Wild Faces of Switzerland

The Jura Mountains are a sub-alpine mountain range tracing the French border to the northeast of Switzerland. Compared to well-known Swiss tourist hotspots, these multi-faceted low mountains are relatively obscure, even though there is much to discover.

There’s hardly a corner of Switzerland so marked by exciting contrasts as Ticino. It’s both the sunniest and the rainiest part of the country. Rough mountains meet a Mediterranean climate, and while the North is still covered in a blanket of snow, camellias and magnolias are already in flower in the South.

Take an amazing journey from the highest peaks of the Bernese Highlands along the Aar and the Rhine rivers to a spectacular finish at the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen

Marmots work hard all summer to feed incessantly and lay down enough fat reserves to pass the cold season in hibernation. But this is not to be confused with a refreshing night’s sleep: far from it. This is more like a life-threatening emergency state. Scientists have found out that marmots repeatedly need to come round from their hibernation and have a proper sleep if they are to survive the hostile winter at all.