Lavin

Guarda to Lavin

Route: Guarda to Lavin and back

Area: Switzerland

Date of walk: 19th January 2019

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 6.6 miles

Ascent: 500 feet

Weather: Sunshine and blue skies

Another sunny day dawned, and we decided to explore the valley to the west of our base in Guarda.  Our walks so far had all been to the east of the village. Our circular route would take us as far as Lavin further along the valley before returning via Giarsun

We left our base, the Hotel Meisser (which we can recommend very highly), and walked along the narrow streets to the car park just beyond Guarda. This involved a short road section, much of which we avoided by following a narrow path to the side of the road

Just beyond the car park we forked right to join a path which headed into a wooded ravine and out again. At the head of the ravine was a sign indicating we were in a wildlife area and, no sooner had we passed the sign, we spotted a stag in the snowy woodland above

As we rounded the ravine there were wonderful views ahead and we could clearly see Lavin below, surrounded by some magnificent Alpine peaks. The path took us gently downhill into the village, marking the halfway point of the walk. A helpful map in the village showed us how to locate the path back to Guarda, which involved crossing three bridges in as many minutes – the final one being very unusual, and resembling a wooden barn 

The return leg was mostly along the valley floor, with the River Inn on our left. The path forked at one point where the waymarking was ambiguous. We took the lower path, but discovered later on that the higher path would have been just as good and led to the same place

It was several degrees colder as we walked through areas where the sun doesn’t reach in winter.  We eventually reached a bridge which crossed back over the River Inn, and made our way uphill to the pretty hamlet of Giarsun.  From here we walked over to Guarda railway station to end the walk. The village of Guarda is about 40 minutes away on foot and, in the winter, it would be necessary to follow the road uphill. We avoided that by waiting for the local bus to arrive.  It had been another superb winter walk in the Lower Engadine Valley

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