Walserweg Gottardo

On to the last stage of the Walserweg Gottardo trail. We start in Val with its rustic guest house and a chapel. Leaving the small settlement, the path runs through the steep valley flank, down to the bridge over the Rein da Sumvitg. The impressive stream ditch bears witness to the power of previous storms in the area. The Rein da Sumvitg drainage area extends up to the protected Greina plateau.

The steep and strenuous climb is upwards too: the path winds in a zigzag through dense forest, then slowly climbs across cattle grazing fields and past mountain pastures and alps. Every now and then you catch a glimpse of the villages of Sumvitg and Rabius which are opposite one another. Well-kept buildings and alpine pastures characterise Alp Cuolms dil Run, which is only accessible via a material cableway. To the north, the Tödi is visible as the highest elevation. More or less maintaining the altitude, you now cross the first torrent ditch on a narrow path. High above the valley floor, you take a forest road into Val Zavragia. You cross the torrent ditch on a new wooden footbridge. Debris flows and floods repeatedly cause devastation in the valley floor, despite the many structures that slow down the flow of the stream. The final steep climb of this stage is in the forest up to Alp Criedi.

Plot names such as “In da Maiasassa” reveal that you are back in the Walser area. The residential area of St. Martin in the municipality of Obersaxen is the destination for the 200-kilometre-long hike, and it is also the connection to the Grisons Walser trails. There are traditional wooden houses, the chaplaincy church and a cosy guest house here. It is also worth taking a look into the distance: in the north, the Brigelser Hörner and Kistenstöckli rise majestically, and on the opposite side of the valley, there are further 3,000-metre peaks.