Trail itinerary to Mt Saleve for Orjobet Cave

Trail Information

Départ et arrivée du trail (Google map): Le Parking du Coin

Kilomètres: 6.8 km

Ascension: 617m

Temps: 2h

Difficulté: easy

Lien carte intéractive de l'itinéraire (Alltrails) : Lien

Starting the trail:

In order to get to the beginning of the trail, we have to drive to the bottom of the Salève (crossing the Swiss-France border) to park at "Le Coin". We always try to get there early because parking can be scarce already in the late morning. This is where the trail starts. This trail is very well known and there is little chance to get lost because the path is very well marked.

Orjobet with the dogs

This trail is not the easiest one to bring your dog along, but it is still feasible. It is very important that for this trail you take a leash for your dog. In the first part of the trail, in the forest, we let our dog walk loose. Once the trail starts to get rocky, we always tie Rio up because, as she is a bit crazy, she can create small landslides that can be dangerous for us and the others. For the rest of the trail, we keep our dog on a leash until the top of the Salève, where the pastures are. As we pass through steep and narrow places, it is important that the dogs are secured. There have been some accidents involving dogs falling from the path because they were not on a leash...

The Cave

Arrived at the top of the climb, we find ourselves in front of the famous Cave of Orjobet. The cave is dug naturally by erosion and has of course been secured for all hikers who pass through. As our dog is very small, we have to carry her up the few steps that cross the cave.

Once through the cave, we continue our way following the trails on our left to reach the "Trou de la Tine" following the path of La Corraterie. As we emerge, little by little from the forest, we discover the incredible view over the whole city of Geneva. The path is tight and steep on one side, but the view makes us forget our fear of heights.

On top and going back

Upon reaching the top, we have the choice to cross the Salève and stop at "La Croisette" for a drink, or we can also retrace our steps back to Le Coin. As we wanted to run a little bit during this trail, we decided to run up to the Croisette through the pastures and cows.

Once at La Croisette, it is time to go back down. We decided to take the forest descent called "Les Allumés" instead of the Chemin de la Croisette where the cars go up. "Les Allumées" is a steep trail perfect for practicing the downhill run. We always keep our dog on a leash because the trail crosses the main road at certain times when cars are going up. After a few kilometers, the trail joins the road we came up on and we find our car parked at Le Coin.