Frinvilllier: Sentier des Echelles/Falaisse

This is a nice hike on my commute route (5m from Biel) , so I thought I'd tackle it.

After a short walk on a road and through a tunnel, you arrive at a cairn. It is easy to miss the entrance to the path, but it is marked with some small blue/white markings. 

The way through the forest is steep and a bit slippery, but I was fine in my inov-8 trail-running shoes. After a few minutes, you reach a T-junction, clearly marked with a blue-white sign. Left goes up the ladders, while right through the forest and rocks.

I went left. The path is mostly easy, but in some places the incline is rather steep and exposed, hence a fall is possible. However, there are also ropes and chains when warranted. It is important to stay low here, as there are quite a few right turns up to the rock face. One  is even marked with an arrow and I mistakenly followed it, ending up climbing a few meters on the rocks. They all simply lead to rock climbing routes, along with assorted cables and chains. Going too high also takes you to an amphitheatric area of overhanging yellow rock, lined with sand, from which you should turn back: there is no good way down the path from there.

After you pass below the yellow overhanging ampitheater, there are two sections that are easy to recognise, and which you must pass. The first is a long traverse on earthy ground, secured with a cable. The second is a pass under a long, rocky outcrop that looks as thought it has been cut.  A bit after this, you climb up zig-zagging to the ladders, which are now clearly visible from below. None of them are more than 4m high, and they are easy to climb with care. The climb ends with an easy, secured path to the top. There you can wander a bit around, but generally follow an easternly direction. Keeping close to the rocks will take you down the rocky descent path, but you can go a bit further to reach a viewing bench.

I missed the viewing bench and went directly down the rocky path. Here a bit of path finding is required, but you will soon be able to spot a small chain secured to a rock. This lets you walk down 1-2m on blocky steps, and then descent further by go through a narrow gap between two rocks. A few meters after that, at the end of the path, you will find a rope tied to a tree. This will help you climb down a 3m rocky step with good holds (II). After that, it is mainly pathfinding to the main junction. I actually went too far to the left and missed the last cable crossing, so I had to cross over at some other point, because I ended up above the highway.

All in all, I did a bit 2 hours, but a lot of that was time lost due to pathfinding. I will also try this hike the other way around, and perhaps, if I don't lose time getting lost, with a return through the gorges going to Biel.