Simmental is the long alpine valley that runs southwest from Thun toward Zweisimmen and the Saanenland, cutting through the pre-Alps of the Bernese Oberland. It is the ancestral home of the Simmental cattle breed — the large red-and-white cows grazing on every steep slope have been exported to farms across the world, though they look most at home here against a backdrop of dark wooden chalets and mountain pasture.
The valley is a transit corridor as much as a destination in itself. Travelers heading from the Swiss Mittelland to Gstaad or Lenk pass through Zweisimmen, the main town at the valley's southern end. A few stop for longer, drawn by the relative quiet and authenticity compared to the resort towns beyond the Saaner ridge. The Simme river runs clear through the whole length, and the walking and cycling along its banks is straightforward and genuinely pretty.
Historically, the valley's prosperity came from cattle trading and cheese — the local Hobelkäse, a hard aged cheese shaved into paper-thin curls, is still made by valley dairies. The older villages like Boltigen have a low-key, unhurried feel that the higher-altitude resorts have long since traded away. The Jaunpass road at the valley's western edge leads into French-speaking Fribourg canton — one of the more interesting short drives in the region when it is open. In winter, Lenk ski resort is the valley's main draw, and the alpine cirque at Iffigenalp above it is one of the better summer walking destinations in the Bernese Oberland. The Seebergsee above Zweisimmen and the Weissenburg Castle ruins in the lower valley round out the sights.