Top Hike in Neuchâtel Impressive Creux-du-Van

The impressive “Sentier du Creux-du-Van”. A 12km round trek, with 730 meters of elevation, starting and finishing in Noiraigue. This top Hike in Neuchâtel leads you via “the path of 14 bends” to the mighty Creux-du -Van rock circus, a giant natural amphitheatre, created by the erosion of water and ice.

A little bit of Jurassic Park in Switzerland

Our first hike in French-speaking Switzerland led us to the beautifully green Jura Mountains. The Jura Mountains are a sub-alpine mountain range which mainly follow the course of the France-Switzerland border.

The name “Jura” is derived from the Celtic roots of the word *jor, meaning “forest”. In addition, the Gaulish word *iuris meaning “wooded mountain”.  Eventually, it was latinized into the word “Juria”. Finally, the word “Jura” was born. To cut a long story short, translated into English it simply means: a lush green mountain range!

What is the connection to Jurassic Park, you might ask? Yes, indeed there is connection, as the “Jurassic” geological period is named after the Jura mountains. Limestone rocks of this age were first identified here, how thrilling! Next time you watch the one-of-a-kind, ever-cool blockbuster again, think of those green mountains in France and Switzerland.

Val de Travers | A valley famous for absinthe

To be precise, this top hike in Neuchâtel, kicked off in the city called Noiraigue in the “Val de Travers”. Now, let`s look at some interesting facts about this valley.

Firstly, the Val de Travers has a population of around 10,000 residents. The majority of the population speaks French, followed by Italian and German.  

Secondly, the valley was settled in the 10^th century after Benedictine monks founded a monastery there. For a long time, the Val de Travers was dominated by agriculture (cereals, hemp and flax cultivation mainly). There we go, this is getting more interesting now.

Thirdly and most intriguingly, in the second half of the 19^th century, the valley became the centre of absinthe production!

The green fairy (La fée verte) and a murder

Large areas of land were used for the cultivation of wormwood (a main ingredient for absinthe) and the town flourished until it was banned around 1910.

The absinthe ban across Europe and the US was triggered by a murder in Switzerland. A family man killed his pregnant wife and daughters in a fit of anger. The fact that he had previously consumed lots of wine and brandy in addition to two glasses of absinthe was more or less unmentioned in all the reports.

The Val de Travers suffered economically, but they were not intimidated by the ban. They moved underground and people who illegally smuggled the liquor did not see themselves as criminals but as resistance fighters! YEAH!

A little more information of absinthe

Since we are at it, here come a few more details about the liquor:

• Absinthe mainly consists of the greenish wormwood plant along with other herbs. One can “enjoy” it best diluted with water.
• It was invented in Neuchâtel, Switzerland as a healing elixir for rheumatism and stomach bugs. Later on, a “herbal woman” transformed the solution to an alcoholic drink, making it tastier by the addition of sugar.
• The spirit found great popularity in the second half of the 19^th and early 20^th Famous absinth drinkers were, amongst others, Vincent van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde.

Absinthe today

In 2005 the absinthe ban was lifted in Switzerland and absinthe sales has increased significantly since then. Surprise! Around 30 distilleries have been established in Val de Travers since the legalization. Together they produce 160.000 litres of absinthe per year. It gets even better, the milky-white, greenish liquor lures around 12.000 tourists to the remote Val de Travers area annually. 

Nowadays, most distillers in the Val de Travers can be visited along the Route de l’Absinthe. The route leads from Pantarlier across the Val de Travers. The “Maison de l`Absinthe”, an Absinthe museum in Môtiers is the main destination on this route of most tourists.

Let´s get this hike started

Today, however, we did not come for an absinthe tasting, but rather another attractive sight in the area. The fabulous “Sentier du Creux-du-Van”.

The round trek started off at the train station “Noiraigue”. It was an ideal summer day, with blue skies and scattered clouds. The first section of this top hike in Neuchâtel led us via a paved road across the train tracks. From there, we crossed the local river “Areuse” and walked up towards the “Vers chez Joly” farm.

On our right we saw some ominous concrete triangles sticking out of the ground. These barriers remind the by-passers of Swiss defence strategies in World War II. Brrr…I shuddered and chose to concentrate on the forest ahead of us.

Here, a sign indicated two options to climb up to the Creux-du-Van. We chose to go right and once we came back down, we were glad about this choice!

Of hopping blondes and jeans-wearing wannabe-hikers

The hike up through the forest was relatively easy and well manageable.

The very same thoughts must have gone through the head of a blond lady just ahead of us.  We noticed her fluffy ponytail was jiggling happily whilst she was walking. In fact, she was rather bouncing, hopping and jumping alongside her tired-looking partner. To top it off she asked the poor guy loudly if he was OK. Good God!

People like this simply “amaze” me. She, in the carefully-selected fitness outfit (white sneakers, beige shorts, rosy tank top, white baseball cap, inclusive of wireless headphones). He, in the ultimate “I-have-never-hiked-in-my-life”-outfit (long jeans(!), sneakers and plaid shirt!).

Her, talking noisily and smiling broadly, letting the entire world know: “I am SO fit! This ascent is not exhausting at all! At least not for me, but definitely for HIM”.

Him, saying nothing, following quietly, probably regretting to have ever agreed to this. Most probably regretting in this moment to have ever met her…

Les Oeuillons and the Path of 14 bends

We tried not to get too distracted by this amusing show in front of us. Hence, we walked steadily up until we reached our first waypoint: Les Oeuillons. Here one can have a refreshment, use the loo and take a little break.

We kept on going however, as we were excited for the next part of this trek: The path of 14 bends.

This route led us through the forest and steadily up, bend by bend. The path itself was relatively easy to manage, as we kept a continuous pace whilst walking from bend to bend.

Not everybody, however, chooses the steady and evenly hike upwards. There are some people who feel the urge to show others that they are faster and stronger and quicker….

Hiking together?

We had one of these “I-am-faster-and-stronger-and-quicker”- types once again ahead of us! Good God, not again!

It all started when we overtook a group of three “friends”, two boys and one girl. The fact, that we overtook them whilst the girl needed a water break, seemed to have triggered one of the boys` ambition. Within the next 14 bends, the guy must have overtaken us about three times! And only to stop again in the next bend in order to wait for the other two! Arggggg!!!!!

What a waste of energy. Why don’t you simply walk along with your friends??? Same pace, same time. Together. Is that not the reason to hike together in the first place?

It irritated me a tiny-winey little bit, I had to admit it. Would we not have reached the top after the third “overtake-and-wait-again” scenario, I would have screamed at that guy loudly!

Finally, on top | The Creux-du-Van

Thanks God, further damage was avoided by reaching the top. By leaving the narrow trail we thought we would get a little chance to escape the other hikers. We were wrong.

One way or another, however, we got a first glimpse of the Creux-du-Van and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Creux-du-Van is a mighty natural rocky amphitheatre. The cirque is approximately 1,400 metres wide and 150 metres deep. It is located on the north side of 1465 metre high mountain “Le Soliat”.

Three reasons why you cannot expect to have a major attraction all to yourself

Hoping to have a famous natural miracle all to yourself is rather naïve. Even I had to understand that! Here are three more reasons why we did not find peace and quiet around the famous cirque:

Firstly, it was Sunday, which is usually the day that most people are out and about. Subsequently, hiking trails are far busier than during the week. This route was no exception. It was still absolutely pleasant and totally worth it, just a little more crowded than expected.

Secondly, the Creux-du-Van is very popular and well-known. Therefore, this amazing site is naturally very busy. In fact, it is supposed to be busy!

Thirdly, the “Ferme du Soliat “, a guesthouse which is located only 300 metres from the cirque, can be reached by car. This allows people to reach the viewpoint even with flip flops or high heels…you get the picture.

Ignoring the liveliness around us, we concentrated on nature´s beauty instead.

Along the dry-stone wall

We walked along the beautiful dry-stone walls which occasionally allowed us to come close to the edge. The views that opened up were simply breath-taking! Be careful, however, don´t get too close to the edge, especially if you suffer from vertigo.

Towards to the end of the cirque it became quieter. Whilst people´s voices faded into the background we moved a little further away from the cliff and took a break. Here we enjoyed some well-deserved and tasty cheese flutes, very French-Swiss-like.

After that gourmet snack we hiked to “Le Soliat” viewpoint, which was far less busy and very enjoyable. Vast views over alpine meadows completed the peaceful picture.

We took a final picture of the eastern point of the lovely semicircle before we hiked back down.

A steep descent and an Ibex

At the beginning of the descent we saw an Ibex! In that case we have to be thankful for the busy hiking trail. Subsequently, it was because of the stopping and starring crowd that we noticed something interesting must be visible.

That cool experience was followed by a very steep, knee-aching descent. In that very moment we were more than happy to have chosen the round trek in this way.

Mind you, the other way might have been a lot easier on the knees.

The steep stone path led us all the way to the “Ferme Robert”, a wonderful 1750-style farmhouse. This for sure is an ideal place to stop and enjoy a well-deserved refreshment.

Frontaine Froide

Eager to complete our hike, we, however, continued to walk down. Shortly, before we were back in Noiraigue, we passed by the “Fontaine Froide”. This water spot came right in time, as we had run out of water and were getting very thirsty. To make it even better, the spring water is at a constant temperature at 4 degrees – what a refreshing finish!

Another 30 minutes through the forest led us back to our starting point. We arrived back at our car in Noiraigue, a little tired and a little exhausted. After all, it was a very warm day indeed. We took a full breath in and a long breath out. Busy, but beautiful. Definitely a top hike in Neuchâtel. Impressive and mighty Creux-du-Van!