Hiking Trips
Immerse oneself in nature’s cradle with hikes along some of the world’s most beautiful lakes, mountains and chalet filled villages.
Moritz before passing through the sharp, snow-covered granite peaks chiselled by glaciers. It is just after Pontresina, the charming village adjacent to St Moritz, that The Bernina Express rolls into the deep mountain crevices before reaching the vantage point of Alp Grüm.
At 2091 metres above sea level, the wide vistas seen from here over the Palü glacier and valley of Valposchiavo are truly inspirational. Visitors can have lunch at the restaurant in the Alp Grüm train station before descending on foot 420 metres to the Glacier Garden of Cavaglia before reboarding the train to continue the journey southward to the picturesque town of Poschiavo.
The microclimate of Valposchiavo makes this part of Switzerland sunnier than other areas, thus allowing the cultivation of warmclimate fruits and vegetables. Some passengers opt to spend the night at the historic Hotel Albrici after enjoying dinner in Albrici’s beautiful Sala delle Sibille, where the room’s walls and ceiling are panelled in wood in the traditional Alpine style.
One of the engineering highlights of The Bernina Line is the Brusio Circular Viaduct, a circular stretch of track built to reduce the gradient of the railway line to a more manageable 7% in order to change elevations from the heights of the Alps to the lower altitude of Tirano, the town in Italy that is the terminus of The Bernina Express. The Bernina Line between St. Moritz and Tirano is one of the few railway lines in the world accorded the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage status.
For travellers to the Lake Geneva region, The Goldenpass Line connects Lucerne with Montreux via Interlaken and Zweisimmen passing through the mountains of the Bernese Oberland on its way. The view of Lake Geneva as it is revealed upon exiting the last tunnel just before the train’s arrival at the Montreux station on a sunny day is nothing less than spectacular. Along the Goldenpass Line is Gstaad, the legendary village home to the world’s most exclusive boarding school, Le Rosey, whose alumni include members of many royal families. This small village hosts numerous events to keep its sophisticated residents entertained, including the annual Menuhin Music Festival and Swiss Open men’s tennis tournament.
As if travelling the far reaches of Switzerland as a passenger on one of these trains were not special enough, it is also possible to charter a train or a private carriage to be attached to any scheduled train in the country. Whether preferences run to the modern facilities of Le Salon de Luxe or the historical aura of The Red Arrow
Churchill, the experience of travelling by private railway car elevates the already lofty Swiss rail experience to a yet higher level. Aside from long-distance premium panoramic trains around Switzerland, local areas also have trains covering shorter distances. One of these is the Rhaetian Railway open-air scenic carriages that run from Landquart along the spectacular Albula Line to Samedan in Engadin.
It comes as something of a pleasant surprise that holders of a
Swiss Travel Pass can enjoy unlimited travel on these special scenic rail journeys. The Swiss Travel Pass entitles travellers to ride not only all trains in Switzerland, including premium panoramic trains such as The Glacier Express, The Bernina Express and The Goldenpass Line, but also all buses and boats. Seat reservations for premium panoramic trains are required but easily made online or in person at a Swiss railway station.