After my time in the Alpstein and in the area of Sargans, I opted to stay in the eastern part of Switzerland and paid the canton of Graubünden a visit. Graubünden is huge however and as I've been to several places already, I decided to head to a region that I haven't explored so far. St. Moritz is a famous place, not only because of the Olympic Games that had been held there twice, but also because it was named the birth place of winter tourism. The image in my mind had always been that St. Moritz would be full of the rich and beautiful, but I soon learned that I was wrong. Of course they were there as well, but the overwhelming amount was either standard tourists or outdoor addicts just like me. :) Meeting a local on my first wild camp in the mountains around St. Moritz, I took the opportunity to ask him about the best hiking spots. Among the places he named was the Piz Lunghin, which he recommended for its stunning views. Initially, that peak hadn't been on my list, but after his enthusing words, I decided to take a look. The starting point to the hike was the village of Maloja and it actually fitted perfectly in my schedule, as I should have been able to reach the summit within a few hours and be back before the predicted thunderstorms in the afternoon. Maloja was a small village and as I was low on food, I had to stock up at the only supermarket first thing in the morning. With the campsite being a bit outside, the 20 minutes detour served as a nice warm up and once I had my food for the day, I was ready to start with the actual hike. Walking to the end of the town, I turned onto the hiking trail and immediately began to ascend. Within a short time I had gained quite some altitude and as the view over Maloja and the adjoining Lake Sils unfolded around me, I soon realized that the panorama was the best part of the beginning, as the ascent itself appeared kinda monotonous. Diversity was only given by a waterfall, the blooming flowers, a couple other hikers and the recurring cries of the marmots warning each other from approaching danger. Piz Lunghin could also be seen already and that didn't really help, as he only seemed to get closer agonizingly slow.
The monotony finally ended once I reached a mountain plateau and a brief respite of the steady ascent was given. Taking a short rest, I eventually found out with a look on the map, that the river that flowed down the mountain next to me was the Inn, one of the major rivers in Europe. :)
Carrying on, the trail soon got rougher and when it turned from a dirt track into a rocky path, my attention for the next half an hour was solely on where exactly I had to plant my feet among all the rubble on the ground. Coming to the end of that particular ascending slope, another mountain plateau appeared ahead of me with Lake Lunghin spreading itself over half of it. Surrounded by high and craggy mountains, it was simply a stunning sight to behold.
Deciding to move on and spend some time at the lake on my way back, I luckily had another look on the map when I started walking again. The sign post at the lake had shown quite a different time to reach the peak than I had calculated and right then I noticed that there actually were three different ways up to Piz Lunghin. Of course, as you probably could guess, I opted for the shortest one, but when there was no sign at the designated turnoff, I had to realize that the intended way was an unmarked one. There was a recognizable path however and so I decided to give it a try anyway. From the beginning, the trail led steeply upwards and overcoming the first rise, I was glad to see that I would make it all the way to the top without retracing my steps. While the slope got even steeper and I had to cross a bigger snowfield in the middle of the ascent, the track was always clearly visible, leading me directly to the ridge below the summit.
That short cut saved myself quite some time and when I eventually reached the ridge, a surprise was waiting for me right there: the outlook into the valley beyond. It was my first panoramic view into a different direction and what a view it was!
After enjoying the scenery for a while, it was time to tackle the last couple 100 meters up to the top of Piz Lunghin. Blue and white signs marked the trail and so I expected a little scramble, even though the local had told me that I could do the hike today in sneakers if I wanted to... Well, hiking boots are definitely recommended, as the path was exposed and narrow with a tricky scramble just before the summit.
All the same, it wasn't the most difficult thing ever and arriving on the peak, a family with their young children greeted me. :) Wow, well done kids! Looking around, the local hadn't been exaggerating and I said a silent thank you for his recommendation. A 360° panoramic view spread all around me and it was that spectacular that I didn't know where to look first. :) Lake Lunghin, Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana could all be seen, as well as the Piz Bernina and the Piz Corvatsch and to top it all off, the craggy mountains of the Italian Alps showed themselves in the distance.
Of course a long break was necessary now and it definitely was an eventful one. Once the family left, I had the summit to myself for some time and while I ate my lunch, a dense fog suddenly formed in the valley below. It appeared so fast that within a few minutes the peak was surrounded by the fog and I couldn't see a thing anymore. :) As fast as it had built up, as fast it vanished and when the next people arrived, the view was absolutely clear again. What a spectacle! :)
When my time on the peak was over, I scrambled back to the ridge and decided to follow the official trail on my way down. Interestingly enough, there was much more scrambling involved along that way than on my short cut in the morning, but once again it wasn't too difficult and the "worst" was soon behind me. Coming upon the Lunghin pass, a sign post told me that three rivers originated from the point where I was standing, one heading to the Mediterranean Sea, one to the North Sea and one to the Black Sea. Apparently that's a unique thing in Europe and I appreciated to have been coming across that additional knowledge.
Heading further downhill, I was back at Lake Lunghin before long and this time took a break to enjoy that lovely spot for a while. Knowing what was coming next, I kinda dreaded the long descent back to Maloja, but as the gorgeous views now always were ahead of me, it actually was way better than expected and I had to take care not to stumble, as the terrific panorama was quite distracting. :) As there was no need to walk through Maloja again, I took a slightly different way back to the campsite and arriving there in the middle of the afternoon, the thunderstorms were still a long way off. All in all, it had been a fantastic day and I was glad that I had taken the time to visit the beautiful Piz Lunghin.
Highlight of the day: the view from Piz Lunghin
This hike is for you if:
- you're looking for a 360° panoramic view over the region of Maloja
- you want to try yourself on a not too difficult blue and white trail
- you're looking for a tiring but still doable day hike
- you want to visit the spring of three different rivers that flow into three different seas
This hike is not for you if:
- you mind a little scramble along the way
- you want the trails all to yourself
- a steep and long ascent/descent doesn't sound attractive to you :)
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