Walks in Graubunden
Graubünden is full of hidden spots in and around traditional villages, rugged gorges, remote valleys, mountain passes and alpine lakes – and plenty of trails crisscrossing the canton making it a hikers’ paradise.
Winter trail overlooking Bergün, Photo by A.Leggett
Around the villages of the Albula Valley
Walk 1: Bergün and Filisur with glimpses of the impressive Landwasser Viaduct – This link takes you to the Graubünden Villages page where I have included information on a small hike overlooking the Albula Valley (home to the UNESCO World Heritage Railway) and also a look at the historical Filisur town centre.
Walk 2: Hills and mountains between Filisur and Bergün and the hamlet of Stugl – This link takes you to the Graubünden Villages page for a circular hike in the hills between Filisur and Bergün with further information about the towns.
Walk 3: Filisur – Bergün/Bergün – Filisur return by train
Getting There and Away
The hike starts and finishes at the town’s train stations. The trains leave 47 mins past the hour when travelling from Bergün to Filisur with a journey time of 14 minutes (if you want a short ride on the Bernina Express, it arrives in Bergün at 5.05 pm). The trains from Filisur to Bergün leave at 2 minutes past the hour (the Bernina Express arrives in Filisur at 9.33 am). There’s a lovely hotel/restaurant next to the Filisur station with a balcony, views down the valley and friendly staff.
Spring and themed trails in Stierva and mon
The hilly and mountainous regions around the Albula Valley are peaceful with wonderful hidden spots that turn into a winter wonderland when covered in snow or bursting into colour when covered in spring flowers.
Spring Flowers around the hills above the Albula Valley
Themed trail centred around a well-known Romansh Poet
Father Alexander Lozza (1880-1953) was born in Marmorera and was a Pastor in Salouf. He was also an award-winning poet. He would write poems about daily life and current events such as the bickering among neighbors and the newly invented car. He also wrote passionately about the Romansh language and the surrounding mountains.
Information boards display his poems at various intervals along this trail. They are written in Romansh and German – so if you do not understand German you may need your translation App … The poem’s headings are shown below. An example is “Der Kluge und der Dumme” (The smart and the stupid).
Historic village of Splügen in the middle of winter, Photo by A.Leggett
This link takes you to the ViaSpluga Long Distance trail which passes through Beverin Nature Park hikes centred in and around the Hinterrhein (a tributary of the Rhine River) and the Splügen Pass into Italy. The trail (No. 50) has a distance of 68 km; with an ascent of 2,967 metres and a descent of 3,307 metres. It starts at Thusis at the beginning of the Viamala Valley, going through the historical villages of Andeer to Splügen, then across the pass to Italy. This hike can be broken up into four stages. (see link for the official hiking trail ). For information on the villages, gorges and a guide to the hike go to my Beverin Naturpark page dedicated to this area.
Village of Ardez found along the hike between Scuol and Guarda
The Scuol to Guarda walk in the Lower Engadin Valley is a lesser-known hike mainly found in niche Swiss hiking books. It is the 4th Stage of the official Jakobsweg Hike (No. 43) which runs from Müstair, Graubünden’s remote eastern corner, to the eastern edge of Graubünden – the township of Sedrun. There are 18 stages and it is 245km long.
The Scuol to Guarda stage has some idyllic historical villages with attractive buildings, cobbled streets and stunning views due to their positions high up the hillsides. They are linked to some lovely traditions and have small but nice museums.
An option: This walk could be done in 2 stages with an overnight stay in one of the villages.
For more about the area and a step-by-step guide see my Historical Villages of the Lower Engadine Valley page.
