Summary

The article describes a scenic hike from Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye, focusing on the diverse plant life and stunning landscapes encountered along the trail.

Abstract

The author shares a photo story of a hike from Haut de Caux near Montreux to the Rochers de Naye, detailing the rich variety of plant species, including wild orchids and colorful wildflowers, observed in early July. The hike, which begins with a train ride, offers panoramic views of Lake Geneva, the Rhone Valley, and the Dents du Midi mountain range. The trail gradually transitions from an easy gravel road to a mountain path marked with red and white flags, indicating an easy mountain trail. The narrative emphasizes the natural beauty of the region, the accessibility of the hike, and the opportunity to enjoy an alpine garden and free snacks in the form of wild berries. The article concludes by inviting readers to join the author on the next part of the journey, promising more stories about the flora and fauna of the region.

Opinions

The author expresses enthusiasm for the hike's accessibility and the ease of spotting a wide range of flowers, including rare wild orchids.
The article conveys a sense of wonder at the natural beauty of the region, particularly the vibrant colors of the flowers and the contrasting greenery of the forest.
The author suggests that the hike offers more than just scenic views; it provides educational insights into the local flora and the opportunity to forage for wild berries.
The mention of the Via Alpina and the absence of challenging blue trails underscore the author's opinion that this hike is both enjoyable and suitable for a wide range of hikers.
The author's personal interest in nature, science, and DIY is reflected in the detailed descriptions of the plants and the invitation to learn about making a hot drink from chicory roots.
The article promotes engagement with nature and encourages readers to explore more through the author's lists and membership links.

Flower-spotting hike up from Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye. Part 1.

PART OF MY SERIES Natural wonders of Switzerland’s canton Vaud

Even wild native orchids like these are quite easy to spot along this hike.

A photo story of our hike up to the Rochers de Naye, above the city of Montreux, focusing on the many tens of plant species in full bloom by early July. Moreover, near the summit a whole alpine garden awaits that you can even reach by train.

We started this hike from a train stop called Haut de Caux, which we reached with a 20-minute train ride from the city of Montreux. This train actually makes it to the very top of the Rochers de Naye mountain, but hey, we are here to walk.

As many trains in Switzerland, this train offers magnificent views. Turn after turn as the train climbs you see the lake alternating on one side and the other. On your southwest you get to see the valley of the Rhone river coming from canton Valais, the castle of Chillon (worth visiting!), and on sunny days you see the whole Dents du Midi chain of mountains (to know more about these mountains check this website -in French only)

View from the train on the way up. The Dents du midi (max. 3257m) sit in the back. Getting to the summit is no easy hike but the mountain has a very interesting, easier to rich plateau at around 2500 m, with lakes and a couple of refuges where to sleep. In the bottom left corner, the Château de Chillon, well worth a visit.

We like to begin the hike at Haut de Caux because from here you can start gently going up in a quite easy hike that already offers a dense forest, tens of colorful flowers, and outstanding views of Lac Léman here and there.

The walk then starts gently through very green scenery decorated with colorful wildflowers on the sides.

Beginning the hike on the easy path that slowly goes up through the forest, which this time was so green that it looked more like a jungle.

This sign guides you and also ensures you that this part of the hike will be easy (no red bands that would indicate mountain trail, as you’ll see later). In fact in the first part you walk just through a gravel road.

Wildflowers of various colors and shapes abound…

Already the sides of this road are full of flowers of all colors and shapes.

This part of the hike also offers some free snacks…

Left: Raspberry fruits just starting to grow. Right: wild strawberries, small but quite tasty!

With some patience, you can find some wild orchids. But pay attention, because they are not like those huge commercial phalaenopsis. This one, for example, maybe just a total of 30–40 cm high of which only the last 10 cm are occupied by flowers. So yes, each individual flower is quite small.

You can even spot some wild orchids already in the first minutes of hike.

Some flowers have weird shapes. This one for example is quite easy to find in canton Vaud. It always reminds me of plasma balls like those you touch and produce pink/purple/violet flares.

This flower, quite easy to find in canton Vaud, reminds me of a plasma globe. The photo of the flower is my own. The photo of the plasma globe is by Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Not all are flowers and colors in the forest, actually, the dominating color is green, at least in summer. Ferns give a lot of green color to the ground, together with mosses and all other bushes and plants. The heights are dominated by trees, especially pine trees in this mountain.

Left: Fern on a vertical rock wall. Right: A future king of the forest.

Some more colorful flowers to keep going, as we keep gaining altitude.

Chicory. Did you know you can prepare a hot drink that tastes similar to coffee by roasting its root? I will show you some day.

Rosehip, whose fruit (to ripen in around 4 months) is not easy to eat but can be used to prepare a delicious jam. Stay tuned for the story on that!

The easy road we were walking through, rather than hiking, at one point gives place to an actual mountain trail. In Switzerland, these are shown with red and white flags overlaid onto the yellow signs and posts. FYI, these are mountain trails yet easy and without major risks; but blue colors would indicate more complicated routes that may even require use of the hands and of course more dangerous paths. You won’t see any blue in this hike.

Check out my next story to continue this flower-spotting hike with me.

From this point, a mountain hiking trail starts (see red and white bands in the sign). Not really very tough. By the way, we are hiking here through the Via Alpina (national hiking route 1) as defined by Schweizmobil: https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/route-01.html

I am a nature, science, technology, programming, and DIY enthusiast. Biotechnologist and chemist, in the wet lab and in computers. I write about everything that lies within my broad sphere of interests. Check out my lists for more stories. Become a Medium member to access all stories by me and other writers, and subscribe to get my new stories by email (original affiliate links of the platform).