Logo
Loading...

Plan

Add route point

New point will be added to the top of the route and later you can arrange the chain of points

Points

Holiday itinerary

Eight days from Zurich over the Julier into St. Moritz, then the Bernina Pass running beside the UNESCO red train down to Tirano. You drop into Chiavenna’s stone streets and the Como shore before looping home through Lugano. Lago Bianco at the summit is the picture you came for.

Season: Julier and Bernina stay open most of the year; side roads toward Livigno can still close. Lago Bianco is the summit lake — go in clear light if you can.

Landmarks

  • Lago Bianco at the Bernina saddle, white water under a thin skyLago Bianco at the Bernina saddle, white water under a thin skyPhoto: Kabelleger / David Gubler ( / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
  • Julier climbing out of the Rhine valley into larchJulier climbing out of the Rhine valley into larchPhoto: Dennis G. Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
  • St. Moritz lake holding the high townSt. Moritz lake holding the high townPhoto: Murdockcrc / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
  • Tirano’s piazza after the long descentTirano’s piazza after the long descentPhoto: Ximonic (Simo Räsänen) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Chiavenna’s stone lanes at the foot of the MalojaChiavenna’s stone lanes at the foot of the MalojaPhoto: Mathis Brancquart / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Poschiavo, the valley that teaches Italian before the borderPoschiavo, the valley that teaches Italian before the borderPhoto: Ivo1992 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Holiday itinerary

  1. Day 1 · Zurich

    Start along the lake while the light is still soft, then the motorway to Chur. The holiday has not begun until the valley walls close in.

  2. Day 2 · St. Moritz

    Julier Pass at 2284 m lifts you into the Engadine. Walk the lake at St. Moritz; the water is higher than the clouds you left in Chur.

  3. Day 3 · Pontresina

    Quieter than St. Moritz, and closer to the Bernina road. From here the Morteratsch glacier still shows its old tongue if the cloud lifts.

  4. Day 4 · Tirano

    After Lago Bianco and the Poschiavo descent the piazza is suddenly Italian: espresso, stone, a slower clock. You have crossed a language without changing the mountain.

  5. Day 5 · Chiavenna

    A stone town at the foot of the Maloja side, crotti cellars and a river that sounds like the pass you just left. Sleep here before the lake crowds.

  6. Day 6 · Como

    The Duomo by the water, and a ferry if the hairpins have had enough of you. Como is a rest from altitude, not from beauty.

  7. Day 8 · Zurich

    Home via Lugano and the Gotthard tunnel if the passes are busy. The lake at Zurich will look almost modest after Como.

Route