Hiking holidays Jura Crest Trail Couvet - Nyon

From Couvet you walk via Fleurier up to the Jura high trail. Over widespread grazing land you will reach Ste-Croix, the home of musical boxes and music automats.

Not far from the Swiss-French border, the trail passes through the magnificent Vaud Jura. Here, trees and stones could tell some smuggling stories. In Vallorbe, old iron crafts and the railway are the centre of attention.

Typical Jura: first a river that emerges not far from a cavern, then a hike over a rocky mountain lookout and finally two lakes without above-ground outflows. These characterise the Vallée de Joux, home of many world-famous luxury watches.

The undisputed highlight of this tour across extensive pastureland is Mont Tendre, the highest elevation in the Swiss Jura: a vantage point over the Vaud region and Lake Geneva. In good visibility the view extends as far as the Alps and the blue Vosges.

Through a park-like landscape with scattered chalets and a network of kilometre-long dry stone walls, the trail leads partly through a nature reserve established in 1972. A short stop is recommended at the ruins of an ancient monastery.

A harsh rock bastion and the lovely shores of Lac Léman are contrasts that form a pair on this tour. After climbing the summit of La Dôle, not far from the national border, the trail leads through forest into the vineyards and to the beautifully situated little town of Nyon.