Travel Guide Engadine

As its name indicates, the Engadine - which corresponds to the name of the Inn in Romansh - is the Inn Valley, a tributary of the Danube flowing to Austria. By extension, these are also countries formed by adjacent valleys (Val Bregalia; Val Julier; Val Bernina; Val Sybilline; Val Albula and Val Muster). In a natural environment of great beauty, these villages have preserved an original type of architecture and their inhabitants a genuine popular culture exemplified by the Romansh dialect. The upper part of the Inn (or Upper Engadine) valley made famous by Saint Moritz extends from the Col pass to Zernez. Over 20 000 kilometres of length, the 1 700 inhabitants of the main valley live at an average height of m above sea level. Such a population figure at such altitude is unparalleled in Europe. A large flat valley occupied by lakes, wide horizons, a particularly bright sky, huge mountain ranges, characterizes landscapes that inspired the greatest of artists and writers of the th and th centuries.The Upper Engadine, which was born the first winter sports (with English in St. Moritz since 1859), is now a high place for sport and family tourism. Summer as winter, paths lead to glaciers foot and are easily accessible. In the winter, there are infants on sledges, wrapped in sheep's skins and wearing sunglasses… adults on foot or skiing, and high-age people who will enjoy tasty meals in welcoming hostels. There is also the astonishing Engadine marathon ski, which brings together thousands of participants and uses the 350 km of hiking trails in the region. The perfect connections between train and cable networks make these routes even easier.The slopes of these mountains offer spectacular ski and snowboard trails (Équipement and Pontrésina, Zuoz…). Stations also organize clear moon runs, ski safaris. The Muottas Muragl luge trail has a height of 700 m. Each station is equipped with ice rink and indoor swimming pools. The quality of these facilities justifies the organisation of the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympic Games in the Engadine and, in 2003, the organisation of the World championships in St. Moritz-Pontresina. The Lower Engadine covers the Inn Valley from Zernez to the Austrian border. Less populated and less known, it still offers numerous hiking opportunities, especially in the Swiss National Park and the Val Münster at the gates of Austrian Tyrol and Italian Adige.