental ( en, Simme Valley) is an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

in the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It expands from

Lenk Lenk im Simmental (or simply Lenk) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen (administrative district), Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern i ...

Boltigen Boltigen is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Boltigen is a mixed community, with traits both of a burgess community and a village community. Beside it, there is also a refor ...

, in a more or less south-north direction (

Obersimmental Obersimmental District was one of the 26 administrative districts in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. Its capital was Blankenburg in the municipality of Zweisimmen. The district had an area of 334 km² and consisted of 4 municipalities ...

), and from there to the valley exit at

Wimmis Wimmis is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Wimmis is first mentioned in 994 as ''Windemis''. The oldest traces of a settlement in Wimmis include the Mesolit ...

near

Spiez Spiez is a town and municipality on the shore of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss canton of Bern. It is part of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district. Besides the town of Spiez, the municipality also includes ...

it takes a west-east orientation (

Niedersimmental Niedersimmental District was one of the 26 administrative districts in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. Its capital was the municipality of Wimmis. The district had an area of 319 km² and consisted of 9 municipalities A municipality is us ...

). It comprises the municipalities of

St. Stephan St. Stephan is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The namesake is the First Century martyr. History St. Stephan is first mentioned in 1352 as ''Sant Stephan''. The villa ...

Zweisimmen Zweisimmen is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Zweisimmen is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Duessimenes''. In 1257 it was mentioned as ''Zweinlixhenun''. The oldes ...

, Oberwil,

Därstetten Därstetten is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Därstetten is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Tarenchat''. The village of Weissenburg was first mentioned around ...

, Erlenbach,

Diemtigen Diemtigen is a village and a municipality of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located at the northern end of the Diemtigtal elevated on a plateau west above the creek Chirel. In 1 ...

and

. The

Simme The river Simme is a tributary of the river Kander in the Bernese Oberland in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is approximately long and has a catchment area of . The river Simme begins at the Alpine lake of ''Flueseeli'' (lit.: "Little L ...

flows through the valley. Some villages play a role in the winter tourism of the region of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, such as Lenk or Zweisimmen. From Zweisimmen the resorts of

Gstaad Gstaad ( ; ) is a town in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society and the internatio ...

and

Château-d'Œx Château-d'Œx () is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut. History Château-d'Œx is first mentioned in 1115 as ''Oit'', ''Oyz'', ''Oix'' and ''Oyez''. Prehistoric settlements Dur ...

can be reached. Further up is the

Jaun Pass Jaun Pass (German: ''Jaunpass'', French: ''col de Bellegarde'') is a high mountain pass (el. 1509 m.) in the Swiss Alps linking Charmey and Jaun in the canton of Fribourg with Reidenbach (part of the municipality of Boltigen) in the canton of Be ...

, which is crossed to go from

Bulle Bulle (; frp, Bulo ) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. In January 2006 Bulle incorporated the formerly independent municipality of La Tour-de-Trême. History Ancient times Bulle is first ...

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () o ...

, as well as the

Hahnenmoos The Hahnenmoos Pass ( German: ''Hahnenmoospass'') is a mountain pass of the Bernese Alps. The pass crosses the col between the peaks of Regenboldshorn and Albristhorn, at an elevation of . The Hahnenmoos Pass is the lowest pass between the Eng ...

, which links

with

Adelboden , neighboring_municipalities= Diemtigen, Frutigen, Kandersteg, Lenk im Simmental, Leukerbad (VS), Sankt Stephan , twintowns= } Adelboden is a mountain village and a municipality in Switzerland, located in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administ ...

References

{{Coord, 46.55, N, 7.36, E, source:dewiki_region:CH-BE_scale:400000_type:landmark, display=title Valleys of Switzerland Bernese Oberland Valleys of the Alps Aare Landforms of the canton of Bern