Engadin

long valley in the Swiss Alps

The Engadin (or Engadine) is a valley in Switzerland, forming the southern part of the canton Graubünden. It follows the uppermost part of the Inn, where it also gets it name from. The valley is made up by two parts: Upper Engadin with the famous St. Moritz and Lower Engadin with the main town Scuol. Several valleys next to the Engadin are also part of this region: Val Müstair over the Fuorn Pass, contains a big part of the Swiss National Park. Val Bregaglia and Val Poschiavo are two Italian-speaking valleys connected to the main valley via the Maloja and the Bernina passes.

Timber bridge over the Inn River to Sur En, Lower Engadin

Cities

  • 🌍 Pontresina , a winter destination which also features some historical buildings.
  • 🌍 Samedan administrative centre of the upper Engadin. Hosts the highest airport for regular airliners in Europe.
  • 🌍 Samnaun good for duty-free shopping due to its special location outside the Swiss customs area
  • 🌍 St. Moritz , the world-famous ski and spa destination.
  • 🌍 Scuol , administrative centre of the lower Engadin.
  • 🌍 Swiss National Park

Other destinations

  • 🌍 Val Müstair , located on the other side of the Fuorn Pass, this is where the Benedictine Convent of St. John at Müstair is located.
  • 🌍 Val Sinestra

Understand

Talk

Both Romansh and German are spoken in this region. Traditionally the main language is the Romansh dialect of Puter in the Upper and Vallader in the Lower Engadin, but today only the Lower Engadin has Romansh as a majority language. German is everywhere and no Romansh knowledge is required to get along while travelling. In the more touristy areas such as St. Moritz, English is widely understood.

Get in

By train

The Engadin can be reached by the rhaetian railway (RhB). Most travellers will come in via Chur or Landquart, both of which can be easily reached by train from Zurich and other Swiss cities. From Chur, one line leads via Rhäzüns to Samedan and St. Moritz (via the Albula line, which is part of the UNESCO heritage site), from Landquart another lines leads via Klosters to Samedan and St. Moritz. A third line leads coming from Disentis, Chur and Landquart again via Klosters to Scuol.

From Italy, there's a RhB line from Tirano in Italy, via the Italian-speaking Val Poschiavo to Pontresina and St. Moritz. This train goes along the Bernina line, which is also part of the UNESCO heritage site.

By plane

For most people the airport of choice will be Zurich airport, from where you can travel on by train via Chur or Landquart. There is however a small airport in Samedan (SMV), which is around 5 kilometres/20 minutes away from St. Moritz. It provides limited flights to the international airports of Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Milan, and Munich.

By car

From Northern Switzerland take Julier Pass or Albula Pass for the Upper Engadin, of which only the first is open during winter, the Lower Engadin is served by Fluela Pass (only open in summer) and the car shuttle train through the Vereina Tunnel (Fr. 31-42 depending on the season). From Austria follow the main road along the river Inn that splits off from the main motorway an Landeck. From Italy the Engadin can be reached via Bernina Pass or Maloja Pass from the province of Lombardia and via Fuorn Pass (Ofen Pass) and Reschen Pass from the Vinschgau valley (South Tyrol). All four passes are open in winter.

Get around

By train

In addition to the above mentioned train lines connecting the region to outside locations, there is a RhB train line which runs along most of the valley connecting Pontresina to Scuol. It serves all larger towns and villages in the Engadin.

By car


By bus

Even the smallest village of the valley can be reached with the yellow Postal Car buses. The bus lines are usually well interconnected to each other and the timetable of the trains.

See

Top station of gondola lift from Scuol to Motta Naluns, Lower Engadin

Do

  • Hike in the Swiss National Park, Switzerland's only national park.
  • Take the train along the Albula and Bernina lines, which make up a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage site. A special Bernina express covers both lines and departs from either Chur, Davos, Tirano or St. Moritz (this last one only covers the Bernina line). From Tirano a special panoramic bus connection to Lugano exists.
  • River rafting tours on the Inn and Flaz rivers. From relaxed and scenic to adrenalin-packed experiences, tours suitable for all ages.
  • Watch the Engadin Skimarathon, a marathon length cross-country ski race which takes place every year on the second Sunday of March. It goes from Maloja to S-chanf.
  • Enjoy some winter sports. This area is especially famous for cross-country skiing and there are hundreds of kilometres of runs to chose from.
  • Go for a spa. St. Moritz has traditionally been a wellness destination, so there's quite a couple of baths and spas available.

Go next

  • South Tyrol. E.g. the world famous Stelvio Pass road is right next to the Swiss border. Accessible either via Italy - Agums, or road 559 (presumably not so good).
  • Lake Como - about two hours on the car/bus to get from the alpine heights of Upper Engadine to the Mediterranean spirits of the shores of the Lake Como
  • Tyrol
  • Glacier Express
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