Hiking in the Jura

12 October 2021

The Jura mountain range spans the cantons of Zurich, Aargau, Jura, Solothurn, Basel-Landschaft, Bern, Neuchâtel, Vaud, and Geneva. The highest peak is just over 1.700 metres. Each season has its beauty, but hiking in the Jura is always worthwhile. The area in the Jura neuchâtelois, Bernois, and Vaudois is relatively snow-certain, despite the relatively low altitude.

The village of La Brévine (canton of Neuchâtel), at an altitude of “only” 1043 metres, measures the country’s coldest temperatures below the tree line. Autumn offers a palette of colours that a painter, even an impressionist, cannot reproduce so beautifully. Nature is the art, not to mention the beautiful (medieval) towns, farms and other (UNESCO world) heritage.

One of the many beautiful hikes starts from the village of Herbetswil (canton of Solothurn) and passes through the Wolfschlucht, over the mountain tops of the Obere Tannmatt and the Brunnersberg (1,134 metres), and the Obere Wengi (929 metres), to the town of Matzendorf. The view of the glaciers and 4,000+ peaks of the Alps is already worth the hike of around 16 kilometres.

The trail leads through caves, other rock formations, valleys, forests, meadows, and cattle ranches.

The Swiss Alpine Club

The Swiss Alpine Club (Schweizer Alpen Club, SAC/Club Alpin Suisse, CAS) regularly organises hiking trips in this area (and elsewhere).

(Source and further information: www.sac-cas.ch).