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Brigels/Graübunden area

Hi,
We're heading to Switzerland for 2 weeks in July for our 3rd trip. We've been to Zurich, Luzern, Lake Geneva area, Lugano, Appenzell, and Berner Oberland. We loved the hiking in the BO and Appenzell and want to do more of that. A Swiss friend recommended Brigels in Graubünden as a beautiful summer spot. Has anyone been there? Or have any other ideas for great hiking areas a little off the beaten path? Thank you.

Posted by
60 posts

I haven't been to Brigels but if you look at the maps on wanderland.ch you can see there are definitely some hiking opportunities there. Aside from the general network of hiking paths I found four major hiking routes in the immediate area. The local tourist bureau will probably have additional suggestions.

I have been to valley of Vals for holidays twice and done a lot of good hiking there too. And I've hiked through the Ruinaulta valley around Flims and Laax which is gorge-ous. I definitely recommend making at least one hiking trip there as well in your two weeks!

If you're up for about 1h of traveling each way then crossing the Viamala gorge near Thusis would also be a recommendation of mine. It's a historic path for it's past economic importance and beautiful but difficult terrain. Viamala means "Bad path".

I don't want to patronize you but I don't know what kind of routes you've hiked so far. Both Appenzell and BO can be pretty mild. Some of my suggested routes require to be sure-footed and don't offer many options to abort the hike. Should you not be accustomed to that inform yourself about the demands of each of those routes.

Posted by
82 posts

Thank you for the suggestions. Don't worry about insulting us---it's always good to be informed. We love long hikes but we're not mountain goats.

Posted by
17418 posts

We made four two-week hiking trips before finally getting to Graübundenn Canton on our last trip. We were on our way to Italy via the Bernina Express so did not stay long, but we spent two nights in the village of Samedan and did a nice day hike on our full day there---up from the village about 2,000 feet to a traverse trail that took us on benches above Celerina with views to St. Moritz. We rode a lift down to Celerina---one of the things we love about hiking in Switzerland, as our creaky old knees don't take well to steep downhills. This is but one of many hikes in this area; many more are from Porntesina and Sils Maria. I do not know where this area is from Brigels. I will have to consult a map.

If you are looking for more suggestion, Bettmeralp in the Valaisnisnone of our favorite places to hike. This is a car-free village perched high above the Rhône Valley, accessed by cablecar from the train line running east from Brig. Trails take you up and over a ridge behind the village to the Aletschgletscher, the longest glacier in the Alps. See www.bettmeralp.ch for photos.

Posted by
82 posts

Thanks for more great ideas. Thanks also to you both for the great links.