ViaBerna

Passing the impressive building of the Longines watch factory, you leave St-Imier. A forest path dips leisurely into the shady Combe Grède gorge. Mixed forests with a rich flora and fauna dominate here. In the last century, the forest had almost completely fallen victim to a nearby ironworks. Soon it is only a narrow trail climbing further up. The dried-up stream is crossed several times over small bridges and stone blocks. Tall rock faces tower up ever more threateningly. Even in summer, the sun penetrates the narrow and usually cool gorge only briefly. The well-secured path climbs higher and higher over three levels. The impressive scree slides that have to be crossed along the way remind you to keep an eye on the danger of falling rocks. As a grandiose finale, three sturdy iron ladders, railings and steel ropes facilitate the ascent over the exposed passages, rock bands and through the rock basins. At the back of the valley, a small waterfall cascades down the limestone cliffs. Caution: You should be free from vertigo for this mountain trail. It is closed from November to the beginning of May for safety reasons.

After exiting the gorge at Pré aux Auges, there is a rest area with a fountain. Through a flat moor and over gently rising pastures with trees and magnificent mountain flowers, you reach the bare mountain range of the Chasseral after another 300 metres of altitude gain. Numerous mountain flowers, usually native only to the alps, defy the grim climate here. The view wanders back to the gorge you have just climbed. Deep below: the villages of the Saint-Imier valley, in the background the wind turbines on Mont-Crosin and, to the west, the Jura fading into France.

At the Chasseral mountain hotel, the view is even more impressive: to the south and east, you look across the Three Lakes landscape to the alpine chain. A road and, at weekends, a bus route connect the valley with the mountain hotel. It takes 20 minutes on foot to climb to the highest point of the Swiss Jura, the actual Chasseral peak. Its prominent telecommunications installations are clearly visible. Across open Jura pastures and then through typical spruce and mixed forests, the hike ends after a steep descent in the quiet Jura village of Nods. It is situated off the beaten track at the foot of the Chasseral and on the edge of the Montagne de Diesse plateau.