Engadin

Our personal travel and photo guide for Switzerland

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Many of the popular skiing areas such as Davos, Lenzerheide, Laax are in the canton of Graubünden and are all great places. If you’re looking for some really spectacular and more remote mountain villages with amazing mountain scenery, we suggest going a bit further alpine into the mountain valleys of Engadin, an area also in the same canton. We’ve put together our favourite places in Engadin for you:

A beautiful way to get to the Oberengadin is by taking the windy pass road over the Julier pass where the highest point is 2284m. At the top there is a surprising sight of the Julier-Theatre - a red tower constructed in 2017 as an opera and theatre venue.

Descending just a little way on the other side, you’ll see Lake Silvaplana which is famous for great wind conditions and therefore very popular with windsurfers and kite surfers. Not far from there is the lovely village Sils, where there are some beautiful walks and it’s definitely worth spending some time there.

Passing by ‘posh’ Sankt Moritz there is a funicular train that takes you up to a place called Muottas Muragl. There’s a restaurant/bar and hotel with a beautiful view overlooking St. Moritz and you can see into the valley as far as Lake Silvaplana. On a sunny day you can enjoy their outdoor terrace and watch the light turn the snow golden at sunset.

Further south on the way towards the Bernina pass and Italy, we stayed at the beautiful Camping Morteratsch to test our new 4x4 Bimobil Campervan. The campground is idyllically located in a foresty area, with little streams, small lakes, and the great mountain views.

There are many longer and shorter walks to enjoy starting right from the campground. The train station Morteratsch is only about a 15 minute walk. From there we did the beautiful waterfall trail called 'Cascada de Bernina’.

Another hike goes to the Boval Alpine Hut. The view from Chünetta is lovely but we found the panoramic view even better just before you reach that one; turn left past the first building and the view of Piz Palü, Piz Bernina with its famous and very challenging Bianco Ridge, and the fast melting Morteratsch glacier in the middle all open up in front of you.

To get an impression of how quickly the ice is disappearing there’s a nice walk along the river with signs marking different years where the end of the glacier was at. In the picture below, where Clare and Mara, our new family member 😊 are, is where the glacier was 50 years ago! Sadly, by the end of this century the glacier will be completely gone.

The Cavaglia Glacier Garden is a good place to see what a glacier leaves behind. The Giant’s Cauldrons are smooth round potholes that have been carved out over time by a glacier.

The best way to get there is by taking the famous panorama-train, the Bernina Express. The view is really amazing such as this one from Alp Grüm over to the Palü glacier.

Another highlight is to take the cable car from the Diavolezza station up to the Berghaus Diavolezza. There, the views of Piz Palü and Piz Bernina with its famous Bianco Ridge are spectacular. We stayed at the hotel up there and were able to truly enjoy the golden hour, the blue hour and sunrise of this beautiful mountain range.

The Bernina Express train ride continues on towards Poschiavo, where the official language changes to Italian and where soon after, Switzerland ends.

Following the river Inn from Sankt Moritz will take you down to Unterengadin. At Zernez you can take the road up to the Ofenpass and then on through Switzerland’s only national park to Val Mustair. Here is also where the 4th Swiss national language, Romansch, is spoken. A great winter trek Aaron did is from the parking area close to the Berggasthaus Buffalora. Put on your snow shoes and trek up Mount Buffalora. It's a pretty steep climb and takes a bit of stamina, but every step is worth the effort with beautiful scenery, a great feeling of being in nature and fantastic views when you reach the top.

Back in Zernez on the way towards Scuol, there is a mountain road that leads to one of the prettiest villages in Switzerland: Guarda. It’s difficult to imagine a place that is more romantic than here in winter. This place was chosen as the location of one of the most famous Swiss children's books: Schellen-Ursi. You really do feel like you’re in the middle of a fairy-tale! There’s an easy winter hike from Guarda to Ardez from where you can then take the train and bus back to Guarda if you don’t feel like walking back.

Further down along the river you’ll be rewarded with a spectacular view over to the Tarasp castle - a place we recommend for fine dining.

Before you depart Switzerland, try and visit Vnà which is close to the Austrian border. There is a beautiful winter walk to Val Sinestra from here. In 2011, this valley was awarded the “valley of the year” and the scenery is truly spectacular. You can also walk to the homely restaurant, Zuort, and enjoy a yummy lunch.

This last photo shows the majestic Piz Palü in the background - one of the most beautiful climbs we did in our mountaineering days - this one we climbed exactly 20 years ago... how time flies!

We hope this little blog motivates you to do some trips to the Swiss Alps. There are so many beautiful places in Engadin which makes every trip worthwhile.

Our other published locations cover the following areas (with links):

Part 1: Berner Oberland

Part 2: Jura

Part 3: Lake Luzern

Part 4: Engadin

Part 5: Appenzell

Part 6: Aargau

Part 7: Emmental

Part 8: Romandie

Part 9: Valais

Part 10: Uri, Schwyz, Glarus

Part 11: Rhein

Part 12: Zürich

"One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name"

(The Call - Thomas Osbert Morsdaunt, 1730-1809)

Travel blog and travel guide by Aaron Matzinger & Clare Walker

© Aaron Matzinger & Clare Walker

#Switzerland