Le Creux du Van: A Scenic Overlook in the Jura

Location: Jura Mountains, Val de Travers (west of Neuchâtel)

Distance: 8.5 miles/13.6 km

Duration: 4-5 hours (loop starting at Noiraigue train station)

Overall elevation gain/descent: 2460 ft/750 m

Our Favorite Hike in the Jura

Imagine--One of the great mountain hikes in Switzerland and it's not even in the Alps, but in the limestone thrusts and folds of the relatively low-lying Jura Mountains. With the Alps so close, it's not surprising that the Jura Mountains are frequently overlooked by hikers. But an ascent and loop of the Le Creux de Van, a steep-sided limestone cirque nearly a mile wide and 500 feet deep, is enough to lure even the most dedicated alpine hiker into the charming hills of the Jura.

The Jura range derives its name from the Celtic root jor, meaning forested (which it certainly is), and the range has given its name to the Jurassic period of geologic time. Le Creux du Van is a naturalamphitheater created by a local glacier, linked to the Rhône Glacier, which had an erosive field day in the latte-colored limestone of the Jura. The entire cirque also lies within a nature reserve, where wildlife sightings are frequent.

Starting in Noiraigue

The hike begins at the train station in Noiraigue where you'll find a tourism office and boutique selling local cheeses, beer, sausages, and absinthe, the decadent distilled spirit first made in this valley. Hiking maps and a free guide book to the trails in the region, including le Creux du Van, are available at the tourism office.

From the train station walk downriver about 200m and cross the bridge over the L'Areuse. Then follow the paved road up the hillside. As the road turns sharply to the left, continue on up about 200m to a sign announcing your entrance into the nature preserve. At the sign, depart the paved road onto a gravel track ascending to the right.

Now in the forest, you'll make a long straight ascent to Les Oeuillons, a farm and restaurant where you can enjoy a snack surrounded by a barnyard symphony of chickens, pigs, cows, goats, and sheep. Continuing on, the trail narrows and enters a coniferous forest with an undercover of luscious raspberries that reach their prime in mid-August.

Arriving at the Creux de Van

As the wooded trail crests the hilltop, you reach the farm at Le Soliat and views of le Creux du Van emerge. A dry-stacked stone wall keeps the sheep from wandering off and plunging over the rim of the cirque. But the hiking trail is outside the wall so you can get some precipitous views shared by just you and the ibex.

Ibex sightings are common around the rim, and on my hike a fearless ibex and her kid stood about 10 feet from me for several minutes without flinching. Ibex were introduced in the area in 1965, and now a healthy population of about 20 are can be seen perched on the rocky cliffs and near the lip of the cirque.

A lookout on the south side of the cirque could easily qualify as the most romantic picnic setting in Switzerland. Sitting on the plush meadow overlooking le Creux de Van in the foreground, the extended views are commanding in all directions.

Forest and Farms

The forest descent is occasionally steep, but can be softened a bit by taking the road. A concluding lunch stop at the La Ferme Robert, a farm and restaurant located about 35 minutes from Noiraigue, makes a perfect conclusion to your dayhike of le Creux du Van.

This hike is featured on Alpenwild's private and custom trips in the Jura.