Jura: Hidden Waterfalls and Lakes

Three days in the Jura of the reculees, the blind valleys carved into the limestone. The route begins at the Herisson waterfalls, seven drops along three kilometres of path including the 60-metre Grand Saut, reaches Lac de Chalain, the range's largest natural lake with its beaches and remains of prehistoric lake dwellings, then Baume-les-Messieurs, a village tucked at the head of a spectacular reculee with its abbey and cave. Chateau-Chalon, perched above the void, and Arbois, capital of vin jaune and Pasteur's home town, close the trip. This is a Jura of water and stone. The falls are spectacular in spring and often reduced to a trickle by August: come between May and June. The Herisson path is slippery, so closed shoes are essential.