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Photo locations · Valais · Switzerland

Nax Balcon du Ciel: sunrise 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.

Sunset tomorrowSunset TuesdaySunset Wednesday

Will tomorrow's sunrise 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.

in 9h 0m

Blocked grey lid

Little usable low-sun light expected

Sky colors

Golden hour
Sunrise

Light corridor: blocked

Why: Thick cloud along the sun's path is likely to stop the low light.

  • Light path: blocked (58% blocking cloud at the ray's height)
  • Sun: likely hidden. You're above the low cloud (1990 m), but a solid mid-level deck (90%) sits over it; the sun stays screened from above.
  • Cloud: the low sun comes down through a high cloud sheet toward the sun (86% at 103–227 km); expect pale, weak golden light.
Viewer's line of sight, tangent to the Earth at your locationNear-ground relative humidity9% cover — too thin to draw as cloud11% cover — too thin to draw as cloud17% cover — too thin to draw as cloud18% cover — too thin to draw as cloud16% cover — too thin to draw as cloud18% cover — too thin to draw as cloud9% cover — too thin to draw as cloud16% cover — too thin to draw as cloud8% cover — too thin to draw as cloud14% cover — too thin to draw as cloud10% cover — too thin to draw as cloud16% cover — too thin to draw as cloud16% cover — too thin to draw as cloud9% cover — too thin to draw as cloudConnected cloud layer · 26–33% cover · 45–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–70% cover · 45–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 27–56% cover · 10–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 10–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–70% cover · 45–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 42–56% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 44–97% cover · 10–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 45–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 70–70% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 52–56% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 61–61% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 58–58% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 58–97% cover · 25–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 45–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 70–70% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 97–97% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 65–100% cover · 45–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 97–97% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 65–100% cover · 45–65% visual uncertainty-5 km · 1.6 km of air with no pressure level in it — the decks above and below are measured, this span is not0 km · 1.6 km of air with no pressure level in it — the decks above and below are measured, this span is not100 km · 1.6 km of air with no pressure level in it — the decks above and below are measured, this span is not100 km · 2.0 km of air with no pressure level in it — the decks above and below are measured, this span is notmid cloud · 83% reported, 58% resolved on a pressure surface — 25% is somewhere between 3 and 8 kmlow cloud · 55% reported, 17% resolved on a pressure surface — 38% is somewhere between 1.99 and 3 kmmid cloud · 72% reported, 52% resolved on a pressure surface — 20% is somewhere between 3 and 8 kmlow cloud · 49% reported, 0% resolved on a pressure surface — 49% is somewhere between 2.57 and 3 kmmid cloud · 48% reported, 32% resolved on a pressure surface — 16% is somewhere between 3 and 8 km5 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light20 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 sunrise.

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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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