Three-Day Trip to Davos Region: Weissfluhjoch to Arosa

(This post published on Sept.30, 2023. Trip took place in August)

Links to DAY1 and DAY2

Tuesday August 22, 2023 -- In some regions of Switzerland, if you spend a night or more in a hotel or guest house, you can get special guest cards for discounts on public transport as well as mountain railways and cable cars. So we used our Davos guest cards for a reduction on the Parsenn Funicular to Weissfluhjoch, and then continued to the very summit of Mount Weissfluh with the cable car, a ride we had never yet done. (Our plan was to go up to the summit, admire the view, and return with the next cable car to start our hike at Weissfluhjoch. It was a weird experience, there were no time-tables for this ride, and you just had to hope the service people would wait for you.)

From Weissfluhjoch we followed the cliff trail to the Strela Pass, a trail we had also done on our August 2020 trip to Davos (those photos are HERE), but instead of descending the Sapün Valley to Langwies (the standard hike), we joined Trail no.35: "Walserweg" and went via a mountain village called Medergen on a large alpine pasture which we had seen from the Arosa side on an August 2022 hike (those photos are HERE). (This mountain village is one of the best preserved Walser villages, where the wooden houses are hundreds of years old). From there we didn't have much choice but to walk down to Arosa, which turned out to be more than five hours of walking and a very, very long downhill section! But we managed just fine, not too tired, just sore feet.

The highlight of the day was a steep descent along a cliff wall, where they have built a series of steps with chain handholds, so not dangerous at all but quite exciting. There was a lady ahead of us who was waiting for her husband to get to the bottom before she started on her descent (in case he had to call an ambulance for her) and she wasn't pleased that we wouldn't wait. She even told me not to stop to take photos along the way. As if...

Early morning 8 a.m. in Davos Dorf, where we caught the first funicular run of the Parsennbahn to Weissfluhjoch, where we ultimately started our hike. Another promising day.

The Parsenn Funicular from Davos Dorf to Weissfluhjoch. You have to change wagons halfway up. 

Crossing beneath the railway tracks?

Before starting our hike here at Weissfluhjoch (currently 8:30 a.m.), our reduced fare tickets allowed us to go all the way to the summit of Mt. Weissfluh, which we had not done before. So we switched to the cableway, and were the only passengers on this first run of the day, besides the cargo going to the restaurant up there. 

Weissfluh cable-way, the restaurant, and observation station, way up here at over 2800 meters. A very barren landscape.

We had about 20 minutes (or so we thought) to go right up to the look-out platform at the summit of the mountain, for views in several directions. (We did hurry back to the cable-car station only to find out that the next cabin descended without passengers). 

To the South we got a good look at the region we were going to be hiking in. The long steep staircase was embedded in those cliffs in the center, Mederger Alp is the large pasture on the right, and the city of Arosa at the back. Our hike started to the left of the range below.

View to the west

The rocky barren mountaintop of Weissfluh, 2843 meters above sea level. Even here you could feel the heat of the day. 

The Weissfluh cable-car

Back at Weissfluhjoch, we started on our hike at about 9:30 a.m., glad to be heading into the shade of the Cliff Trail. 

Including the section of the stairway at Tritt, this ended up being about a 5½-hour hike, and 18 km! There wasn't too much ascent, but descent was 1350 meters, so very long. After a quick trip to the summit of Mount Weissfluh, we started our hike at Weissfluhjoch and walked to Arosa via Mederger Alp.   

Heading out on the cliff trail toward the Strela Pass

This is a look down the Sapün Valley, which is generally the more popular hike from the Strela Pass to the Arosa Region (Langwies)

These signs always claim you should pass quickly and not stay in one place along the trail. Which I find funny, as when the rocks come down, no matter if you are standing or walking quickly, you have no idea in which direction they will fall!

This is a very popular trail for bikers. Last time we were here there were very many along the trail, as it was a special weekend of mountain bikers. This time we only encountered this one fellow. 

Amazing that flowers can grow in this rock!

A look behind us at Mount Weissfluh and the Weissfluhjoch (saddle) to the right, where we started on this hike. 

We got to the Strela Pass at 10:15, where I had to change into shorts! Our milestones are Latschüelfurgga, Tritt (the staircase), Medergen and Arosa. To the train station in Arosa, it was at least 4½ hours from here.  

Heading out toward Strela Lake from Strela Pass, with a look back at Mount Weissfluh. 

As was the case now on all three hikes of this Davos trip, clouds formed between the sun and ME, creating shade on the mountains, which I guess is good on such hot days, but not so great for my photos!

There was a couple with a baby and tiny hiker heading the same way we were, but they stopped at the lake. I was amused by this small person, as she refused to be carried, and wanted to walk on her own!

Down behind me is Strela Lake, although you can barely make it out due to the reflection of the mountains. (Not the pond....). The baby started crying here, so I was glad we were going around a corner.... 

Turning a corner, we can now see the Latschüelfurgga Pass which we are crossing. From here on, the clouds disappeared again, and we had sunshine and a slight breeze for the rest of the day, and we felt nothing of the high temperatures from the lower elevations. 

A look into the Davos region into the Sertig Valley where we had been the day before (of the two peaks at the very back, the one on the right is the Ducan). 

We got to the Latschüelfurgga at 11:10, just over 2400 meters above sea level. Here we join Trail no.35: "Walser Trail". We stayed here for a while and had an early picnic lunch. 

Looking down into the Arosa region now after crossing the pass. The whole valley below goes down to Chur, it's called the Schanfigg Valley. 

And from our vantage point we could see the trail leading to the rocky mass of cliffs, and we wondered how in the world were we going to get down there. At this point, we knew nothing about the staircase! Those two hikers below reached the passage long before we did, but the woman was still waiting at the top by the time we got there. 

Continuing along our way to the cliff passage called Tritt

The cable handholds already give indication that this is going to be exciting!

We left the other lady hiker at the top because she wanted to be alone to descend the staircase, and we didn't want to wait for her. It was up to her to wait, if she needed the staircase to herself. 

See the lady at the top? She is hoping we don't stop too often to take photos! But this is fabulous.

What a great way to create a "trail" down a steep cliff face. The amount of work that goes into making all these trails passable is just astounding (most of it is volunteer work). 

As we get to the bottom of the staircase, there is still another exciting narrow trail along the steep mountainside. 

These are the best kinds of trails!

A look behind us at the magnificent staircase along the cliff wall, as the lady makes her way down now, in the hopes she doesn't fall. But at least her husband can call an ambulance now! (It was weird logic to me, that she had to wait till he was at the bottom to keep an eye out for her...)

And one more look behind us as we head toward Medergen: Above on the left is the Latschüelfurgga pass where we crossed, and on the right is the Tritt staircase. 

This lovely upper moor area with a few small ponds is called Seebjiboden. I was particularly impressed by that single red rock, so out of place here. 

Urs following behind as he passes that cool rock. The mountain on the left is called Chüpfenflue, and the passage was just to the right, in the center of the photo. 

As we round the corner, we get our first glimpse of that Walser mountain village called Medergen, on the vast upper pastures of Mederger Alp. In the background is the popular skiing area around Arosa (just visible in the Center). Our trail continues past the village on that wide road, then way down into the valley, before having to ascend again to the city of Arosa. 

Last section into the lovely village of Medergen. We had read that there was a restaurant here, and we wanted to stop for some refreshments. The peak at the back is the Arosa Weisshorn, a peak we have not yet visited. (It's not really on our list of favourite places to hike). 

This is the Alpenrose Mountain Restaurant where we want to stop for refreshments. We got here at 12:45.

Bergrestaurant Alpenrose. Like all the other buildings in this well-preserved Walser village, it is several hundred years old. 

We found the perfect spot in the shade and ordered some refreshments. Originally we were going to have a meal here, but we still had a long way to Arosa, so we didn't stay long. 

Before heading on, a walk through the mountain village of Medergen to admire all the very pretty buildings here on this lovely sunny plateau! Originally, the Walser peoples (from the region of Canton Wallis) set up their summer homes here after crossing the Strela Pass from Davos in the 12th and 13th Century. These houses are hundreds of years old. 

So pretty!

Heading out of the village now and continuing along the trail at 1:30 p.m. 

A bit of history: The village of Medergen was established by the Walser folk who immigrated from the region of Canton Wallis, crossing the Strela Pass from Davos in the 12th and 13th Centuries. This alpine pasture was the summer grazing area for their cattle, so they built summer "homes" here. Mount Weissfluh is in the background on the right.  

Admiring the landscape as we start to make our long way down the mountain. 

This final cluster of farmhouses is called Tieja. From here we soon entered the Tieja Forest for a 1-hour descent to valley bottom (425 meters). It was pretty easy going, a very good trail and not very steep. (The themed trails in Switzerland are usually very well-tended).  

We got to the reservoir lake a 3:30 p.m. It's called "Stausee Isel". The hardest part of our hike comes now, as we have to ascend another 130 meters to the train station in Arosa, 35 minutes and potentially in the heat. (In retrospect, it might have been better to hike the 35 minutes DOWN valley to the next train station in the shade of the forest, but it was a wide forest road...)

This landscape could be in Canada. 

We arrived at the outskirts of Arosa at 4 p.m. at the lower lake called "Untersee" where there were so many people swimming, and so much noise. So we walked to the upper lake (Obersee) and waited here for the train, about 30 minutes.  The red line is approximately where we walked down from Medergen.

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps

On the train ride from Arosa to Chur, a look back to the lovely bridge at Langwies. Arosa is at the end of the valley to the right. It lies at the back of a kind of a Cul-de-Sac. 

These are all the hikes we have done in the Davos-Arosa regions to date. The three light-blue trails are the ones we did in this three-day trip. 

Region of Davos and Arosa within Switzerland

A year earlier when we did a hike near Arosa, we saw the village of Medergen across the valley on that lovely large alpine pasture, and had determined that this would be the goal of a future hike.