Hike summary details:
- Start location: Noiraigue
- Destination: Noiraigue
- Ascent/ descent: 801m/ 2.627 ft. (you can do the route both ways)
- Distance: 12.6 km / 7.82 miles
- Duration: 3-4 hours (snack and photo breaks included)
- Technical and physical requirements: Medium
- Season: June – October
Hike details
Creux du Van is a huge rock wall, located in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. It’s impressive because the natural rock wall has 160 meters high and approximately 1.400 meters wide. It’s an immense natural rock arena, quite unusual and exceptional: the hike until the top goes through forests and arctic-alpine flora. There are a variety of wild animals living in the beautiful landscape, which must be a paradise for deers, mountain goats, marmots, birds of prey. Also, all the area is protected on a 25 square kilometers as a nature reserve.
You can start the hike on foot, starting straight from Noiraigue. The hike has and elevation gain of 800 meters from Noiraigue, reaching in the top at approximately 1460 meters. This natural amphitheater resulted as an effect of constant rock erosions made by water and ice. The hike trail goes along the edge of the wall, and it makes you feel in a rollercoaster front row.
At the end of the post below is our Strava hike overview, if you want to get a better idea of how the hike goes.
