At the end of the Thal

The Jura Mountain range contains a number of beautiful places that are often little known to the inhabitants of French-speaking Switzerland. Here, one lies a little further north-east, at the edge of the Tabular Jura, in the Dünnern valley. The river starts near Welschenrohr and crosses the Thal valley before passing through the lock near Balsthal. It then follows the foot of the Jura to flow into the Aare at Olten.

The Thal (the valley) now has the status of a regional nature park covering the whole valley up to the ridges. Although the valley floor is quite urbanised, the surrounding mountains offer interesting opportunities for hiking. Moreover, in this part of the Jura, it is common to find high-altitude farms that are occupied all year round and offer food. It is therefore not always necessary to have a picnic. Be careful, however, as the dishes can sometimes be very rich.

From Welschenrohr it is worth climbing a little to reach the Sollmatt. This avoids the busy road. At the Sollmatt you will encounter unusually strong fences: bison are raised here. After passing the last fences, descend slowly towards the Hammer-Allmend before plunging quite steeply towards the road. On the other side of the road, you will soon find the trail that leads up a deep gorge: the Wolfsschlucht.

Instead of following the gorge faithfully, it is worth leaving it to reach the meadow of Chuematt and, further on, the Obere Tannmatt. From here you have a beautiful view of the whole Thal. In the distance you can see the village of Balsthal. You then must make a little effort to reach the ridge overlooking the Tannmatt, before descending to the farm of Mieschegg. You then pass in front of a very beautiful chapel before going along a forest edge.

Once you reach a small pass near Büx, you must climb a little further to pass another hill and reach the Hinter Brandegg farmhouse. Further on, you soon descend steeply into the forest to pass under the impressive Bärenloch canopy.

Route: Welschenrohr – Sollmatt – Wolfsschlucht – Obere Tannmatt – Mieschegg – Hinter Brandberg – Welschenrohr
Distance: 13Km
Altitude gain: 850m
Duration: 5h