Dry stone wall at Paray-Charbon

CHÂTEAU-D'ŒX

At the foot of the Vanil Noir, in the heart of a landscape of national importance, the high mountains of Paray are emblematic of the Pays-d'Enhaut and the production of L'Etivaz PDO mountain cheese. The two mountain pastures of Paray Charbon and Paray Doréna, farmed by two different families, are historically separated by a dry stone wall that winds from rock to rock, at the entrance to a spectacular scree slope.

The 200-metre-long wall starts in the spruce forest and ends in the scree at 1750 metres altitude. The dry stone walls are interesting traces of the history of the alpine economy that made the region so rich. Somewhat forgotten in the alpine imagination of the Gruyère civilisation, there are more of them than you might think at first glance, but they are often very run-down.

The Paray wall is a perfect example of this agricultural heritage. It was restored in 2016 as part of a project supported by the Gruyère Pays-d'Enhaut Regional Nature Park. Stoneworks carried out the restoration based on the remains of the wall, respecting the stone assembly technique used when it was built. The stones used were taken from near the wall or transported from the scree slopes on the mountain pasture. Two sycamore maples were planted on either side of the wall to mark the pathway.

Information : Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays-d'Enhaut, +41 (0)848 110 888