The Confident Hiker

October 2023

The Creux du Van certainly comes to the mind of many, when asked about monumental places in Switzerland. Dubbed the “Grand Canyon of Switzerland”, it is easy to see why. The huge rock arena was created over the past 200 millions of years after the “Würm glaciation” by the erosion of water and ice. The almost intimidating vertical rock walls of over 160 meters in height surround a deep valley basin and the panoramic view over the alps, lakes and valleys seems almost endless. Since 1972 it is part of the “Federal inventory of landscapes and natural monuments of national importance”.

But what often and easily gets forgotten when thinking about the Creux du Van is, how beautiful the scenery around the natural spectacle is. Pastures, forest islands and a wide open sky make this truly a magical area to spend time and forget all about time.

While I will in the future share a longer hike up to the Creux du Van, this is an easy walk without any significant ascent/descent. But since there are no buses driving up, it does require a car.

We chose a relatively sunny Saturday afternoon for our trip to the canton of Neuchâtel together with my parents Markus and Sibylle and started our walk at the parking spot Parking Creux du Van and made our way towards Les grandes fauconnières. Leading over meadows and through groups of tall fir trees, the route rarely followed a clearly marked path, which made it feel all the more as if one was just arbitrarily walking – with no intention other than enjoying the walk. The floor was covered with various mushrooms and we tried to identify some of them, googling recipes and getting hungrier with every step.

Having arrived at the Ferme du Soliat, all the mushroom talk lead us into the cozy but very full restaurant where we had lunch. Sadly it was not nearly as good as all the before discussed mushroom themed recipes but at least we were now fed and ready for the short ascent to the famous rock arena.

For the ones amongst us with a fear – or at least a high respect of heights (on this day that was my mom and me), it is comfortable that the path along the cliff is very wide and there is no need to stand or walk close to the edge; in some places it is even forbidden to protect and restore the Flora and Fauna and prevent the rocks from collapsing. An approximately two kilometer long dry stone wall was built on the unforested upper edge of the basin by an international group of volunteers, therefore also called the “Wall of Friendship”.

Despite having been to the Creux du Van many times before, it was again a breathtaking experience to arrive at the edge of the rocky cirque. The sunlight illuminated parts of the forest below in the valley, the firs and colorful beeches building a stark contrast to the grey of the rocks and the Moraine and landslide material at the bottom of the canyon.

We took our time to take in the views, appreciating this true work of art by nature, keeping our eyes out in the hopes of maybe spotting ibexes, chamois or marmots.

At the trail crossing we chose to take a quick detour up to Le Soliat, the highest elevation but not technically a mountain top, where we were offered yet another impressive view over the alps. The wind was very strong however and we didn’t stick around too long, before heading back down along the stonewalls to the edge of the Creux du Van. From there the trail branched off over the meadow of Grand’ Vy.

The rolling meadows were covered in a sharp bright sunlight, our long shadows following us like silent haunting ghosts.

It was interesting how, the further away we walked from the canyon, the less people we encountered and it sometimes almost felt, as if you are in a store near to closing time and you are unsure, if you are at all still allowed to be in there.

We crossed the alpine restaurant de la Baronne a bit further down before our trail met the “Jura Crest Trail Section 10”. Through the forest we slowly descended, the late afternoon autumn light breaking through the branches of the bare deciduous trees and our steps and voices the only thing breaking through the tranquil silence.

After about 1.3 km on the Jura Crest Trail, our path suddenly took a sharp right into the field, which we naturally missed in the midst of our cheerful conversations and marvel at the beautiful, unique landscape and had to turn back around. Through a forest and over rolling pastures we soon reached the farm and alpine restaurant Les Petites Fauconnières, which was sadly closed and didn’t allow for an afternoon coffee and pie as I hoped.

The last relatively steep descent led though another forest and soon already the parking spot was visible in the distance and we had closed our hiking circle. Despite the sun slowly setting and the temperatures rapidly dropping, I was sad to reach the end of the path. It was such a breezy hike, I could have easily continued onward on one of the countless trails. Nevertheless we were glad to reach the car and warm up inside and I was looking forward to the drive down to the lake of Neuchâtel over the small windy roads.

Click here to see this section on SchweizMobil

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The area of the Creux du Van is one of a kind and the canyon itself is only one of the reasons – albeit a very big one. But the only sparsely populated vast Karst landscape with its rolling meadows, the tall needle trees sometimes standing in little groups as if they’re holding an important meeting, the many mysterious looking sinkholes and the wide open sky above make this an impressive place to be and discover.

I got reminded again why I love hiking in autumn so much. The color palette of this season is so uniquely beautiful, varied and joyful and to me symbolic of natures amazing process of changing itself. It is spring and autumn, the seasons that I like to call the “in between- or the changing seasons”, where in my opinion one can already discover so much evolution and progress on the smallest of surfaces; be it many different little flowers popping up on a field of grass or a dozen different mushrooms growing on one log of wood.

At the same time it moved me to see the fragility of such an impressive natural feature like the Creux du Van. It shows that everything can be fleeting, even a 1200 meters wide and 200 meters high canyon. Everything, like the seasons, is bound to change one way and at one time or another. And I guess this is a good thing to learn and accept. But it is also a reminder for us to acknowledge as to how much we sometimes can influence this change in some way – good or bad. And as much as I learn to accept change, I do hope that the Creux du Van may be around for many generations to come and take their breath away with every visit like it does mine.

Parking Creux du Van to Parking Creux du Van

Difficulty: T1 (Hiking Trail) Length: 11.37 km Duration: 2:59 h Ascent/Descent: 322m/321m

Some more useful facts about this hike

• The trail along the cliff of the Creux du Van is marked as T2 on the map but as mentioned above, you do not have to walk right at the edge and there is plenty of field on the other side so the fear of height only kicks in if you stand to close.
• There are several alpine restaurants along the way for a little break or a lunch; it is however as often in those areas worth to check if they are open. Some of them close over the Winter months.
• Please respect the exclusion zones along the Creux du Van.
• It is recommended to not have your dog with you, as there are suckler cows; if you bring your dog it is recommend to have them on a leash for the safety of both sides 😊