On the Walserweg Gottardo Trail from Oberalp Pass to Rueras

Friday June 20, 2025 -- Having traveled by train over the Oberalp Pass earlier in the week at the end of our two-day trip in the Surselva, we discovered on our hiking maps that there is a newly-created trail on the south side of the (young) Rhine River, one which we had to date never noticed on our maps, and therefore must be fairly newly laid. It is a themed trail called the "Gotthard Walserweg", and looked to be just the right fit for us for this very hot day. (The hope being it would be cooler at the Pass!)

We are so glad we chose to return to this region, one of our favourites where we have also done many hikes, in particular to Lake Toma, the source of the mighty Rhine River. Descending from the pass was pleasant and particularly magnificent with the masses of alpine flowers at the height of the bloom! (It was only along the way that we realized that most of our walks here are in fall when the landscape is brown, and this was possibly the first time we have seen this high-alpine landscape lush and green!). We took a long time getting down to the tree-line, as there were SO MANY flowers to admire! In particular, the alpine roses were in full bloom here, with the hillsides glowing pink! (It was my wish to see them in full bloom on a hike this year, so this worked out perfectly!)

Later, as we got to the mountain villages of Tschamut and Selva, we did feel the heat and needed to stop often. Once again, the normally three-hour walk took us almost six hours, but we made it just in time for the 15:30 train at our planned end-of hike in Rueras near Sedrun. 

Our journey to the Oberalp Pass starts with the Gotthard-Matterhorn train from Andermatt. A view over the town of Andermatt and up the Ursern Valley toward the Furka Pass in the west, as the train winds its way up toward the pass. 

To the south is the Schöllenen Gorge which is the access to Andermatt from the Reuss Valley. And those are the peaks of the Uri Alps. 

Another look westward toward the mountains near the Furka Pass as the train heads over this upper alpine pasture. (Unfortunately one cannot open the windows in these new trains, so there is a reflection on the photo!)

Approaching the Oberalp Pass now, past Lake Oberalp. (In the local Romansch language, the pass is called Alp Su,  i.e. Ober = Upper = Su).

Our train waits at the tunnel at the Oberalp Pass for the train coming up from the Surselva. They cross here. (In the back on the right is a mountain pass which we hiked up to from here in JULY 2020). 

This is what is actually written on the frame! (Refers to the Ursern Valley). 

The trains from the Gotthard-Matterhorn railway line cross at the Oberalp Pass

Lake Oberalpsee

First sighting of a bush full of Alpine Roses, which are just starting to bloom now here at this elevation (2045 meters above sea level). 

Panorama view of Lake Oberalpsee and the little red train now heading toward Andermatt. 

The lighthouse at Oberalp Pass symbolizes the connection of the mighty Rhine River (which has its source near here) to its outlet into the North Sea in the Netherlands, flowing over 1350 kilometers. According to this sign, we should be in Tschamut in 1¼ hours. It's now 10 a.m. We are following Trail no.62: "Walserweg Gottardo". 

Starting at 10 a.m. at the Oberalp Pass, we walked over 11 km to Rueras, where we were just in time for the 15:30 train back to the pass. It took us this long because we admired all the flowers, and took several breaks at shady spots. 

Description of the newly-created themed trail "Walserweg Gottardo", a total 210 kilometer trail starting in the Binn Valley in Canton Valais, and ending in Obersaxen in Canton Grisons, passing through Italy. On this stage no.12, we walked about half of it, from Oberalp Pass to Rueras. We can easily do the other half another time. 

Last time we were here in August 2023, there was work going on on this trail. They did a great job laying out these large rocks, so that the trail isn't too muddy!

The trail below heads toward Lake Toma, the source of the Rhine River. (We have walked that trail several times, here are the photos of the 2016 hike).  Our trail ultimately descends to the left. I am loving the pink-shaded hillsides, as the Alpine Roses are almost in full bloom!

Meadows with dense, tall flowers everywhere here at this time of year!

All kinds of side streams run down the hill here and join the Toma Rhine River. 

I am loving the alpine roses! (On the road you can see several motorcycles. The pass roads are popular with motorcycles, and unfortunately they do make a lot of noise). 

Behind us the road winds it way up to the Oberalp Pass. 

Looking down the valley where we are headed. 

Besides the alpine roses, there were myriads of other kinds of flowers everywhere. These are just a few!

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As we headed down the valley, we passed by several little cows, who were interested in us! These cows have a large range to graze in!

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The cows are always interested in Urs!

Because the ground is a bit soft here with some marshy spots, there are wooden boardwalks here and there. 

This peak just north of the Oberalp Pass is called Schneehüenerstock. We walked beneath that on the hike of JULY 2020. 

All these pink hills!

And bunches of other pretty flowers!

We crossed about four of these bridges. They look fairly new, and we figured they are part of the updating of this trail, to create a new, walkable trail.  

Heading down the grassier part of the valley now, still with lots of alpine roses, we are a bit further away from the main road. Up ahead we can see the village of Tschamut, which we will pass through later. 

We came across the most beautiful field of cotton grass, and spent quite a bit of time here!

I love the cotton balls! 

Lovely cotton grass, and other flowers we saw lower in the valley where the streams make the ground wetter. 

More boardwalks on marshy, wet grounds. 

Behind us are the mountains from where the Rhine River originates. (We camed down from the pass on the right side of this photo). 

Another one of those newer metal bridges. 

Here we had to navigate our way through all the cows that were occupying the trail!

And here now below the trail is the young Rhine River, called "Rein Anteriur" or "Vorder Rhein" in German. (There is another lesser source of the Rhine called "Hinter Rhein", and once the two meet, they continue as the main Rhine River). 

Everywhere lots of flowers, and we can see the road up ahead which we have to follow to the village of Tschamut. 

The daisies are my favourite flower, the those lily-type flowers are very pretty as well. They are called "St. Bruno's Lily", native to the Alps, Pyrenees, and Apennines. 

The young Rhine River. 

Another look back up the valley. 

I had to run back because I thought I had dropped something (my facecloth), but it turns out it was hanging on my backpack! So I did an extra couple of hundred meters of walking! Here I am catching back up to Urs. 

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We passed another herd of cows here, which followed us along the left-hand trail (separated by that electrified line) for as far as they could until our trail deviated from their pasture.

Now they are so disappointed that they can no longer walk with us!

Above us is the railway line, and over the period of our hike, we watched several of the trains of the Gotthard-Matterhorn line pass by!

Heading up the road toward the village of Tschamut, a look down the hillside to the river below. 

At exactly noon we got to the village of Tschamut. Starting at 10 a.m. at the pass, it took us two hours to walk what should have been a 1¼-hour hike! (We find that here in Canton Grisons, the times given are usually at least 20% less than what it actually takes to walk). 

At the entrance of the village of Tschamut is a large poster showing an aerial photo of Lake Toma (Lai da Tuma) which is the source of the Anterior Rhine River. 

We were very happy to find a bench in the cool shade, near some ice-cold mountain water, a perfect spot for our picnic lunch!

Roadside and riverside flowers

On the roadside east of the village of Tschamut is a little chapel, which was built around the year 1500, and renovated in 1933. It's called the Chapel of St. Nikolaus and St.Sebastian. We popped over for a look. 

The little chapel had the prettiest ceiling, and some nice frescoes. 

Details of the inside of the little chapel. The inscription above the door reads that the chapel was built in about 1500, and renovated 1933. 

From the road, we head back down into the valley toward the next village called Selva. There is a golf course below. 

Heading down through pastures filled with quite a variety of goats 

We thought these were goats with wool like sheep, never having seen any animal like this before. But it turns out it IS a sheep. It is a breed called Jacob Sheep, originally from Asia Minor but widespread in England. (It is one of the few breeds where the females also have horns).

Our trail heads down the hill to the road below, which passes right through a golf course!

Above us, the Glacier Express train is making its way eastward. 

The next village we pass through is called Selva. (Zoomed view).

This looked funny: A whole bunch of Valais Black-Necked goats enjoying the shade of some trees!

A large golf course up here. It's called the Sedrun Golf Course. 

Looking behind us as we walk through the golf course. (Side Note: A road is visible about half-way up the mountain at the back. We walked this road on a fabulous hike in September 2021 when we hiked high above a dammed lake in that valley, ending our hike in Tschamut). 

We took a detour into the village of Selva, to have a look at the church and hopefully find a place in the shade. 

The church here in Selva is fairly new, built in 1952. The original church of 1630 burned down in a village fire of 1785 when the entire village was burned and had to be rebuilt. (Then there was an avalanche in 1808 which destroyed the village again, and 25 people died. And then again, in 1949, the church burned down again...)

Under that house next to the church we saw a long bench, and found the perfect place for a long break in the shade!

We got here at 1 p.m. and sat here for 20 minutes before looking at the church and then continuing on our walk. 

Details of the little church in Selva, which is not very old, having been built in 1952.

Leaving the church grounds now with the view of the mountains to the East, where the Rhine River has its source. 

Some lovely houses here, built in the local Walser style.

Back at the Sedrun Golf course, we continue along Trail no.62, heading toward Rueras, which should be just another 50 minutes from here, based on this sign, but it was much longer! (At least 1 hour 20 minutes according to my map).  It's now 1:30 p.m., and we got to Rueras train staton at 3:30 p.m. with hardly any breaks along the way!

Heading down to cross the Anterior Rhine River and continuing for the rest of the way along the south side of the river. 

Another look behind us past the golf course. 

Crossing the young Rhine river. 

Above us, the Glacier Express passes again.

A look back at the village of Selva

We don't often see horses on our hikes. 

According to our map, there was supposed to be a small trail lower down through this village, but we could not find it. But the wider upper trail was nice enough to walk on anyway. 

Suddenly the valley widens out, and up ahead of us is the larger town of Sedrun. On the left is Rueras, where we are ending our hike. 

Across the river is a smaller village called Dieni, and apparently there are some fortress ruins there!

And this is a close-up look of the main part of the village of Rueras, with the village church, which we visited on the way to the train station, which is WAY up higher on the hillside, unfortunately!

Urs always makes a very large detour around cows.....

...especially when there is a "boss cow" (like the one on the upper left photo, most likely) that glares at us and then takes a few steps toward us. In this case, I made my way through the herd (far from the boss cow) and those little cows on bottom right, followed me quite closely!

Crossing the Rhine River again before ascending to the village of Rueras. Already here, after about 8 kilometers from its source, the river is quite large!

The church in Rueras. It is called Sogn Giachen e Cristoffel (St.James and St.Christopher). 

Ornate main altar and two side altars

Details of the inside of the church in Rueras. 

In the church foyer was this poster showing the chapels and churches of the upper Surselva Region. The dates of build of these chapels are also listed here, a great source of information for me! In particular, for the church in Rueras, the dates are given as (1491),1730,(1929),(1938). The original church was from 1491, the church in this form is from 1730, and additions were made in 1929 and 1938. 

Heading up "Main Street" Rueras toward the train station (which is high above the village). 

It is now 15:09. We still have an uphill climb of 15 minutes in the heat, and the train is to arrive at 15:33, so not a lot of time to spare!

Very happy to refill our bottles with lovely cold water from the village fountain!

Houses on "main-street" Rueras

Looking up to the mountain peaks above the village. 

They even have a very pretty hotel here in this village! (Later, as the train arrived at the little station above the village, quite a few people got out, which made us wonder if they had just finished an outing and were staying at this hotel, because it seemed like a weird time of day to start a hike from here). 

This is an outdoor pizza oven!

View down the Surselva as we get closer to the train station. 

Urs really wanted to have a cold soda to drink, so we checked out two of these farmer's shops, but they had no cold drinks (only cheeses and meat), which was a real shame, as they would do well with selling bottled drinks!

We arrived at the little Rueras train station at 15:21, more than 10 minutes early for our train! (We usually make it within 2-3 minutes). 

Waiting for the 15:33 train back to the Oberalp Pass.

The little red train from the Gotthard-Matterhorn line arrives pretty well on time, at 15:34

Riding the train back toward the Oberalp Pass (17 minutes from Rueras), we pass above the village of Rueras. We can see where we came down from the trail on the other side of the river.

Also below is the village of Selva which we passed through, and the Sedrun Golf Course. 

The young Rhine River flows below, and we had followed it for a while on the opposite side, before crossing to go up to Tschamut on the main road (not visible here). 

And way at the back, in about the center of the photo next to the mountain which still has snow on its flanks, is Lake Toma (Lai da Tuma), where the Rhine River has its source. 

Back at the Oberalp Pass (In local Romantsch dialect, it is called Alp Su). 

Heading west along Lake Oberalp. We had much better visibility in the early morning here, as the afternoon sun is now ahead of us, and the morning sun was behind us.  

Looking up a side valley from Andermatt, called Unteralp, we did another lovely hike in June of 2023 there, also starting at the Oberalp Pass and walking along the green hillside from the left, descending into the valley. At that time, the alpine roses were not as far along as they were this day! (Photos are HERE). 

And now a hazy look over the town of Andermatt as the train makes its final descent from the pass.

These are all the hikes we have done in the area around the Oberalp Pass. Most of our hikes here were in the autumn, so this was the first time we had a lovely green landscape. 

This is where the Oberalp Pass is located within Switzerland.