Hiking the Jura Trail: Switzerland's Watchmaking Landscape

Tick Talk concludes a multi-part series on a June 2013 Swiss adventure, shifting focus from watch manufacture visits to the natural beauty of the Jura Mountains. This installment details a scenic hike along the Jura crest, offering readers a visual journey through picturesque landscapes and charming Swiss villages. The post serves as a reminder that Switzerland's allure extends beyond horology to its breathtaking natural wonders.

As promised, here is the last installment of our June 2013 trip to Switzerland.  Previously, we had enjoyed the hospitality of Montblanc Villeret while staying in Neuchâtel, then on to La Chaux-de-Fonds for an extended holiday.  The story continues with our hike along the crest of the Jura Mountains back to Geneva and the flight home.

To begin this chapter, we left La Chaux-de-Fonds by train for the village of Couvet and the charming Hotel de l'Aigle.  The following day we took the train back to Noiraigue for a 14 km hike to the Creux du Van; a natural rock cirque and one of the Jura's best viewpoints.

While the Creux du Van has been audaciously described as Switzerland's Grand Canyon, its 5 km periphery falls far short.  Nevertheless, it affords a wonderful view of the surrounding area and was popular as an end-of-school field trip for scores of youth, not to mention other tourists like us.  We spent the better part of a day walking up through the forest to admire the spectacular views, then returning to Noiraigue via another trail, and ending with the train ride back to Couvet.  A cool beer was welcome as temps reached 30° C!

Our second day's marche à pied began with more pleasant, if hot, weather.  Well-signed trails led us through fields and back roads to the lovely town of Môtiers, where absinthe has become a prime commodity.  I asked a local gentleman for some directions and he invited us for a short walk to his distillery.  There, at 10 am, we had an impromptu tasting session and I became familiar with the cool and refreshing herbal taste of this previously forbidden nectar.

Eventually we pried ourselves away and plunged into the forest, looking for a cleft in the mountains called the Gorges de la Poëta Raisse.  This narrow gorge provided a gateway to what locals called the “Balcony of the Jura Vaudois”; La Chasseron at 1600m.

We ended our day at the Hotel de France in the picturesque town of Ste-Croix.  This town lies on a sunny terrace at 1100m and is the home of the world-famous Reuge music box manufacture.  Our hotel was on the doorstep of the original factory which is slated for condos now that a new factory has been constructed downtown.

Next morning we started early, anticipating the 22 km walk along the French border to Vallorbe.  Ancient roads and smuggler’s paths crossed our route, which also featured numerous WWII  bunkers and tank traps (aptly called Dragon’s Teeth).  Spotting a chamois in the wild was a highlight of the day!

The town of Vallorbe was at one time the site of large iron ore deposits and has a dingy, industrial feel.  It seemed to reflect hard economic times more than most, although the oldest areas along the river were very picturesque; spoiled only by a drab casino that I studiously avoided photographing.  Mediocre accommodations and restaurants are best forgotten.

The following day’s walk was a bit shorter at 13 km and brought us to the heart of historic watchmaking country.  Our travels took us over the Dent du Vaulion to the town of l’Abbaye on the shores of Lac de Joux.

It was in this area we began to notice the isolated stone farm houses with distinctive rows of windows along their top floors, signifying the residence of traditional Swiss repassients who spent the long winters making “rough parts” for the Geneva etablisseurs.  Within an hour of our arrival at the hotel, a most horrific hail storm pounded the area and we said a silent prayer of thanks that we were not caught out in it!

 

From l’Abbaye we set out for the Col du Marchairuz; a 20 km trek.  I must mention the wonderful Swiss Trails organization, which took care of transporting our luggage every day from hotel to hotel so that our burden was only a small pack with the day’s provisions.  Their service was flawless, with the small exception that our guidebook was in German as they had not yet gotten around to printing an English version.

We passed through a genuine Swiss National Park, where access was forbidden to the cows and crops that had been part of the familiar vista.  It was indeed a very Jurassic landscape, untouched and untamed, but lasted for only a few kilometers before we once again crossed a stone fence into pasture lands and heard once again the clang-clanging chorus of cow bells.  We rested only briefly at the top of Mont Tendre at 1678m as black clouds threatened further hail.

We encountered our worst disappointment at one junction of the trail, as a right turn would take us down to Le Sentier where we had an invitation to visit Nicole and Daniel Roth at their atelier; Jean Daniel Nicholas.  What appeared so close on a map turned out to be a five hour diversion from our route!  With great regret, we realized it just wasn’t in the cards.  We also had to forego a reconnaissance of the ancient village of Cret Meylan where the legendary Louis-Benjamin Audemars had his shops.  We resolved to return to the Le Sentier - Le Brassus area with more time to spend.

The trail was deep in the forest until suddenly our hotel suddenly appeared against the skyline.  We were staying at the historic Hotel du Marchairuz at the top of the Col du Marchairuz.  It proved to be a very popular travel destination and, while enjoying an aperitif on the patio, we were entertained by a steady parade of Lycra-clad cyclists mixed with vintage cars and motorcycles.

Our next day’s travels were a mixed venture, with 17 km of walking to the holiday town of St-Cergue then a further train ride up to the village of La Cure on the Swiss/French border.

The ubiquitous stone walls were always interesting for a prairie boy like me.  Made with backbreaking effort, they revealed where farmers had cleared their fields of rocks.  What surprised us was the occasional discovery of substantial stone walls deep in the woods.  A local explained that the forests we were currently enjoying did not exist a century ago and these walls marked the borders of now-overgrown fields.  It required decades of diligent conservation efforts to return trees to the virtually denuded Swiss landscape.  The Swiss respect for trees is now clearly evident, with selective logging and zero-waste practices rather than the clear-cutting I’m ashamed to say we allow in Canada.

The overcast skies brought occasional rain but welcome cool weather.  Unfortunately it also obscured any hoped-for views of the Savoy Alps and Mont Blanc.  Our stay at the Hotel Franco-Suisse was best described as humorous, as ongoing renovations were attempting to create rustic charm with mixed results.  It appears the actual border runs right through the hotel, though most of the structure has been closed-up as tourism waned.  No wonder though; the prices were in Euros at a much higher rate than even Geneva!  St-Cergue looked far more interesting; however La Cure provided the best launching point for our final section.

We awoke the next morning to sheets of rain and no views.  Considering that our planned objective was to ascend the heights of La Dole for a promised view, the day’s itinerary required a rethink.  The situation failed to improve as we lingered over breakfast so Plan B was implemented.  On to the train we went, to be greeting with clearing skies by the time we arrived in Geneva.  Looking back, we found La Dole still obscured in rain clouds and so felt vindicated.

Overall, it was an absolutely marvelous adventure and we are already considering returning to the Jura Trail, this time to travel northeast from Neuchatel to Zurich.