7 October 2015 — If you’ve not figured out by now, we do enjoy our road trips. Living here, one of my (many) goals is to check-off all the passes in Switzerland. Note-to-self: 24 passes and only 8 done!
The south east of Switzerland lies one of the prettiest long valleys called Engadin. Located in Canton Graubünden, this valley is protected by the Alps on all sides and is famous for its sunny climate, beautiful landscapes, and outdoor activities. As a point of reference, Engadin shares the same valley as St Moritz. There you go…*lightbulb moment*
We got on the Flüelapass (2383m, 7818ft) that connects from Davos to Susch in Lower Engadin. Since the opening of the Vereina Tunnel in late 1999, the Flüelapass is no longer maintained in the winter months. These days, you can travel on the car transporter between Prättigau (Selfranga) to Engadin (Sagliains) in 18 mins, and the train runs every 30 mins.
We had some friends visiting from the US and (naturally) we wanted to showcase the ‘untouched part of Switzerland. And Engadin it was!
We found a lovely hotel in Vulpera, the Villa Post Swiss Quality Hotel. Well, you can’t really go wrong here, can you? We also found out that it was the last weekend for the (summer) season for most hotels in the area until Christmas. Lucky us!
This part of the country did its job charming us. From the historic castle of Tarasp to the beautiful town of Scuol, or in Romansh Schuls, you’re with nature’s best in Engadin. It’s also rich in Swiss history. This region grew in the 13th century after farmers from Valais settled into the area. They traveled on the Flüelapass, using mules to transport the goods and produce, and traded along the Lower Engadin and as far as Tirol area. On their return trips, they brought back salt.
You can’t really discover Switzerland without first putting on your hiking boots. Yes, you read if correctly. Hiking. (For those that don’t know me well, me and hiking is like taking a kid to the dentist)
When researching this area, we found that we were really close to the Swiss National Park, like 10km close, and about an hour away from Italy’s northern most town of Livigno.
And just as you think the landscape can’t get any better, it just does. Mind you, we were very, very lucky with the weather as first snow for the season was forecasted for the following weekend.
We had an overnight stay in Livigno and found a fabulously entertaining Pizzeria Bait dal Ghet for dinner. I think the collective agreement that clinched the deal was that liquor of all choices (about 5-8) were available as after dinner aperitifs…on your table…for free!
Our drive home would’ve taken us around 3 hours, except that we kept stopping every 1km for that picture!
Passes covered this trip:
Flüelapass
Ofenpass
Berninapass
Malojapass
Julierpass