Creux du Van
I did this hike together with a friend on the 7th of March, 2026. I had for long been wanting to do a hike around Creux du Van, as the rock structure looks very nice. I had seen the Sentier du Creux du Van hike from Switzerlandmobility, which takes you around the area, and we decided to follow that one.
Full route: Swisstopo
We started out in Noiraigue, which we reached by train from Zürich with a change in Neuchâtel. It was a very nice, although slightly cold morning, as we started the hike. Once you are out of Noiraigue, you start the ascent up to the top of Creux du Van. You walk the entire way up through forest, but since it was still very early in the season, we had good views between the leaf less trees.
After about an hour and a half, we reached the first viewpoint at the top of Creux du Van. It was as nice as I had seen on the pictures, and somehow more impressive in person. We found a spot overlooking the whole area, and decided to take a snack break here before continuing.
After a good rest, we continued the hike along the top of Creux du Van. There is a trail running all along this part, and you have great views over the whole area. Up here, there was also snow on the ground, covering up the trail in some parts, but nowhere was it problematic.
The trail runs close to the edge of the rocks and at a few places you have fences and marked areas that you have to stay inside. Walking along the top of Creux du Van was really nice. The views change constantly, and you see the rock formation from all directions.
Over on the other side, we decided to stop for our lunch break. It was getting warmer as the sun came higher on the sky, and we took our time to rest and enjoy the views before starting the descent.
On the way down we came across a group of ibexes lying calmly in the grass. They seemed like they were used to people, and we took some pictures while still keeping our distance to not disturb them.
The descent back to Noiraigue was mainly on wide gravel road, but for about half an hour in the beginning, it was snow covered and took us a bit extra time to get through.
Walking down into the area below Creux du Van was also really nice and it was special to see everything from a completely new perspective. We made our way back through the forest to Noiraigue, and from there caught the train back to Neuchâtel and then Zürich.
