The Engadin is a long valley in the eastern Swiss Alps located in the canton of Graubünden in southeast Switzerland. It follows the route of the Inn from its headwaters at Maloja Pass running roughly northeast until the Inn flows into Austria, one hundred kilometers downstream. The Engadine is protected by high mountains on all sides and is famous for its sunny climate, beautiful landscapes, and outdoor activities.
The Engadin valley lies at the centre of the Alpine range and constitutes the upper part of the 300 km-long Inn valley. From the Maloja Pass (1,815 m) to the border to Tyrol (1,000 m) north of Vinadi the valley runs for a length of 100 km, always above 1,000 metres inelevation. The highest mountains of the valley are in the Bernina Range in the upper part.
The Engadin is divided into two parts:
The Upper Engadin from Maloja to Zernez, where the valley is remarkably straight and wide, and up to S-chanf, fairly flat
The Lower Engadine from Zernez to the Austrian border, where the Inn drops more quickly and its path is more tortuous.
The Upper Engadine begins at the Maloja mountain pass with a chain of lakes running north-east–south-west: Lej da Segl (Lake Sils), famous for windsurfing, Lej da Silvaplauna (Lake Silvaplana), and Lej da San Murezzan (Lake St. Moritz). At the south-west end of the valley, the Maloja Pass drops precipitously down to Chiavenna in Italy through the Val Bregaglia, and thence to Como. At the Lunghin Pass, above Maloja, lies the most notable triple watershed in western Europe, from where the Inn flows via the Danube to the Black Sea, the Maira via the Po to the Mediterranean Sea, and the Gelgia via the Rhine to the North Sea.
The resort of St. Moritz (1,800 m) sits on Lej da San Murezzan. It was the host city for the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics. There are numerous ski resorts in the area served by the ski areas of Piz Corvatsch and Piz Nair.
Val Roseg, south of Pontresina
View of the High Engadine valley from Muottas Muragl
Northeast of St. Moritz lies the village of Samedan, which is the capital of the Upper Engadine. Near Samedan, the river Flaz joins the Inn and the valley opens into a wide meadow framed with mountains. The Flaz is a major tributary which flows down the valley leading to the Bernina Pass (2,323 m). The highest mountain in the Engadine – and in the Eastern Alps – is Piz Bernina, which is 4,049 m and is located nearby.
Below Samedan are a number of villages lying on the banks of the Inn. Perhaps the best preserved is Zuoz (1,720 m), which is a village of typical Engadine houses, with large, thick stone and masonry walls, funnel-shaped windows, and wall paintings called sgraffito. These house are large and often are shared by two or more families, and they may have what used to be a stable or livestock area underneath. In a typical Engadine village, there are numerous fountains, free-flowing all year round, which were formerly used for drinking water, washing, and for watering livestock.
In the Upper Engadine there is a train from Samedan that connects via Albula Tunnel with the rest of Switzerland. In the summer, Albula Pass is also open for car travel. The Julier Pass, above St. Moritz connects the Engadine with the rest of Graubünden.
Immediately below Zuoz is the village of S-chanf, which is the end of the large flat meadow surrounding the Inn. Every year there is a famous cross-country ski race called the Engadin Skimarathon from Maloja, across the frozen lakes and over the open meadows and ending in S-chanf. 11'000 to 13'000 skiers participate every year.
Below S-chanf the landscape suddenly changes. The Inn, now rather wild, flows through a deep gorge with steep walls and meadows give way to larch woods. At Zernez, the Inn valley open up again for a short distance. In Zernez (1,470 m) the Fuorn Pass goes south, passing through the Swiss National Park.
Lower Engadine
Tarasp Castle, Lower Engadin
Just above Zernez, at the Punt Ota, the Lower Engadine (Romansh: Engiadina Bassa, German: Unterengadin) begins. Here the villages are no longer located in the valley floor, but higher up on sunny terraces formed in the glacial period.
To the north, another train route connects the Lower Engadine with Klosters via the recently built Vereina Tunnel. The capital of the Lower Engadine is the ski resort and spa Scuol (1,200 m).
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