Chemin de remue

SONCHAUX-ROCHERS-DE-NAYE

The path linking Sonchaux to the Rochers-de-Naye winds its way along the boundary between the communes of Veytaux and Villeneuve in an exceptional landscape listed in the Swiss Federal Landscape Inventory (IFP). It is an old cattle trail, emblematic of the passages linking the first mountain pastures overlooking Lake Geneva to the mountains beyond the crests, in the Hongrin basin (Sarine), where cattle were historically herded.

The Rochers-de-Naye mountain pasture train comprised 5 chalets: Sonchaux (1258 m altitude), Creux à la Cierge (1453 m) and the three Naye mountains (1636 m, 1845 m and 1900 m). The passage between the Creux à la Cierge and Sautodoz includes sections over precipices, where the path was particularly dangerous. In 1916, the commune of Veytaux, owner of the mountain pastures, had a path built there with magnificent retaining structures and a remarkable collection of wooden and metal fences.

Since 2005, Edouard Cosandey, a farmer from Chessel, has been operating this mountain pasture train. Every year at the start of the summer, his herd of more than 80 suckler cows and their calves graze the Sonchaux mountain pasture before taking the trail to the Rochers-de-Naye mountain pastures.

Delighted to find the excellent grass on these high-altitude pastures, the cattle cover the steep path in less than an hour and a half. They come back down at the end of the summer to the Sonchaux mountain pasture for a final graze.

The communes of Veytaux and Villeneuve have been responsible for maintaining the path, but over time the fences have been damaged and several cows have strayed off when they were being moved. The Gruyère Pays-d'Enhaut Regional Nature Park carried out a project to restore these structures in summer 2016, for the benefit of the mountain pasture train and the many walkers and runners who use this path.

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