The Panoramic Way of Mittelbünden

This summer is truly epic. Even now in September the sun is shining a lot and winter still seems far away. As it's not that hot anymore, the conditions for hiking are perfect. So I decided to hike the panoramic way of Mittelbünden the last weekend. This trail connects the three well known mountain villages of Lenzerheide, Arosa and Davos in the canton of Graubünden. The way is rated as not difficult, but with 41 kilometers in length and 2600 meters to gain in height, one definitely needs some stamina to do it in only two days. Following the official guide I started my hike on 9.30 am on Saturday morning at the bus station of Lenzerheide. As suspected it went upwards basically from the start. The way soon led into a forest and I followed a gravel path over rocks and roots for quite a while. Once out of the forest, I had to cross a bridge, walked around a long drawn-out bend and after another short ascent I was greeted by a stunning view of the mountains around me. Crossing the small stream again, the trail now led gently upwards towards the mountains. Coming to a turnoff a couple kilometers later the loneliness on the trail was gone. Lenzerheide is also well known for Mountain biking and hosted the World Championship a couple weeks ago. So the next couple hours I shared the path with quite a few bikers. Luckily there was enough space and crossing each other was not a problem. Heading towards the Parpaner Rothorn now, the highest point of this whole hike, I was walking along a magical scenery for quite some time. Red bushes, green grass and grey rocks lined the way, the sky was as blue as possible with some nice clouds in it and combined with the mountains around me and the sun that enlightened everything, the surroundings looked simply astonishing.

But the closer I got to the Parpaner Rothorn the more tired I felt. Somehow my legs were not the freshest and as I reached the final, really steep ascent to the top, the whole thing turned into a real struggle. Well, no pain, no gain. :) Once I made it to the top I looked for the nearest bench, sat down and enjoyed a well earned lunch break. When I had some strength back I came to realize that I actually was on the wrong peak. Haha. :) The Parpaner Rothorn has two different peaks (East + West Peak) and of course I was on the lower one. Luckily the higher East peak was only 10 minutes away and the ascent looked not too steep. So I made my way over there and enjoying a second lunch I marveled at the amazing surroundings for the next half an hour. All good things come to an end though and too soon it was time to carry on. On the way back towards the first peak I passed two guys in sneakers breathing hard. They looked at me, pointed at themself and said: "City Boys". Haha, right, well said. :) Passing the cable car station on the West Peak I started my descent towards Arosa. And that one was quite entertaining. The scenery stayed beautiful all the way with views into the valleys on either side. The sun still enlightened the red bushes and along the way tons of white rocks, a tiny green lake and a small stream joined the scenery.

The further down I got, the bigger got the stream and flowing in a crystal clear lake a the end of the valley I found another bench to sit down and rest my weary legs. Luckily Arosa was not far away anymore and after another short descent I arrived in Inner Arosa. Funnily enough, today was probably the first hike ever, where I didn't see a single cow. :) As it was a long day and I was pretty tired, I went to bed after some food and a refreshing beer.

After a long sleep and a large breakfast it was time for day two. As I slept at the edge of the town, the trail first led me directly through the heart of Arosa. Once out of the town I passed an artificial lake and then slowly started to ascend again. Like yesterday the first hour was mainly in the forest and again the view was ingenious once I was out of the forest. Finally I also came upon some cows and mostly hiking along farming land now I made my way towards the tiny mountain village of Medergen. So far the sun was shining, but now clouds started to move in and as the other day the play of sun and clouds / light and shade started anew. Coming closer to Medergen there were red bushes again everywhere and with the village and the mountains in front of me it was simply a stunning sight to behold. Medergen itself is really lovely and it's definitely a place which invites one to stay longer, but there was no time for this today so I carried on right away. After another couple kilometers of smooth ascending I walked around a bend and boom, was blown away by the panorama in front of me. No wonder this trail is called "panoramic way". :)

With this sight ahead of me I made my way towards the technically most difficult part of this trail. A steep and narrow ladder that was built into the rocks. Well, I thought it was a ladder beforehand, but arriving at the bottom of it, I realized that it was actually a staircase. With a steel rope to hold on to, I didn't really know why this was labelled as difficult. Once safe on the top I hiked onwards until I reached the pass of Latschüelfurgga, the highest point of day two. With views into the valleys on either side it was also a beautiful viewpoint and the perfect spot for my lunch break. When there were not many people before and after, Latschüelfurgga was almost crowded with a lot of hikers and bikers passing through. Once my stomach was full and I enjoyed the view long enough I started the descent towards Davos. With my legs getting tired, my knees starting to hurt and a view in front of me that was nice but somehow couldn't compete with the rest of the trail, this part was definitely the most strenuous. Nevertheless I arrived at the railway station of Davos mid afternoon, perfectly on time to catch the next train back towards Zurich. Well, what a weekend that was! Mother nature showed her very best side and this was a hike to be remembered for a long time. Or to put it in other words: the panoramic way of Mittelbünden is highly recommended!

Highlight of the weekend: the first signs of Autumn, the diversity of the whole trail and sun and clouds staging an insane play of shade and light

This hike is for you if:

- you want panoramic views of the Alps of Graubünden

- you want the possibility of short cuts by cable cars or the chance to drop out after one day

- you always wanted to check out a real mountain village (Medergen)

- you're in good shape

This hike is not for you if:

- you're looking for a family friendly hike

- you're afraid of steep and narrow stairs

- you mind sharing the way with Mountainbikers

The view that greeted me when I was out of the forest on the first day

The final ascent to the Parpaner Rothorn

View from the West Peak of the Parpaner Rothorn

And the view from the East Peak of the Parpaner Rothorn

During the descent on the first day, looking back towards Lenzerheide (the village to the left of the lake)

Having a rest at the crystal clear blue lake on the end of day one

On the second day, walking towards Medergen

The staircase built into the rocks

The view from Latschüelfurgga

The only wildlife I found along the way :)

The panoramic way of Mittelbünden is marked with the number 54. So if you want to walk this trail, just keep on following the signs with this number. The way is marked pretty well with two exceptions. On the first day when you come out of the forest and you cross the small wooden bridge you can choose between two paths just after the bridge. I recommend you to take the left one. Most probably both paths lead to the same place, but the left path is definitely the shorter one. And the second time where the markings were not that good, was in the town of Arosa. I walked into the wrong direction twice, so you better also check your map when walking through Arosa.