Rochers de Naye from the Col de Chaude

Les Rochers de Naye overlook Lake Geneva from a height of nearly 1,700m and offer a magnificent panorama of the lake and the neighbouring Alpine peaks. This hike offers a shorter and less exposed ascent than the more common route starting from the Col de Jaman.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.45 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 553 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 551 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,008 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,620 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Access and starting point:
North of Villeneuve, on the shores of Lake Geneva, follow the narrow, steep road to Sonchaux. At a fork, leave the road to Sonchaux on the left and follow the road on the right leading to the pass. Park in the small car park at the pass.

Markings: White-Red-White + Directional signs

(S/E) Take the path that climbs above the memorial stone, heading towards the Rochers de Naye (signposted as 1h15, optimistic estimate). Climb a few steep switchbacks through the forest then emerge into open terrain.

(1) Go round a rocky outcrop to the left, descend briefly and climb up the switchbacks through the mountain pastures. Reach a ridge and follow it to the left (north-west). Pass a hillock (1,852m) and descend through the alder trees to an unnamed pass.

(2) Continue north. Ignore a path branching off to the left and veer right towards an alpine chalet. Pass a drinking trough on your left and head for the chalet.

(3) Pass the chalet on your right, then take a wide hairpin bend to the left. Climb diagonally eastwards, then follow a series of short switchbacks to reach a small pass overlooking the Naye slope.

(4) Continue westwards on the mountain-side path. At a fork in the road, climb up to the left to reach the hut marking the entrance to the Rambertia Alpine Garden.

(5) Continue westwards on the path overlooking the rack railway track. Note a small Himalayan-style monument, then take a footbridge near the rack railway’s terminus.

(6) Leave the station and the refuge-hotel on your right and continue along a good stony path. Turn left directly below a ski lift line, then follow a few switchbacks to reach the summit (large antenna, triangulation point).

(7) Begin the descent via the same route as on the way up.

(5) At the entrance to the alpine garden, there are two options:
- Turn right into the alpine garden (route marked on the map). Descend to the right, follow a path with railings, then climb back up (handrail). Pass a bench, then rejoin the path taken on the way up, which you should follow to the right.
- Continue along the path on the left, following the same route as on the way up

(4) At the small pass, head back down the same path as on the way there, easily reaching the rocky outcrop.

(1) Directly below the rocky outcrop, after a very short climb, turn sharply left and continue on level ground for a few metres (do not take the path that descends very steeply opposite). Descend back into the forest and return to the Col de Chaude (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,620 m - Col de Chaude - View of the - Lac Léman
  2. 1 : km 0.67 - alt. 1,761 m - Rocky peak
  3. 2 : km 1.3 - alt. 1,802 m - Unnamed pass
  4. 3 : km 1.7 - alt. 1,867 m - Chalet du Plan d'Areine
  5. 4 : km 2.18 - alt. 1,942 m - Small pass
  6. 5 : km 2.47 - alt. 1,960 m - La Rambertia - Alpine Garden
  7. 6 : km 2.85 - alt. 1,974 m - Rack railway station
  8. 7 : km 3.18 - alt. 2,004 m - Summit of - Rochers de Naye
  9. S/E : km 6.45 - alt. 1,620 m - Col de Chaude

Notes

Hiking boots and equipment are recommended.

Allow around 1½ hours for the climb to the summit (excluding breaks). Those wishing to avoid the crowds should note that the first rack railway train of the day arrives at the station directly below the summit at 09:41.

(6) Bar-restaurant at the rack railway station.

Recommendations:
- On several occasions, you will need to cross alpine pasture fences (stepping over, climbing over, or unhooking a latch): please respect these fences and close them behind you.
- The Rochers de Naye feature an impressive sheer drop on their north-western face (lake side). The summit and its surroundings are fitted with guardrails. Take great care when exploring the ridge where there are no longer any guardrails.

A detailed map is required (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Hike undertaken by the author on 25 July 2019.

Worth a visit

Route offering beautiful views of Lake Geneva and the surrounding peaks.

(5) Rambierta Alpine Garden.

(7) From the summit, a magnificent 360° panorama: Lake Geneva, the French Chablais, the Dents du Midi, the Mont Blanc massif, the Tours d’Aï and de Mayen, the Diablerets, and the Fribourg Alps.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 3 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
Netra
Netra ★

Hello Ingrid, and thank you for your comments.

I'm sorry to read that you weren't able to get to the starting point! Once you're on the Sonchaux road, it's easy, but I admit that finding that road isn't easy...

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Ingrid78
Ingrid78

Hello,

We wanted to do this walk but couldn't find the starting point.
What a shame...
It's not the first time on the site...
So we had to improvise another hike.
It's best to rely on the signs on site.

All the best.
Ingrid

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Ch'tirandonneuse
Ch'tirandonneuse

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful views of Lac Léman, the Swiss Alps and the Jura plain as far as Lac de neufchatel.
Easy walk with a bit of training. Good hiking boots required as the terrain can be slippery.
The road to the starting point is extremely winding and steep.

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ElisaO
ElisaO

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The advantage of going via the Col de Chaude is that you're on your own.
But it has to be earned because the road to the pass is narrow and quite long.
It's a pleasant hike through the mountain pastures, passing by a mountain farm, but the charm is broken when you reach the small pass overlooking the area where the funicular arrives and where people swarm out of the funicular to invade the restaurant terrace.
Ignore the people and climb up to the Rocher to see Lake Geneva, the Aiguille verte and the Dru to the south, and the Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch to the north, in the Bernese Oberland.
Great views all round.

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marafla
marafla

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The description of the walk is reliable (the walk is so well signposted that we didn't even look at the description).
On the negative side, the description of the starting point is disastrous: "At a fork in the road, turn left towards Sonchaux and follow the road to the pass on the right".
1) That's what we did: horrible road, under construction, and after 15 minutes we had to turn around. Inevitably, at 9am in the middle of the mountains on a Saturday --> no-one to give you any information!
2) At the fork in the road, head towards Sonchaux and follow the Col de Chaude (a much better road). After a minimum of 25 minutes, you finally arrive at the SMALL car park (arrive early because only 8 cars can be parked).

This hike is isolated from the tourists. A beautiful hike over the ridges and alpine pastures of the Swiss mountains. Best done early (no shadows as you're soon on the ridges and to avoid the crowds of tourists arriving at the Rocher de Naye by train) and on a clear day (to get a good view of Lake Geneva, plan for a cloudless day).
On arrival at the Rocher de Naye, visit a small botanical garden of mountain flowers, marmot watching (a little disappointed because the marmots are in enclosures and not in the wild), restaurant and, of course, the magnificent view of Lake Geneva.

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