Peering through the windows of a vintage carriage in a cog railway, it would seem as if a yodeling cows’ maid in blond braids and a plaid skirt wouldn’t seem out of place at all. The trundling wheels of the now electric powered automobile grinds its way up 1600m into the thinning atmosphere, past 10.3km of emerald green pastures, fairytale cottages and village grounds that have existed since before 1892. With a screech, it halts just shy of the highest point accessible on the Rochers de Naye. The promontory, set not unlike a cherry at the tip of a pyramid of rock, opens up to views of the pool of blue satin that is Lake Geneva forming a sash around the huddled rock giants of the Bernese Alps.

Nature lovers (and even those with a strange aversion to the outdoors) would find the alpine woodlands of Rochers de Naye irresistible. Somewhere in the middle of chasing furry buck toothed rodents, you’ll find your heart melting despite the chill at the Marmot Paradise Wildlife Park. Nibbling away at small treats in their hand, these protected animals are fond of a small pat on the head if they allow you to approach, their noses scrunching up adorably with pleasure. If you’d much rather enjoy the stationary beauties of the highlands, enter La Rambertia Alpine Garden. An enigmatic outpost knocked together out of lacquered black wood marks the start of meandering rock paths through carpets of green. Alpine Asters are pink stars inlaid into the field of green, yellow ragworts resembling tiny golden orbs of sunlight and Spring Gentians are blue bells dangling off thin stalks in the wind. The pleasant smell of clear pine resin and floral fragrances will lift your spirits up higher than where they already stand, a thousand feet off the ground. Against the uncompromising limestone walls of Via Ferrata, it’s man against mountain as those with past mountaineering experience are put to the test in overcoming the whipping winds needling through the thickest outerwear. Those who are successful in this ordeal might then choose to rest their aching feet and arms in a traditional Mongolian yurt. These tents set up along the mountain are just a few feet away from the precipice and untainted by the city lights, nights at the mountain would leave you tempted to reach out to the skies and pluck the glittering gems from the night sky between your fingers. A mountainous retreat away from the suffocating world, there are few who would willingly leave the peaks of Rochers de Naye.