Lower Part of the Surses Valley, from Savognin to Tiefencastel

Wednesday June 19, 2024, Day 2 of two-day Trip -- After a quiet night in a private room in an old, family-owned house in Bivio, we awoke to the expectation of a second lovely day (forecast for pure sunshine) only to discover thickly overcast skies!

No matter, our plan for this day was to discover the lower part of the Surses Valley (about 1000 meters elevation lower!) by walking through the villages on the left side of the valley from Savognin to Tiefencastel. Although it started out well, we discovered that it was almost as hot here as it might have been back home (well, not quite) and rather tedious with a mostly constant uphill along mostly paved roads. The distances between the villages was further than expected, the fortress ruins at Riom (originally the main town in this valley) not accessible, the mountain-tops hidden in low cloud, and the air very hazy so the views up the valley not as clear as we'd hoped! But as the day before, the fields teaming with alpine flowers were a hit, as were the visits to the old chapels and churches, even though some were locked.

The best part about going from village to village like this is that there are water fountains in abundance, to cool off my overheated head!

In retrospect, we might have been better off staying at the higher elevations in the back part of the valley, but Urs had wanted to do something completely different from the alpine hike we had done the day before. In the end, this again was a 4-hour, 14-km walk, as we are training for hopefully soon doing our long high-alpine hikes!

The Surses Valley where we spent two days is right in the middle of Parc Ela, the largest nature park in Switzerland. On the first day we enjoyed the steep mountains and glacier rivers at the back of the valley nearer to the Julier and Septimer Passes, and on Day 2 we went further into the wider part of the valley to explore the historical villages and the very many Baroque churches!

This is the large region of Parc Ela. The Surses Valley and the road from Tiefencastel to Bivio and over the Julier Pass (Pass dal Güglia) are in the center of this nature park. In past years we have explored much of the eastern part of the park, the Albula section between Tiefencastel/Filisur/Bergün and the Albula Pass (Pass d'Alvra)

We were disappointed to wake up to heavily overcast skies in Bivio (we had a room in the house, upper left) as the forecast had been for pure sunshine. Our plan was to walk along the valley further to the north, so we left here on the 8:20 bus after buying what we needed for our lunch from the grocery store across from our accommodation. (As Bivio is more popular for skiing in winter, there weren't too many people there). 

Heading down the valley by bus again past the dam on Lake Marmorera. This was the "wild" and mountainous part of our two-day trip. It was a 30-minute bus ride to Savognin.

The valley opens up at Tinizong and we can see all the towns spread around this region between here and the Albula Valley at Tiefencastel. 

We decided to start our hike in the main city of Savognin, heading of course toward the church tower first. We were surprised that this large parish church called Son Mitgel was locked, which is a shame as it was built in the mid-17th Century (1658-1663) and has some remaining structure from the Romanesque period. 

Main street in Savognin. The city of Savognin is on the right side (eastern) of the Gelgia (or Julia) River, which is the one that has its origins in the mountains near the Julier Pass. We started here at about 9 a.m. 

Heading down to the Gelgia River which we will soon cross, as we are walking along the villages on the left side of the river. 

An inscription below this lovely window indicates the house was built in 1643. 

Sitting next to a 400-year-old house. 

On the other side of the river are two more churches which would have required a 30-minute detour to visit, so we had to pass on those. The church that dominates the landscape here is called Son Martegn, and is one of the most important Baroque Churches in Canton Graubünden! Apparently it contains the most important Baroque fresco in Switzerland from before the 18th Century! How disappointing to find this out later.... 

Ah, the discovery of a farmer's shop is an opportunity for the first ice cream of the day!

A local cheese dairy is a good place to buy locally-made cheese. We took along two half-wheels (these are small wheels called Mutschli, weighing about 500g each). We bought one half of this Savognin cheese with regular garlic, and another half with bear garlic.  

A look up into the city to the tower of Son Mitgel church. 

You can barely see me, but I am standing on the bridge! (Fun fact, the bridge is called "La Punt da Crap", which actually translates to "Stone Bridge"). The church in the background is called Nossadonna, another Baroque church, and the only one heated in winter so all church services in winter are held there. The stone bridge is also from the Baroque era.  

Starting at about 9 a.m. in Savognin, we walked along Trail no.64: Via Sett through the villages of Riom, past Parsonz, through Salouf, Del and then Mon, before descending to Tiefencastel and catching the 16:15 train for the three-hour ride home. This was another 4-hour and 14-km hike, which I found more tedious than the five hours of walking we had done the day before, as it was quite hot and mostly on wider roads. 

Before crossing the river, we passed a very pretty small lake called "Lai Barnagn". I don't know that I would have the courage to cross that band stretched across the lake!

The main attraction we wanted to see was the Riom Castle, built in 1227 and the largest non-religious late Medieval building in Canton Graubünden. The prominent location high above the river made this the dominant town in the valley in the Middle Ages. 

This is the main thing we came to see, the fortress ruins in Riom, but it was unfortunately locked. Probably because it is used now for local theater productions. 

Looking east from the castle across the river is the town of Cunter. We did not visit that one either, as we crossed to the other side of the river at Savognin. 

View up the Surses Valley from the Riom Castle grounds. 

This is a look up into the village of Riom. Of course we are going to visit the church there. 

Some very neat ironwork art displayed on this barn wall. 

For my photos of the St.Laurence (Son Lurintg) Baroque church in Riom, clouds covered the sky. This is often the case! That painted house next to the church is quite unique!

A close-up of the pretty painted house!

Details of the St.Laurence Baroque Church in Riom. 

From the church cemetery, a look at the Riom Castle, and the town of Cunter across the river 

And further along the road to the north, we get our first glimpse of the large church in Salouf, the next village along our path. 

Up above our trail is another village called Parsonz, but we did not detour there. And higher up, where there is still snow, is another stone church called Ziteil, at 2434 meters above sea level, the highest elevation pilgrim church in Europe, and a location we hope to hike to this year. 

Farmers are busy everywhere mowing the meadows. What a job, and all by hand!

I have to say, the meadows were an absolute highlight of the day! They bordered all the tedious roads and offered some consolation for that. 

All the work to mow these meadows and get that grass dried. Too bad the sky isn't clear, so that one could see how impressive that mountain really is! (I think it's called Piz Calderas, and it's 3396 meters high). 

This is quite an interesting land formation. 

Now ahead of us, and on the other side of the Albula Valley, we get the first glimpse of the large Brinzauls landslide of June 2023. 

After a long uphill stretch on a paved road, we are glad to sit for a while. There was a bit of a breeze, but still too hot for Urs. The bench was surrounded by more flowering meadows! The village in the back is called Parsonz, and we passed below it on our trail, not through it. 

Another look up the Surses Valley from the bench. 

Much of our walk this day was on paved roads like this. At least here it wasn't uphill!

Village of Parsonz in the background. 

So many very pretty meadows!

Arriving in the next village called Salouf

Good thing that there is another farm selling ice cream!

Always happy about the fountains!

Streets of Salouf

We are walking on Trail no.64: Via Sett. After Salouf, the next hamlet is Del, then Mon, before we descend to Tiefencastel. 

In these villages, there were water fountains every few minutes, it was great!

This house was kind of cool. Besides the very pretty balcony, there was a church in the basement, with a very low ceiling!

Now on to the next interesting looking church, at the north end of Salouf. This one is called St.George, or "Son Giera" in the local dialect. It is apparently a mixture of several time periods, from Romanesque period (1075 to 1125) to a 19th Century foyer. 

The interior of this church was particularly fascinating, for example the late-Gothic choir and these beautiful altar pieces. 

There was a second room next to the altar with some very extensive ceiling frescoes. 

View across Salouf from St.George church. We walked along this hillside. 

A bit further along from the church in Salouf we passed through a hamlet called Mulegn, which means "Old Mill". We needed to stop for lunch (12:45), and even though we could not find a shady spot, the nearby water trough and rushing stream made it feel cooler. Here I was bitten by the second tick in one day (the other one must have been on me overnight, and bit me in the leg first thing in the morning). 

This little guy was less annoying than the tiny ticks which bit me! Even though it is a wasp, in fact, an Alder Wood-Wasp. Beautiful little animal!

20 minutes up the road we came to the next hamlet called Del, with a very pretty-looking chapel out in the field there!

This chapel is called Son Roc, and according to the fresco, was built in 1590. 

More beautiful meadows

Looking back to the hamlet of Del as we climb to the highest point of this day's hike. The fellow behind us was walking exactly the same stretch, and he looks just as hot and tired as I feld!

From here we get a really good look at the Brinzauls (or Brienz) rock slide from June 2023. 

A zoomed view shows how close the rock slide really came to the houses of the village of Brinzauls. The residents had been evacuated for many weeks in anticipation of this slide. 

And now the final village before our descent to Tiefencastel: Mon

Obviously we are headed to look at the church in Mon! This one is called St.Francis (Son Francestg), and was built between 1643 and 1648. The attached rectory was built in 1649, and the unit looks very pretty together. 

Another stunning Baroque interior. 

This beautiful organ was built in 1690, and moved here to the church in 1712. 

Absolutely beautiful artwork in this building. 

Heading down below the village of Mon we look into the Albula Valley. Again, the scar of the massive landslide catches the eye. 

Look how close the landslide got to the village. No buildings were lost, though. 1.2 million cubic meters of rock came down. 

Looking up to the village of Mon as we start our descent toward Tiefencastel.

Oh look, another neat building! This one is called St.Cosmas and Damian, built in at least 1290

Unfortunately, this one was locked as well, which is a real shame, because according to photos in Wikipedia, there are some very nice and very old frescoes inside. (See HERE)

More pretty meadows to walk through

This is pretty, a Campanula glomerata, or clustered Bellflower

Our first view of Tiefencastel, the end of our hike. We got here at 15:25 and had enough time to detour to the church, of course. The town has been inhabited for over 2000 years, as it is a strategic location on the routes to the Julier, Septimer and Albula Passes. 

Now... that structure is just slightly close to the edge of the cliff! 

Details of another Baroque church here at the entrance of the Surses Valley.

Looking up, we can see the church steeple of St.Francis in Mon. 

There is an awful lot of water in the Gelgia River as it enters the Albula River here in Tiefencastel. 

It was a long stretch to the train station so we waited here for a bus. Luckily there was a bakery here, where Urs could purchase his third icecream of the day!

At the Tiefencastel train station at 16:10, waiting for the 16:15 train for the 3-hour trip home. 

This is what our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. All except one of the marked churches we stopped by or in on the way between Savognin and Tiefencastel. 

We had never been in the Surses Valley, and it was high time to visit there!

Location of the Surses Valley in Switzerland.