Jakobsweg Graubünden

Rueras is the second-largest district in the municipality of Tujetsch. The largest local building is the 18th-century village church, dedicated to St. James. You begin climbing immediately after setting off: You have around 500 metres of elevation to tackle on a zigzagging path. You first hike through forest, with a fantastic view over the Surselva opening up later. The valley of the Vorderrhein River stretches from the Oberalp Pass – the destination of today’s stage – until it merges with the Hinterrhein River near Reichenau.

But first, you have a leisurely hike to Milez Sura: The path is easy to navigate and dotted with pretty bushes; the view is wonderful. The route follows the same path as the Senda Sursilvana hiking route and two bike routes.

The second climb of the day follows from Milez Sura. It’s shorter than the first and the view is again magnificent. Once you reach over 2,000 metres of elevation, you can see the dam on the opposite side of the valley. The arch dam is 153 metres tall and stores the 41 million m3 of water from the Lai da Curnera.

A beautiful path takes you on a detour into Val Val – leisurely hike part two. After crossing the Aua da Val Val stream, the last section to Alp Tiarms begins. Following a brief descent of around 100 metres of elevation, the final stage of the Grisons Way of St. James ends on the Oberalp Pass. This was a relatively unimportant pass for a long time. It was first also used by tourists after a passable road was built in 1863/64 for strategic military reasons. Initially, a five-horse stagecoach ran over the pass, and later a postbus. Then, from 1926, the pass was crossed by the cogwheel-driven Furka-Oberalp Railway, now known as the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway.