Читать книгу Switzerland's Jura Crest Trail. A two week trek from Zurich to Geneva онлайн

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Looking east towards the Lägern ridge from Baden (Stage 1)

The Jura mountains form a range of ancient folded strata creating an arc from the Rhine valley in the north-east to the Rhône valley south-west, along the border between Switzerland and France. The word Jura originates from the Latin term juria, meaning ‘forest’. The Jura has also been regarded as the Jurassic Alps because of the geological timescale in which they evolved. Characteristic of the Jura are combes, sequences of geologic folds, dry valleys or depressions of limestone rolling and undulating along the high plateau. These relatively flat high-altitude features enable maximum access and enjoyment of the trail by all abilities and offer spectacular views across the Alps to the Rhône valley, the Black Forest, the Vosges and five lakes: Bielers, Lac de Neuchâtel, Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), Lac de Joux and Lac Brenet.

Beginning in the town of Dielsdorf, Stage 1 starts with navigating the cobbled streets of medieval Regensberg, a hilltop fortified village, before ascending and traversing a narrow, wooded ridgeline with intermittent views across to the Bernese Oberland. Towards the end of the Lägern ridge you approach the only mountain hiking graded part of the trail, involving the option of scrambling and descending a rocky ridgeline. Alternatively, the terrain to the northern side of the slope is an easier option to descend into Baden. The second half of the trail is wide and easy to walk, gently meandering through a variety of farmland, forest and passes through two large towns, Baden and Brugg, offering plentiful amenities, accommodation and transport options.