Geography

There are approximately 70'000 inhabitants living in more than 70 communes of the Yverdon-les-Bains Jura/ Lake Region in the northern part of the Canton of Vaud. The region stretches, on the one hand, from the south bank of the Lake of Neuchâtel to the border city of Vallorbe (where the TGV train from Paris to Lausanne makes a stop), and on the other from the vast plain of the Orbe to the top of the Jura mountains.

Le Suchet (1588m), La Dent de Vaulion (1483m) and Le Chasseron (1601m) are the three highest peaks of the Jura mountains overlooking the Orbe river basin.

All along the border between Switzerland and France, the mountain peaks of the Jura create a kind of balcony on the Alps, making the area a paradise for hikers, bikers and cross-country skiiers. Throughout this vast area, steep cliffs alternate with wooded slopes and deep gorges fed by the rivers of the region: the Orbe, the Nozon, the Menthue, the Arnon, the Baumine… All these waterways offer the possibility of magnificent hikes and excursions.

Lower down, below the Lake of Joux, the Orbe River has carved out underground galleries to reach Vallorbe, creating the impressive cavities of Les Grottes, the largest in Switzerland.