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Photo locations · Valais · Switzerland

Nax Balcon du Ciel: sunset photography forecast

Nax is signposted as the Balcony of the Sky and the name is fair: you stand high above the Rhône valley with the Valais peaks stacked opposite. No cable car, no long walk — which makes it one of the few high viewpoints you can commit to when the forecast is uncertain.

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Will today's sunset be worth it?

Simplified forecast from the open model run. The full forecast — a second model, your exact viewpoint, the hourly cloud timeline — is in the app.

Recommended arrival

in 3h 43m

Warm horizon below grey cloud

Exactly at sunset: Exceptional
Best-light moment: Very good,

Starts

in 2h 59m

Diffused muted light · even light for details & forests

Sky colors

Golden hour
Sunset

Light corridor: open

Why: The sun's path is clear at the height its low light travels, so the light can reach the clouds at sunset.

  • Light path: clear (6% blocking cloud at the ray's height)
  • Sun: clearly visible. The sun's path to the horizon reads open; the disc should be visible.
Viewer's line of sight, tangent to the Earth at your locationNear-ground relative humidity5% cover — too thin to draw as cloud15% cover — too thin to draw as cloudConnected cloud layer · 29–100% cover · 10–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 45–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 89–100% cover · 10–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 45–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 89–100% cover · 10–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 91–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 89–100% cover · 10–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 91–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 89–100% cover · 10–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 91–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyhigh cloud · 76% reported, 29% resolved on a pressure surface — 47% is somewhere between 8 and 12 km5 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch orange light · lit on one reading: the strongest cloud toward the sun was set aside, and counting it would have darkened this deck20 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light · lit on one reading: the strongest cloud toward the sun was set aside, and counting it would have darkened this deck50 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light

Terrain is drawn for illustration only — it is not used to calculate underlight or obstruction.

cloud-cover fieldinterpolation uncertaintysun directionnear-ground humiditycloud at unresolved heightmodelled underlightunderlight · height uncertainunderlight · lit on one readinglit but hidden behind nearer cloud

Forecast refreshed a few hours before sunset.

Know the light
before it happens

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For photographers: shooting Nax Balcon du Ciel

Best months

Spring through autumn. Clear winter evenings are excellent too, when cold air scrubs the valley haze.

Suggested focal lengths

70–200 mm for the overlapping ridges opposite; 24–70 mm when cloud fills the valley and becomes the subject

Composition

Let the valley do the work: use the ridge lines as receding layers and keep the foreground simple.

Recommended arrival

Around 45 minutes before sunset is enough — the walk from parking is short.

Access planning

Drive up from Sion, or take the PostBus. The viewpoint is a short walk from parking.

Parking: Village parking in Nax; short signed walk to the terrace

Approach: Short, mostly level walk from the car

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