In the heart of Haut-Valais, the Binn valley is well known to mineral hunters. The valley is a unique mineral conservatory.
No less than 300 varieties of precious and semi-precious stones have been counted. The tunneling in 1965 made the valley accessible in winter, encouraging certain hotels to remain open after the first snowfall. The Ofenhorn, an authentic mountain hotel built in 1883, is a pioneer inn of Alpine tourism, today bearing the Swiss Historic Hotels label.