My Travelogue
Trek to Creux-Du-Van,Noirague, Switzerland
Nature has its own secrets and wonders which are indiscernible and mysterious. On the beautiful sunny day of spring we set out to explore the wonders of nature to Noiraigue. It was a Friday, 10th April 2009 first day of our Easter holidays.
The place we chose for the hike was the “Natural Reserve of Creux-du-Van and
Gorges d'Areuse.
Info about the location:
In this nature reserve of the Creux-du-Van you will discover one of the most beautiful landscapes of Romandy and one of the most impressive geological
sites of Switzerland – the natural rock cirque of Creux-du-Van also known as “the Grand Canyon of Schweiz”.
The place-name probably of Creux-du-Van was derived from the Celtic word “vanno”, which means “slope”, or from Franco- Provençal „van“, meaning „rock“. The semicircular rock basin has a diameter of 1,400 meters (over 4,500 feet), and its steep cliffs rise almost 160 m (over 500 ft) from the ground, the highest
point of the mountain ridge reaching 1,463 meters.
Journey:
We planned to take the route of Baden-Olten-NewChatel-Noiraigue. We took the train at 7.58 AM with people trying to catch up their breath due to running as they were lateJ.
We reached the Noiraigue station with several fellow hikers. We walked alongside the river to reach the stone bridge connecting the Bavarian Alps and the Jura Mountain range. We came across small yet beautiful water falls through out. The aqua green river was flowing with all shades of emotions just as a person. It was calm and quiet in some places, then a sudden gush of foamy water, then a small forceful drop squeezing through the gorges to flow ahead. There was a small hydro power plant as well.
The splash of water allowed the small droplets of water to spray on our faces and in the sunlight there was a beautiful rainbow formed which made my senses go still. We walked further to the Stone bridge, which was a narrow bridge which provided us the view of the gorges and the river blended together.
From thereon we walked back towards the Fermes De Robert, the starting point of the Hike.
The view of the woods, sloppy hill above, steep gorges made us all reared up to start our journey. We followed the marks put up all along the route to reach the first resting point.
Initially we took the roads to walk along, later we took the small pathways along the wood to reach quickly. Due to the good weather, we reached the Ferme De Robert by 11.30AM. We took a small break, had our coffee,icecream at the local Schweizer restaurant. We could see the magnanimous semi circle from the restaurant and were amazed by the size.
After the rest, we started walking towards the top. Although it was bright and sunny, there was snow all along the ground. These were the signs that there might be snow towards the top as well. But still we made our way to the top asking for directions by other passers by. The mountain got steeper and steeper as we moved up. We had to take rest for few minutes every half an hour. As we reached closer to the top, there was around 2-3 ft or more deep snow through out which made the walk more difficult.
Also due to the improper shoes , few of us had the trouble with getting the right grip on the snow. This was my first walk through so much snow. Slowly but steadily we made our way to the top. As we got close to the top, there was a very steep snow covered slope to be crossed over. I was not able to know how to cross it. In the end we had to crawl our way to the topJ. This was the first of its kind experience for me. But at last we made it to the top and the feeling was inexplicable.
I felt real good when we reached the top coz, the view from there was worth all the effort we took to reach here.
There was the white snow stretched far and wide, the tall covering pine trees, some small trees standing still in the snow, small cottages spread across far and wide….wide blue sky and bright sunshine. There were patches of green and signs indicating the various walkways that we could take. As we walked further, behold we found ourselves at the top of the wide and steep gorges and were able to see the semi circle top. It as like a half moon shape covered with snow. The country side far below with the green pastures and very few houses was like a carpet with images etched in. Far beyond I could see the Alps Jungfrauh mountains standing majestically. We were at arounf 4,500 ft above ground level. I found myself looking at the design made by nature which left me in awe.
We relished the entire walk round the semi circle and hoped for a better pathway to climb down. However as we moved along, the snow never ceased all along the path and it seemed that we had to make it to the bottom by walking along the 14 levels/turnings.
This was the most most difficult walk that I had ever done. Due to a fall in Petrine mountain ranges in Mauritius I had a small fear of the downslope. But here it was the test of my fear which I had to overcome. With the help of my friends who were kind enough to lead me all through till the end I walked in the footsteps before me.
Although a bit nervous and some chanting to concentrateJ I was not scared as such only a bit cautious I must say. There were times wherein I just slid down each and every step. I felt like a child who is taking its first steps.
As we were climbing down we saw a bark of a tree rolling with a rumbling noise from the top down through the slope. Inspite of it we held on to our purpose and made our walk carefully. We had to cross over fallen trees in some places. The snow was so slippery and hollows which so well concealed that a couple of times I had my feet in.
My friends had the patience to lead me till the point where there was no more snow. I would be ever grateful for having gone with them. We reached the bottom at around 7.15 PM. It was still very bright since the weather was good.
At the bottom of the slope we reached a farm a house. This was the proper country side farm as in the movie “The PIG” which I liked all the more. A pig sty, horses, geese, roosters and hens, a small pony, cats, cows, mules, barn and cottage. It was like a movie.
From there on we had to walk further down to reach the train station. It was a beautiful refreshing walk with pine cones strewn all around, rustling dry leaves and small spring of water flowing along. I could’nt believe we had walked so much. Then we made it to the station and caught the 8.53PM train. We reached Baden at around 10PM.
Although the journey was tiring, the walk strenuous, the bright sun shine tanning the skin, this was a most memorable and enjoyed trip of mine which I would cherish always.