Taubenloch Gorge

The Taubenloch Gorge sits in the Jura hills just north of Biel/Bienne and is one of the more dramatic natural features within easy reach of the city — a narrow limestone canyon cut by the Birs river, with walls that in places rise 30 metres above a path that threads along the base. The gorge walk runs about 2 km one way between the Bözingen end (accessible by bus from Biel) and Frinvillier, with the path occasionally requiring you to squeeze through narrow passages.

The gorge is at its most impressive in spring when the river is high. In summer the walls drip with moisture and ferns, and the temperature inside the canyon is noticeably cooler than the surrounding hills. The walk is easy to moderate in difficulty, though wet rock can make some sections slippery. A circular walk can be combined with the Biel–Magglingen funicular for a half-day outing: ride the funicular up to the Jura plateau, walk across to the gorge entrance, and descend through the canyon back to Biel.

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The Taubenloch gets its name — "pigeon hole" — from the niches carved into the gorge walls by the river over millennia, which were used as dovecotes by local farmers. The gorge itself was carved by the Birs tributary after the last ice age, cutting through the Jura limestone in a series of narrow passages. It was discovered as a tourist attraction in the 19th century and remains, surprisingly, almost entirely unmarked in most English-language guides.

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