Located in the Fribourg region, this beautiful pre-Alpine nature reserve is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Picking plants is only permitted outside the reserve.

As an environmental engineer and botanist, Aline isn’t just in close contact with nature through her work – it’s also a major part of her private life. So it comes as no surprise that in her free time she enjoys sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge with other nature lovers as a hiking guide. To her, there is no better place to do so than in the Vanil Noir Nature Reserve.

Both cooks and nature lovers enjoy embarking on voyages of discovery through the Gruyère region with Aline. Today, amateur chef Nicolas is hiking with her through the beautiful countryside. As a child, he often used to go out collecting herbs and plants with his grandmother – and his interest in bringing nature into the kitchen has remained strong to this day. Being with Aline inspires him to give his dishes a new twist.

The two of them begin their hike in the lushly vegetated surroundings of Lac de Montsalvens in Charmey. Here they gather some plants, which is not allowed in the nature reserve itself. Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) is picked and preserved in bottles with the regional speciality Gruyère double cream. Further along the lake they collect oregano (Origanum vulgare) and stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), adding them to their jute bags. The next stop is the Vanil Noir Nature Reserve.

The area around the Vanil Noir is a place where time stands still. An area that is simply enchanting. The nature reserve, with its pre-Alpine landscape, captivates you with its countless treasures and beauty. The 15km2 area is rich in biodiversity thanks to its uniquely warm and dry climate, lime-rich soil and varying altitudes.

A hike through the Vanil Noir Nature Reserve is almost like a trip around the world: Mediterranean flora can be seen in the valley, while the mountaintops are home to Arctic species of plant. Other rare plants include creeping betony (Stachys pradica), northern dragonhead (Dracocephalum ruyschiana) and the pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis).

On their hike, Aline and Nicolas discover countless natural treasures. Nicolas listens with fascination: extraordinarily, stone pines grow in the nature reserve, which is thanks to the microclimate of the Vanil Noir and the spotted nutcracker, a bird that loves feeding on pine nuts and hazelnuts.

In autumn, the spotted nutcracker gathers the pine nuts from pine cones and takes them to its hiding place. It collects roughly 30,000 to 100,000 a year. By the time winter arrives, however, it has forgotten where it has hidden up to 20% of its stash, thereby guaranteeing that stone pines continue to thrive in the Vanil Noir.

Through lush mountain meadows, past the rugged rock faces and steep gullies of the karst area and with the summit of the Vanil Noir always in your sight. After two hours of hiking, you’re finally there. At 1,868m, the SAC hut Cabane des Marindes sits majestically above the nature reserve, with unique views of the mighty Gastlosen mountain chain and on a clear day stretching as far as the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. It’s not difficult to share Aline’s love for the area.

The terrace of the Cabane des Marindes is today’s kitchen for Aline and Nicolas. Aline produces a colourful mixture of plants picked from the Lac de Montsalvens from her jute bag.

Following Aline’s instructions, Nicolas chops wild thyme, rock thyme, caraway, wild garlic and meadow hogweed, and adds these to the Gruyère double cream to create a crêpe filling.

For the bricelets (a regional waffle speciality), the two combine cream cheese with fresh herbs – white nettle, white clover and oregano – and give the snack a touch of colour with marigolds.

With the hike, Nicolas quickly logged out of urban life. Thanks to the quiet of the mountains, the wide range of aromatic plants and cooking using all his senses, he was able to get a feel for nature again. After all, everything in nature is connected.

This gentle hike around Lac de Montsalvens is perfect for families with children. The path is mostly in the shade. Half of the circuit follows the lakeshore, while the other half ascends to La Monse, opening up fantastic views of the lake down below. The route offers great opportunities for discovering the rich local flora as well as lovely spots for a picnic, barbecue or a bit of fishing.