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Aerial view of the Creux du Van: a cirque of limestone cliffs fringed with forest, with Lake Neuchâtel on the horizon.

Self-guided, hotel to hotel · Jura Crest Trail

The Grand Traverse of the Jura crests

Eight days from hotel to hotel, from Chasseral to the Creux du Van and on to Vallorbe, on the Jura's most famous trail. Your luggage is waiting for you every evening.

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You land in Basel in the morning. By evening, you are sleeping at the foot of Chasseral.

The Jura Crest Trail is one of Switzerland's seven national hiking routes: it follows the long line of limestone ridges that separates the Swiss Plateau from France. This traverse covers its French-speaking stretch, the finest of all, from Chasseral to Vallorbe: wooded pastures, summer farms known here as métairies, the cliffs of the Creux du Van and, on a clear day, the whole chain of the Alps on the horizon.

In Switzerland, walking trails are waymarked in yellow, with signposts giving the walking time to the next village, so you rarely get lost. Distances are short and the trains run on time: if a day feels too long, a station or a bus stop is never far away.

The programme

Six days along the crest of the Jura

Programme for guidance only: the local partner may adapt the stages to the weather, the season and your pace, or shorten a day by train or bus.

Day 1 · EuroAirport · Saint-Imier

Land an hour from the trails

Arrival at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse. Your driver meets you and takes you to Saint-Imier, in the valley of the same name (about 1 hour 15 minutes). Check in at your hotel, then a free afternoon to get over the jet lag: the village, its collegiate church and a first Swiss meal.

  • Private transfer ≈ 1 h 15 min
  • Hotel in Saint-Imier

Day 2 · Saint-Imier · Combe-Grède · Chasseral

Up the Combe-Grède to Chasseral

A short but punchy first day. From Villeret, the path climbs the Combe-Grède, a wild gorge protected as a nature reserve, beneath walls of limestone. You emerge onto the summit pastures at 1,607 m, the highest point of the Bernese Jura. Night at the Chasseral hotel, with the sun setting over the Alps.

  • 8.5 km · +860 m · −50 m
  • ≈ 3 h walking
  • Hotel on the summit

Day 3 · Chasseral · Vue des Alpes

The crest and its mountain farms

The finest day on the crest: you walk for hours above 1,300 m, from pasture to pasture, between dry-stone walls and tall spruces. The métairies, summer farms where you can stop for lunch, punctuate the stage. You finish at the Vue des Alpes pass, which lives up to its name.

  • 19.8 km · +630 m · −940 m
  • ≈ 5 h 30 min walking
  • Hotel on the pass

Day 4 · Vue des Alpes · Mont Racine · Noiraigue

From Mont Racine to the Val-de-Travers

Over Tête de Ran and Mont Racine, the crest looks down on Lake Neuchâtel on one side and the valleys of the high Jura on the other. A long descent through the forest leads to Noiraigue, deep in the Val-de-Travers, the valley where absinthe was born. This is the longest stage: the partner can shorten it on request.

  • 22.2 km · +600 m · −1,150 m
  • ≈ 6 h walking
  • Inn in Noiraigue

Day 5 · Noiraigue · Creux du Van · Les Rochats

The Creux du Van

The zigzagging climb of the Quatorze Contours path, with its fourteen hairpin bends, brings you to the rim of the Creux du Van, an amphitheatre of limestone cliffs more than a kilometre wide. You walk round the top as far as Le Soliat (1,463 m), keeping your eyes open: ibex live here. A short descent to the hamlet of Les Rochats.

  • 12.9 km · +780 m · −350 m
  • ≈ 4 h walking
  • Mountain inn

Day 6 · Les Rochats · Chasseron · Sainte-Croix

Chasseron and the land of music boxes

Open pastures and spruce forests up to the summit of Chasseron (1,607 m), one of the finest viewpoints in the Vaud Jura. Down to Sainte-Croix, a small town that made its name with music boxes and automata: its museum is open to visit at the end of the day.

  • 18.3 km · +700 m · −790 m
  • ≈ 5 h 15 min walking
  • Hotel in Sainte-Croix

Day 7 · Sainte-Croix · Le Suchet · Vallorbe

Beneath the Aiguilles de Baulmes

The last big stage, a balcony path beneath the Aiguilles de Baulmes and Le Suchet, with the Orbe plain and Lake Neuchâtel below. Down through Ballaigues to Vallorbe, on the banks of the Orbe. An end-of-traverse dinner.

  • 23.7 km · +870 m · −1,190 m
  • ≈ 6 h 45 min walking
  • Hotel in Vallorbe

Day 8 · Vallorbe · EuroAirport

Back to Basel

A free morning in Vallorbe: the source of the Orbe, which gushes out at the foot of a cliff, is a short walk away. Transfer to EuroAirport for your journey home (about 2 hours), or to Geneva if you are extending your stay.

  • Private transfer ≈ 2 h

Evenings on the trail

In the evening, dinner is served.

Mountain farms and inns serve the cooking of the Jura: rösti, Neuchâtel sausage, Gruyère, tête de moine. And in the Val-de-Travers, a glass of absinthe, where it was born.

The route

From Saint-Imier to Vallorbe, along the crest

Map of the route: arrival at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse, transfer to Saint-Imier, then six days on foot heading south-west, along the French border and above Lake Neuchâtel: Chasseral, Vue des Alpes, Noiraigue, Les Rochats, Sainte-Croix and Vallorbe, from where you return to Basel.Lac de NeuchâtelFranceSuisseEuroAirportBâle1Saint-Imier2Chasseral3Vue des Alpes4Noiraigue5Les Rochats6Sainte-Croix7VallorbeN
On foot, on the Jura Crest TrailTransfers to and from EuroAirportRoute for guidance only
  1. 01Land an hour from the trailsPrivate transfer ≈ 1 h 15 min
  2. 02Up the Combe-Grède to Chasseral8.5 km · +860 m · −50 m
  3. 03The crest and its mountain farms19.8 km · +630 m · −940 m
  4. 04From Mont Racine to the Val-de-Travers22.2 km · +600 m · −1,150 m
  5. 05The Creux du Van12.9 km · +780 m · −350 m
  6. 06Chasseron and the land of music boxes18.3 km · +700 m · −790 m
  7. 07Beneath the Aiguilles de Baulmes23.7 km · +870 m · −1,190 m
  8. 08Back to BaselPrivate transfer ≈ 2 h
Download the GPX track
Elevation profile of the traverse600 – 1800 m

What's planned

Included and not included

Included

  • 7 nights in hotels and inns, double room
  • Breakfast and dinner (half board)
  • Luggage transfers from stage to stage
  • Private transfers EuroAirport → Saint-Imier and Vallorbe → EuroAirport
  • Route notes in English, maps and GPX track
  • Telephone assistance in English during your stay

Not included

  • Travel to Switzerland (flights or train)
  • Lunches and picnics
  • Drinks
  • Travel insurance (cancellation, medical care, repatriation)

Practical details

Departures
We recommend arriving on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; other days are possible on request.
Transfers
Private transfer from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse (≈ 1 h 15 min), included on arrival and departure. You can also arrive via Zurich Airport or Geneva Airport: we will give you the train connections.
Accommodation
Village hotels and mountain inns, in double rooms. Comfort is simple in the high-altitude inns; the view, however, is anything but.
A rocky ridge rises above a hollow of pastures and a red-roofed mountain farm restaurant, near the Chasseral.

Our partners on the ground

Professionals who know the terrain

Travel agencies based in Switzerland

Rando en Suisse works with travel agencies based in Switzerland, chosen for their reliability and their knowledge of the Jura. On the ground, they take care of everything: booking the hotels and inns, transporting your luggage, transfers from the airport and assistance during your walk. The agency sells you the trip and signs the contract with you; you are told which agency it is with your quote. Rando en Suisse advises you, answers your questions and remains your point of contact, from your first enquiry until departure.

Quote request

Let's talk about your trip

We reply in English or French, by email or by phone, with no obligation.

Message us on WhatsAppCall +41 78 600 37 36

This trip is organised and sold by a travel agency based in Switzerland, a partner of Rando en Suisse. Rando en Suisse provides information and puts you in touch with the agency; Rando en Suisse does not sell any trips.