The most beautiful villages and landscapes in the Engadine and Val Müstair

The Engadine and Val Müstair are a unique world.

It is difficult to find in the Alps such a unique concentration of landscapes, climatic specificities, traditions and culture.

Going to the Engadine, and even more so to Val Müstair, is not done by chance. It is not by a detour on a secondary road, on a whim of a traveler at the end of the journey that one finds access to this little enchanted kingdom. One enters this region only by crossing passes at an altitude of more than 2000 m. No villages on these access roads, a solitude that announces the approach of a unique valley.

Engadine, land of lakes, forests and glaciers

Because that's what the Engadine is, a valley like you won't find anywhere else in the Alps. Over several dozen kilometers, its gentle slope accompanies the flow of the Inn River, yes, the same one that flows through Innsbruck. We can clearly distinguish two parts of this valley: the Upper Engadine, with lakes, prestigious tourist centers, glaciers, ski areas. The Bernina massif with its sparkling glaciers is its highest point. St Moritz and its splendors is a bit of its tourist capital, while Sils-Maria is its cultural capital, Silvaplana, its nautical capital, Pontresina, its capital of well-being! All these villages are like precious stones arranged in a setting.

Then the Lower Engadine, with its history, its castles and its National Park, kingdom of the chamois.

Val Müstair, a Romansh valley

Val Müstair seems isolated, there, further south, with its easy entry from Italy, but difficult access via a pass that crosses one of the coldest regions of the Alps, where -20 degrees in winter are common. And yet, the language unites these two lands. In Engadine and Val Müstair, Romansh is spoken, one of the four official languages in Switzerland.

Engadine and Val Müstair: a natural paradise

Let us return to Nature.

Gaze at the lakes of the Upper Engadine. In spring when flowers of all colours brighten up the meadows, in summer when the blue of the sky and the dark green of the forests are reflected in the calm waters, in autumn when the red of the larches sets the landscape ablaze, in winter when the frost freezes all life. A wonder!

Nature in the Engadine, both in the Bernina massif and in the Swiss National Park, offers you silence, immensity, the imperturbability of time passing. This little corner of the Graubündenis a true paradise for mountain lovers.

The little clouds playing hide-and-seek behind the high peaks, the wind sweeping across the high plateaus and delighting kite surfers from all over the world on Lake Silvaplana, the sun warming landscapes in summer that have suffered the ravages of winter... These omnipresent elements remind you that there is a daytime Engadine and an evening Engadine, a summer Engadine and a winter Engadine.

The historic and tourist villages of Engadine and Val Müstair

Tour the villages that have made the history of this remote high valley: Scuol, Zernez, Zuoz, Pontresina, St. Moritz, Sils Maria to name but a few. From the decorated facades of Zuoz to Nietzsche's secluded retreat in Sils Maria, art and history blend together. The light of Segantini's paintings shows how uniquely inspiring this valley is. Thomas Mann managed to write this feeling in his major work, "The Magic Mountain". He did not draw inspiration from the Engadine but from Davos, very close, but you can experience the same sensations being in Engadine.

Watch the sunset over Lake St. Moritz, or the sunrise from the Maloja Pass, on the edge of the Alps Lombardie, admiring the glaciers from the Roseg Valley, or the Bernina cable car, going into the dense forests going up towards the Ofenpass which leads to Val Müstair, these are activities which fill you with well-being and fulfillment.

All mountain sports are practiced in the Engadine, we won't list them all, but crossing frozen lakes on cross-country skis, learning ski-joëring, or challenging yourself to fly over the water with your kite-surf is not possible in all Alpine regions. Here it is!

Small, quiet and relaxing villages, large, wealthy and international resorts, as always in Switzerland, the mix is harmonious in a protected environment, such as in the Val Müstair biosphere.

The Inn flows gently towards the Tyrol at the foot of Tarasp Castle, a worthy scenario for a film set in the Middle Ages, in this mixture of Nature, History and preserved traditional life.

The Engadine is a magical world. The magic happens as soon as you cross the passes that protect it. This magic that you keep inside you and that pushes you to come back.

Activities not to be missed in Engadine and Val Müstair

Walks along the lakes between the Maloja Pass and St. Moritz.
A picnic on the banks of the Lej da Staz in the forest very close to Saint Moritz
A horse-drawn carriage ride in the Val Roseg
En train to bernina pass
The view of the Bernina massif from the arrival of the Diavolezza cable car at 3000m, the start of which is near the pass.
The panoramic view at sunset from Muottas Muragl, which can be reached by funicular from Pontresina.
The view of the Upper Engadine from Corviglia (by funicular) or Piz Nair by cable car, starting from Saint Moritz.
The lovely valley Val Fex
The House of Nietzsche in Sils Maria
The colorful houses in zuoz
The site of castle from Tarasp in Lower Engadine
A wellness break among the countless spas of the region
Introduction to ski-joring on the frozen Lake St. Moritz!
Introduction to kite surfing on Lake Silvaplana!

Discovering the Engadine and Val Müstair on video

The best webcams in Engadine and Val Müstair

(click on the name of the village)

Lakes of the Upper Engadine : you can admire Lake Silvaplana, St. Moritz and the northern edge of the upper Engadine valley.
Lakes of the Upper Engadine: This webcam placed above St. Moritz shows the panorama of the southern slope of the upper valley, with Lake Silvaplana below.
St. Moritz: the most beautiful webcam, from Muottas Muragl: in a row you can see all the lakes, the village of Samedan and that of Saint Moritz.
Sils: webcam on this village between lake and forest
Val Roseg: magnificent view of Val Roseg, especially in autumn.
zuoz: The wide Engadine valley narrows towards Zuoz. The webcam points towards St. Moritz.
St. Moritz: the view of the village on the edge of the lake
Upper Engadine: a mobile webcam that gives you a minute of shivers because the landscape is so beautiful!
Zernez: view of the village of Zernez
Santa Maria Val Müstair: the Val Müstair at the height of the village of Santa Maria.