Steephead valley
Reculée is a common in the French Jura geographical term. He refers to short deep valleys which cut the lower ground level of the mountain, especially between Arbois and Lons -le- Saunier and end ( the cirques ) in rock boilers. They are among the most original scenic sites of the Jura.
The mold is complex. There are simple short ( Vaux- sur- Poligny ), long and branched ( Baume- les -Messieurs ) or lobulated ( Ladoye -sur- seille ). The width ranges from a few hundred meters and one kilometer.
The Jura rises in two stages from west to east, from the Saône plain to the peaks along the Swiss border. The first stage separates the plateau level of Jura, which 20-30 miles wide, running in small steps to the high Jura back. Behind it rise the mountains of the Montagne Jurassienne, often over 1000 meters steep drop to the Swiss side. The four main valleys are the Reculée of Planches that Culée de Vaux, the Cirque de Ladoye and the Cirque de Baume.
Reculée of Planches
The road into the Reculée Planches follows the headwaters of the river Cuisance. In Planches -pres- Arbois it comes from the D469 from a stone, after half a mile you come to the cave Grotte des Planches. From their input source in a cascade, the Cuisance. Depending on the water level, the cave offers a different picture. When snow melt or after heavy rains it is traversed by a raging underground river, then, poised above the visitor on narrow ridges. On the walk 800 meters of the cave changed a number of basins from rapids. During dry periods, the impact of the work of the water in stone are visible in the form of polished chutes, stairs and giant pots that were carved swirls and rotating therein stones like in potholes. After two kilometers along the edge of the Reculée you reach the viewpoint Belvedere du Cirque du Fer à Cheval.
Culée de Vaux
The church of the village of Vaux -sur- Poligny with their colorful burgundy bricks is a relic of an cluniaziensischen monastery. Behind the village the road climbs the flank of the Culée de Vaux high and reaches the viewpoint Belvedere des Monts -de- Vaux.
Cirque de Ladoye
About 10 km to the south of the Culée de Vaux is the Cirque de Ladoye. At the intersection of D 96 with the D 5 a vantage point is located high above the Cirque de Ladoye with sweeping views into the depths. A few hundred meters further on, on the D 5 in the direction Château- Chalon, the D 204 rises steeply in the wall of the cirques down to Ladoix -de- la- seille, then continue to follow the bucolic valley.
From the intersection of D with the 5 D 70 ( views of Château- Chalon ) is first comes in the tiny town of Baume- les -Messieurs, which is half the eponymous abbey. The three -branched valley head ( less than 10 km east of Lons -le- Saunier ) is one of the most scenic sites in France. The high rock walls act as sawn from the Karst. The contrast with the deep green valley with its streams and the Abbey of tree -les -Messieurs corresponds to the romantic ideal of landscape.