This spectacular valley is also called „the Grand Canyon of Switzerland“. Along the rim of a rock cauldron it goes hundreds of meters down to the bottom of the valley. The cauldron is about 1200m wide.

The valley is protected and virtually untouched. In the middle a cold spring (the water stays constantly at 4°C) flows out of the valley. Chamois, capricorns, lynx, fox, deer and many different birds have made their home there. A new nature movie lynxlefilm.ch explores the life of a lynx family in this area within a breathtaking scenery.

The valley is located between the the Cantons of Neuchâtel and Waadt in the French speaking part of Switzerland. It is easiest to go up from the village of Couvet (NE) and head for the Restaurant Soliat with parking lots. About 300m across a meadow you hit the amazing view from atop the rim. Follow the road back up and come down on the other side of the mountain (VD) with a stunning view of lake Neuchâtel and the alps in the background.

The intense colors in fall are breathtaking! It takes a few cold nights (around 0°C) and then many leaves turn into a rich canvas of bright colors. Sometimes these fall days are rather short and the leaves fall to the ground within a few days. This year fall has served us many beautiful days with clear skies and its particular warm kind of sunlight with long shades.

Fall announces the next season: winter. It will not be long before nature braces itself for long and freezing nights. Older people are often aware that fall is a reminder of our limited time on earth. One day all of us will shed our leaves and return to the ground from which we were taken.

The Engadin is a 80km long valley on an altitude of 1800m. The locals speak the fourth national language of our country: Romantsch. The area is famous for its beauty with the typical houses of this area and many high class restaurants.

The most famous location is tiny city of St. Moritz. Here many wealthy and famous people from all over the world own a houses, which is empty most of the time. Within a small parameter you will find very exclusive shops and hotels.

The view (picture) is taken from a mountain called Muotas Muragl (at 2456m) with a cable train leading up. St. Moritz is just below at the shore of the last of four lakes streching on through the valley.

The second picture is from Piz Corvatsch nearby at 3303m. This site is easily accessible by cable car. In winter this area is famous for ski sports. During summer there are trails for hundreds of km for hiking and biking.

In the middle of a beautiful forested area one mountain peaks above the rest: the Napf. The altitude is only 1408m. But the view is incredible.

On top of the mountain it is rather flat surface with a restaurant. The view is literally 360° into every direction of Switzerland: mountains, hills, valleys and far away villages and towns.

The ascent isn’t too strenuous. It takes a good hour’s steep hike to make it from the bottom (starting at Mettlenalp near Trub) to the very top. Paths lead up from diverse directions. The way down to the starting point by another path takes about 90’.

Sigriswil consists of a couple of villages just above lake Thun. It is a great destination for hikes and offers a wonderful view into the mountains and down the valley to lake Thun. A hanging bridge crosses a deep canyon. In summer there is a place offering to wash gold flakes out of a river.

But now in November as the village is on about 800m the snow limit clearly comes down the mountain peaks. During November the weather is growing colder and sunny days are interspersed with days without much sun.

In February the water of lake Murten is very clear and cold, as is the air. The snow mountains (the alps) are often visible with the famous three peaks of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (all over 4000m high).

The lake itself is beautiful in all seasons. It is only 8km long but reaches across language and culture boundaries: Swiss German to French speaking.

There are three lakes in this area that are all connected through a canal system: lake of Neuchâtel, lake of Murten and lake of Biel. The tree lakes area is great for outings, exploring and in the right season for water sports as well.

In winter it is a great pleasure to go up on a snow mountain and look down into the valleys filled with fog. The view of the mountain scenery on eye level is also exhilarating.

Recently we took a wonderful group from China up to the Niederhorn. This mountain rises up to 1950m above lake Thun. To get to the top one can take a cable car starting from the lake Thun level at Beatenbucht. The other option is to drive up to the village of Beatenberg (1200m) and take the cable car from the village to the very top.

Even in winter the Niederhorn is a trip worth. You can learn how to ski, or rent a sledge or even join a tandem paraglider down into the valley.

In Switzerland this January we have had a lot of snow. Especially in the eastern parts and far into Austria there has been abundant snow.

The ski resorts are thrilled about the great weather conditions. Skiing and snowboarding are still very popular. It’s just wonderful to go up on a mountain peak while often down below there is a layer of fog.

All the snow has also its downsides. The cities and villages put a lot of work into clearing the road system from snow so that the traffic isn’t hindered too much. Depending on the weather conditions there are also more road accidents happening and sometimes delays are inevitable.

In late fall the trees dress up. The beautiful colours are a feast to the eyes.

During this season I love to travel into the hills of the Jura, especially in the canton of Neuchâtel. The mountains in that area are glowing with colours.

This canton has a lake and across rolling hills the beautiful river Doubs. France starts on the other side of the river. On of the nicest destinations is called Biaufond. A bridge leads across the river to France.

In Biaufond it’s great to stop and enjoy a drink in the only house there, which happens to be a restaurant, called Maison Biaufond.

The river Doubs originates in France near the border of Switzerland and later flows into the Rhône, which eventually flows into the Mediterranean near Marseilles in France.