Pouetta Raisse and Les Preisettes

Pouetta Raisse is a place that has become a victim of its own success, like the Areuse Gorges and the Creux du Van in the same canton. Social media has contributed greatly to this success, and I am also partly responsible for describing this hike. One consequence of this success is that the trail is overused, making it problematic in places where it is very narrow. Another consequence is that the trail is now marked as closed during the winter months, because too many inexperienced people have had accidents, thinking they could hike the gorges with the same equipment as in the summer. That is why it is worth hiking Pouetta Raisse out of season. The other advantage is that there is more water at these times, making the hike more interesting.

On this day, we started in Môtiers, a village in the Val de Travers with beautiful houses, such as the Six Communes Inn. From the center of the village, we followed a road leading to a small chasm under the Château de Môtiers. From this narrow place, we followed the Breuil stream, whose valley curves at one point. From the bend, the valley becomes narrower and narrower as we climb. After a while, the trail leads between the rocks, sometimes on a balcony and sometimes directly over the water. The exit from Pouetta Raisse is very surprising, because in just a few meters, the trail goes from a very narrow place to a much wider space.

After climbing through the forest, we reached the pastures of the La Vaux hut, which we crossed while following the valley. We then followed a good forest road that first makes a turn before climbing towards Cernets Dessus. After passing this hut, we went over the hill to reach the Les Preisettes Dessus chalet and the Les Preisettes clahet-restaurant. After crossing the pastures, we began the long descent towards Fleurier. We had to be particularly careful, because the very wet ground had become slippery. After crossing the entire forest, we reached Fleurier, crossed the small village and followed a small road along the old Areuse to reach Môtiers.

Route: Môtiers – Pouetta Raisse – La Vaux – Les Cernets – Les Preisettes – Fleurier – Môtiers
Distance: 16.7km
Elévation gain: 730m
Duration: 5h30