Via Engiadina

Zuoz is characterised by its traditional Engadine houses with their solid stone walls, as well as round arches, decorated facades, oriels, and mysterious alleyways and fountains. You leave the village via the attractively paved little square and begin the ascent via a narrow path that runs through pastures on the hillside.

On the way up, you will be rewarded with a magnificent view across the Engadine and the national park. The highest point of the hike is reached at Prospiz at an altitude of 2,044 metres. Then there is a longer stretch on a woodland road through the coniferous forest that leads down into the valley.

You traverse the Vallember in Chapella and then comes another climb through the forest to Val Punt Ota. A wild mountain stream flows through the unspoilt valley, and you cross this on wooden planks. The valley forms the border between the Upper and Lower Engadine.

After a longer route through the forest, you now go downwards again through pastures and then on a gravel road to the village of Brail. Geographically, this is part of the Lower Engadine. However, with its Rhaeto-Romanic dialect, it is linguistically and culturally associated with the Upper Engadine.

Gravel roads lead through vast pastures with an attractive view over the valley as you head towards Zernez. Slightly above the Inn River, the path is now a gentle incline. Arriving at the bottom of the valley, you cross the Inn. The campsite is on the left-hand side, and with the train station straight ahead, the destination for this stage is in sight.

The towns of Lavin, Susch and Zernez/Brail, which combine to form the municipality of Zernez, make up the third-largest municipality in Switzerland, with an area of 344 square kilometres. Zernez is regarded as a link between the Lower Engadine, the Val Müstair and the Upper Engadine, and it is also the gateway to the Swiss National Park.