Our first Sunday back in Switzerland, the weather was supposed to be great and we were keen to hike. He traveled last week so he wanted to sleep in. This meant that we needed to go someplace near Geneva. We hadn’t hiked the Jura yet and decided to give it a go.
The first weekend after we moved to Switzerland we explored the area. Driving back from Annecy and The Museum of the Alpine Cow, we saw a giant fortress in the mountain above. We wanted to visit it and a hike seemed like the perfect opportunity.
We were on the last mound by the river. It has a small, dark smudge on top. Those are the ruins with a statute of the Virgin Mary on top.
We started from Léaz, France (just over the border) and hiked up to the Virgin of Léaz and stunning views of the Rhone River cutting its way through the Jura Mountains. The Virgin sits on top of sixteenth century ruins, but the spot was inhabited in Roman times (because of its defensible position. The views were stunning, but I was careful to watch where I stepped.
We walked all the way down to the Rhone River. Although it was a hot day, we didn’t stop for a swim (we’ll go bridge jumping into the Rhone at Junction soon enough). The banks were muddy and we had hiking to do… a lot of it. Uphill.
What goes up, must come down. We went down to the Rhone, so there was nowhere left to go but up. On the bright side, the terrain was interesting, varied and shaded (not many panoramic views). We passed countless streams, waterfalls and channels that funneled water from the Jura into the Rhone. The trails were okay, but I wouldn’t plan on doing the hike if it rained the previous week and the trails climb sharply. You were warned.
We hiked up to Fort de L’Ecluse (both of them) through The Haut-Jura Regional Natural Park and down from the mountains. As the mountains gave way to pastures and fields, we heard our first cowbells of the season. We love the sound of cow bells ringing through a valley interrupting the background noise of gurgling creeks and chirping birds. It is the soundtrack to a heavenly day.
One of the best parts of the hike was the wildflowers in bloom. I snapped way too many pictures of them.
The fields were pretty gorgeous too.
So was the view. Let summer officially begin!
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Cheers to summer! Is the Rhone really that green looking?
It depends on the day. I think it is less so when it is overcast. The color of the lakes and rivers in Switzerland is startling. They are so clear and blue. I’m going to do a post on Junction, the point where the Rhone meets the Aarve. The Rhone is filtered through Lake Geneva and is a clear blue. The Aarve is snowmelt directly from the Alps and is still full of sediment. You can see the drastic difference at the point where they meet. After they join, the Rhone becomes cloudier.
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