A Section of the Schanfigg Village Trail between Chur and Arosa

Sunday December 1, 2024 -- The effects of the recent Föhn winds in the Rhine Valley are still lingering, so we had a very nice, sunny, mild and relatively snow-free day to enjoy again in Canton Graubünden, similar to the one I recently had when I went on my search for the Heidi Village.

We traveled to the Schanfigg Valley which extends eastward from the city of Chur in the Rhine Valley (Side note: Chur is the oldest city in Switzerland with a settlement history of 13,000 years), to do a 3½-hour hike on the north side of the valley, i.e. the sunny side, high enough that we avoided any shadow cast by the low trajectory of the sun above the mountains, but low enough to avoid the snow. We had not yet done any walking on this side of the valley—which is where the main road leads to the popular resort town of Arosa—as much of the trail is on paved roads, but this is ideal for this time of year. 

We started in the village of St.Peter near the end of the bus run on this side of the valley, and walked for four hours along a trail labeled "Dörferweg Schanfigg" (= "Schanfigg Village Trail") back to Maladers near Chur arriving at about 3 p.m. just as the sun was setting. As the name suggests, the trail took us past several of the lovely villages scattered along this hillside, but far enough away from the main road to Arosa so that we were away from the vehicle traffic, which was very little at this time of year as the ski season has not yet started. The larch forests were still yellow, and the grass still green, so a lovely Sunday walk....

From Chur, the oldest city in Switzerland, the bus heads up the road to the popular resort town of Arosa (surprisingly narrow in some places). This view is over the city, with the Bishop's Palace on the left, and a view up the Rhine Valley. Right now it's 10:10 a.m. 

On the other side is the valley that extends to Lenzerheide, also accessed by bus from Chur. We were there fairly recently in September (those photos HERE). 

Before taking a detour up into the village of Maladers, the bus passes this cute chapel just off the main road. This is exactly where we ended our hike and caught the bus back out of the valley almost exactly five hours later. 

As the bus detours into the village of Maladers, we get a look at the houses here. We passed via the church at the end of the hike, on our way to the small chapel on the main road 

As the bus continues eastward up the Schanfigg Valley, we pass this church in Castiel, another church we had a look at on our walk out of the valley.

This is where we got off the bus, at the very east end of the village of St.Peter, so that we could walk westward from here. 

All along the way were pretty houses to admire. 

Across the Schanfigg Valley on its south side is the town of Tschiertschen, where we started on a hike we did in June of 2023 (photos HERE). That side of the valley does not receive as much sunshine in winter, but is a good area for skiing!

The trail we hiked this day is the grey line, starting just east of St.Peter at 10:35 and walking through several villages, ending in Maladers at 3:15 p.m. The section we walked is part of a local themed trail called the "Schanfigg Village Trail", although it is not marked with a number on our main hiking map. (No. 75 is a newly-created trail called the "Schanfigg High Trail", one I would like to walk, but access is difficult as the only cable car from St.Peter runs only in winter). 

Heading up the hill along one of the many side roads we walked this day. We barely had to walk on the main road. 

A look behind us up the Schanfigg Valley to the Strela Pass which leads to Davos on the other side. The gathering of houses below is where we got off the bus to start on our walk. (The bus runs only to the next village of Peist before returning to Chur, but we didn't have enough time to ride to the end and then come back to here, which is something we often do). 

Down below us is the Evangelical Church of St.Peter, first mentioned in documents of the year 840, and was the dominant church in this valley for centuries. Beyond the church and higher up is the next village called Pagig, which we are going to walk through as well. 

It always thrills us to see the typical Graubünden house construction, most popular in the Engadine Valley further to the south. 

Town Hall Restaurant/Gasthaus in St.Peter

Next stop: St.Peter's Evangelical church. The most prominent feature of this church is the huge bell tower dating from Medieval times of the 11th or 12th Centuries, although parts of the original 9th-Century church still remain. 

Noticeably, most of the Evangelical Churches in Canton Graubünden are adorned with lots of wooden features and wood carvings, but many were originally Catholic churches before the Reformation in the early 1500's and have the original features, such as the Gothic vaulted ceilings in the chancel here.  

During the renovations of 1922, these frescoes dating from the 1500's were discovered. It was often the case when a church building dated from before the Reformation, that the original Catholic Frescoes were whitewashed, as they were consided "Graven Images" not to be displayed in the new religion. 

The beautiful wooden ceiling with carved rosettes was apparently made in the 15th Century, before the Reformation. The lovely organ is from 1782, but received a massive overhaul in renovations of 1922 and 1986, returning it to its original state. 

Next goal: The village of St.Peter-Pagig higher up on the hillside, reached along the curving side road.  

Another look at Tschiertschen across the valley. They knew to build that village at the place where they would get the most sunshine in winter!

Admiring the houses as we walk through Pagig. 

In particular, the painted "window frames" and corners of the buildings are fascinating. This house dates from 1658!

Some very lovely verandas to enjoy the winter sunshine!

We did encounter some snow as the trail led into short side "valleys" where the sun doesn't reach in winter. 

Crossing a suspension bridge is always fun. Below, there were icicles on that branch in the water.

A suspension bridge in a side valley called the Clasaurer Tobel, on our way to the next village of Castiel. 

Lovely trails through sun-dappled forests. Always a treat. 

Large clearing with a view of the snow-covered peaks just west of Lenzerheide. There were several stalls here and even a summer home where the family was having a barbeque in the garden!

A look behind us up the Schanfigg Valley. The people in that lovely log house were having a barbeque in the garden. What a perfect day for this!

We came from Pagig and are headed to Castiel along the themed trail called "Dörferweg Schanfigg". 

Up ahead in the first curve of the road we found a picnic table where we had our sandwiches and enjoyed views of the next three villages we are going to walk through! At this point it was 12:15. 

Far ahead and below is the larger village of Maladers, which will be the end of our hike. On the right is a smaller village called Calfreisen, with a 13th-century ruins, which we have to climb up to after first descending to the next village called Castiel. 

A look down on the village and church in Castiel, which we also saw on our way up the valley from the bus. Here we have to descend to the main road. The church is built on the site of a former fortress. 

We actually missed the sign-posts for the hiking trail which descends through the Oberdorf ("Upper Village") section of Castiel, but got a much better view walking down the road. Far at the back again we can just make out the Strela Pass from Davos, and it occurred to us that the large white clearing is Mederger Alp, which we walked across on a spectacular hike which we did in August of 2023. 

A very close-up look at Mederger Alp, which we walked through when we crossed from the Davos side on our 5-hour hike to Arosa in August 2023 (photos are HERE). 

Getting closer to the church in Castiel, as we are almost down to the main road now. 

Just before we reached the road, we walked past this magnificent house, which we later found out (Internet research) was built in 1619 for the town's administrator and Canton Representative. It is considered to be the most significant middle-class residence in the valley. 

We reached the church in Castiel at 1:10 p.m. This one was first mentioned in documents of 1132. This newer, late-Gothic build is from 1510. The church has received renovations in 1907 and 1976. Back in the days before the Reformation, the church was called St.George. 

Details of the church in Castiel. There is a fresco of St.Christopher (patron saint of travelers) on the outside of the church. 

View up the valley from in front of the church 

A view across the houses of Castiel. The town administrator's house stands out among all the wooden houses!

Up ahead is the next little village we will walk through. This requires and ascent of 100 meters, the toughest part of our walk this day! The official trail crosses this massive bridge with an ascent on the far left, but we chose to follow the "old road" on the right and climb up through that open clearing, as it looks like there is a farming road through the pasture there.

Close-up look at the Bernegg Fortress ruins, first mentioned in documents of 1291. (This is apparently one of the five main highlights mentioned on the website description of the "Schanfigg Village Trail", but as it turns out, there was no access at all to the inside of the tower.)

Walking along the old road into the side valley, the new bridge is certainly a magnificent sight!

Going up the steep hill toward the village of Calfreisen. The view down to the bridge and the church steeple in Castiel is quite impressive. 

We've reached the base of the fortress ruins and went to have a look, but could not find an entrance on any side, so could not have a look at the interior. 

A fun bench for the public, donated by a construction company called Lazzarini!

All over, people are decorating their houses for the Christmas season.  

Cute seasonal decoration!

Leaving the village of Calfreisen, we now head into another side valley called the Calfreiser Tobel. 

Heading into the Calfreiser Valley, we can see the town of Maladers where we will end our hike. Coming out of the valley, we followed that road that we can see on the right. 

Crossing another bridge at the back of another side valley, this one is frosty and slippery!

Heading out of the Calfreiser Valley along a forest road, lined with flaming larches.

A last close-up view of the back of the valley and the Strela Pass. 

The church steeple in Maladers as we enter the village from the top. 

Rooftops of Maladers. It's 2:45 p.m. and the sun is about to set behind the western peaks. We actually were lucky to have the sunshine exactly till 3:15 p.m. when we caught the bus lower down. 

Obviously a detour to this village's church is also required. The building has two separate build eras: Romanesque for the tower, wheras the altar space and vaulted ceiling are Gothic. 

This looked really neat, how the balcony was built into a very low vaulted ceiling. 

This is the neatest interior of a church. I went up to the balcony for this photo, and the ceiling was so low!

One has to imagine how that rose bush would look in full bloom!

More neat houses in Maladers

And this cutie is a neat little model house in someone's yard!

This was the chapel we had passed on the bus ride up the Schanfigg valley, on the main road to Arosa and at the bottom of the village of Maladers. It was right next to the bus stop, and we had just enough time to find the trail up to the chapel to look inside. 

In June of last year (photos HERE), we started at Tschiertschen on the south side of the Schanfigg Valley and walked 13 kilometers to the train station in Chur. This time we started in St.Peter on the north side of the valley and walked 11½ kilometers back to Maladers (it would have been another 4½ kilometers to walk to Chur).  

On the way home from Chur past Lake Walensee, I always take many photos of the peaks of the Churfirsten mountains. At 4 p.m. the shadow is pretty high, but the peaks look great in the late afternoon sunlight. 

And on this stretch I also always take photos of the Sargans Castle. This photo was taken in the morning on our way down to Chur. It's not often that the fog extends this far south in the Rhine Valley. On the way back, the fog was gone. 

Location of the Schanfigg Region of Canton Graubünden, between Chur and Arosa

This map shows all the possible trails you can follow along the 52-km trail called the Schanfigg Village Trail.