The Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site is a unique witness of alpine landscape formation bearing global significance. The largest uninterrupted glacier massif in Eurasia has created an environment of stunning beauty and diversity. The natural and human habitat is a place of impressive ecological and cultural value.
It has some of the most spectacular high mountain scenery in the world and is in harmonious balance with the surrounding cultural landscape. The flora varies from steppe-like Mediterranean to glacial and the landscape provides an excellent example of how mountains and glaciers were formed and bears witness to our current climate change.
The Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site is the first natural heritage site in Switzerland and in the whole of the Alps. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee declared the area surrounding the Jungfrau and the Great Aletsch Glacier the first Natural Heritage Site in the Alps in 2001. The fascinating mountain scenery fulfilled the criteria of the World Heritage Committee in a special way with its variety, beauty and uniqueness.
The entire UNESCO Site covers an area of 828 km2 (514 sq. miles), 414 km2 (257 sq. miles) of which are in the canton of Valais. The distinctive scenery offering exceptional beauty and ecological diversity is just waiting to be discovered and admired.
For further information, visit: www.jungfraualetsch.ch