Route: The Philosophers’ Trail
Area: Eastern Swiss Alps
Date of walk: 20th January 2015
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 4.6 miles (plus 6 miles to the start and back)
Weather: sunny with cloudy spells, -2C
We walked from our hotel in Pontresina to the base station of the Muottas Muragl funicular and climbed on board the small train, which whisked us up the mountain side to the start of our walk – at a height of 8,000 feet above sea level. This was the third time we’d been up here (see my walks last June and September for the other two), and it was fantastic to be up here with thick snow all around
The Philosophers’ Trail is considered to be one of the most beautiful winter hiking trails in Switzerland and we set off full of anticipation of what was to come. The trail is well waymarked and maintained, and getting lost would be almost impossible
As we gained height along the trail, reaching an altitude of 9,000 feet, the weather improved and it turned into a glorious day – the views were incredible and it was like walking in heaven
On the way back to the start the clouds came in, and there was a complete white out – not an issue as the path was so easy to follow
We enjoyed a well earned gluhwein at the restaurant before catching the funicular back down to the start. There was more enjoyment to come as we walked back to our hotel through lovely countryside, reflecting on what had been a truly memorable day out in the mountains
Click on the icon below for the route map
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Walking out of Pontresina
Approaching Punt Muragl
The base station of the funicular at Punt Muragl
The funicular climbs over 2,000 feet to take us to an altitude of 8,000 feet
Looking back down to Punt Muragl as we set off
View from the window
Looking back down the line, with St Moritz just beyond the wooded hills centre of the picture
Looking down on Pontresina - it’s cloudy at this point and the superlative views of the surrounding mountains are hidden
We leave the higher station to follow the waymarked and well maintained Philosopher’s Trail
Looking back to the higher station
Blankets are thoughtfully left out on the benches along the way
We’re well wrapped up - it’s freezing this high up
As we gradually gain height, we start to get above the clouds
Looking back towards St Moritz
Animal footprints in the snow
Walking in heaven……
There are occasional information boards along the way dedicated to the philosophers who came this way
We could have returned at this point, but for obvious reasons we wanted to continue so turned left here and would return via the path on the right
More animal tracks - possibly a mountain hare?
She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes tra la la
Reaching the far point of the walk at the head of the valley
End of the trail
Walking back down into the clouds
We descend via the track to the left
Down in the clouds now
There was hardly any visibility for a while and we were grateful for the pink waymarks
Back at the base station, an intrepid paraglider about to jump off the edge
Val Roseg on the left, where we’ll be walking tomorrow
We took the funicular back down to the valley and crossed over the river to walk back into Pontresina
We followed a path beside the railway line for a while
Lovely Surovas Station, close to our hotel
Back to the start - the Hotel Albris. What a fantastic day it had been
