Plan du Salève, Mountain summit and viewpoint in Vovray-en-Bornes, France

The Plan du Salève is a limestone summit in the Bornes massif, rising to 1,379 m above the surrounding plateau. Its bare crest is a broad, gently rounded ridge of pale rock and alpine meadow, with the ground falling away steeply on the Geneva side. The summit marks the highest point of the ridge above Vovray-en-Bornes.

A cable car system connecting the lower villages to this summit was built during the mid-20th century to bring visitors up the steep mountainside. This infrastructure transformed the location from a remote hiking destination into an accessible tourist area.

The summit's name, Plan du Salève, uses the Alpine term "plan" for a flat shelf of pasture. The mountain is shared between France and Switzerland, and the cable car from Étrembières, opened in 1932, made the summit a day-trip destination for Geneva residents. Look for the boundary markers along the ridge that trace the international border.

The summit is reached by the Téléphérique du Salève from Étrembières, near the Swiss border; the upper station sits just below the Plan du Salève. Walking routes climb from Monnetier and the surrounding villages and take several hours, so allow daylight and carry water. Paths are rocky and unmarked in places, and the summit plateau is exposed to wind and sudden cloud.

The Plan du Salève lies on the French slope of the Salève, just across the border from Geneva, and its launch areas are used by paraglider pilots who ride the thermals above the Arve valley. On clear days the canopies cross the ridge line between French and Swiss airspace, and the summit is also a starting point for the hiking paths that climb from Vovray-en-Bornes.