Curved wall
A horseshoe.
Xonqnopp — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Giles Laurent — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christoph Strässler from Oberdorf BL, Schweiz — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Giles Laurent — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Giles Laurent — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Creux du Van is a natural rock amphitheatre on the north side of Le Soliat in the Val de Travers district of the canton of Neuchâtel in western Switzerland, about 17 km southwest of Neuchâtel in a straight line. It is about 1,400 metres wide and 150 metres deep, at the heart of a 15.5-square-kilometre nature reserve. It formed in three phases: a glacier covered the area about 140,000 years ago and its meltwater cut a V-shaped valley; later glaciers deepened it; and finally the weaker layers wore away faster than the harder rock band, leaving this curved wall. A vertical grey limestone wall curves like a giant horseshoe, with green pastures along its rim and forest filling its floor. From the edge a view opens over the Jura and its lakes, and on clear days the Alps and Mont Blanc appear on the horizon, often above a sea of fog in the valleys below. Visitors walk the path along the rim and often see Alpine ibex and chamois grazing near the edge. The cliff is sheer and unfenced in many places, so take great care; sunset and sea-of-fog days are the most striking times.
A horseshoe.
In the valleys.
Near the edge.
Val de Travers, canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
The cliff is sheer and unfenced; take care.
Sunset and foggy days.