Walk down Mount Heinzenberg from Obertschappina to Thusis in the Domleschg

Wednesday November 12, 2025 -- We had a couple of very nice weeks this early November (with temperatures of 13 and 14 degrees!), and this might be the last few nice days before it gets really cold again with snow and rain.

The weather forecast was pretty consistent for most parts of the country: Sunshine till noon and then some hazy cloud cover. But the best forecast was for Canton Graubünden, so even though it was a 6-hour trip (there and back) altogether, we decided to travel to Thusis in the Domleschg region, a lovely valley full of old churches and castles, from where side valleys head through the Via Mala Gorge to Andeer, and the Schin Gorge toward Filisur. We took a bus from Thusis up the Heinzenberg Mountain to the tiny village of Obertschappina, where we had once done a winter hike (see photos HERE), and walked back down the eastern flank of the mountain to Thusis via the villages of Oberurmein, Flerden and Masein. 

Having left home at 6:40 and started on our hike at 10 a.m., the shadow of the mountain was already reaching Thusis by the time we caught the 14:33 train. Even though it wasn't our most exciting hike, we had sunshine, nice views, and lovely warm weather. 

On the way by train into the city of Chur, which is just coming out of the shadow of the mountain at 8:45 in the morning. (Chur is the oldest city in Switzerland, and is a transportation hub: From here there are all kinds of buses and trains into all of the side valleys, including the very popular Bernina Express line to St.Moritz). 

On the train toward Thusis (which is part of the popular Bernina Express railway line via Albula) we pass the large castle in Rhäzüns. (It is privately-owned and you cannot view it up close). Down below in the ravine, the Hinterrhein River flows to meet the Vorderrhein River at Reichenau. 

As the train heads through the Domleschg region toward Thusis, the peak of Mount Beverin looms large. We are headed up in that direction by bus from Thusis. 

Changing to the bus in Thusis at just after 9:30 a.m., the bus heads up the east flank of Mt. Heinzenberg, passing through the village of Masein here, which we walked through on our way back down to Thusis. 

View south to the fabulous north wall of Mt.Beverin on our way up to the hamlet of Obertschappina. (I was sitting right in front again next to the driver. There were only three people still on the bus!)

End of the line for the bus (at 10 a.m.) across from the little church in Obertschappina. It was here that we started a winter hike on the first day of January 2020. 

Of course the first thing to do is to the check out the inside of the church! As this part of Switzerland embraced the Reformation, the churches here are less ornate than the Catholic churches were at the time, but the interior has lots of wood finishing. 

The little cemetery next to the church in Obertschappina. 

Now that is a very cute flower box!

A final look back at the little church as we start out on our hike at 10:15

Starting at Obertschappina at 10:15, we wound our way down the hill toward Thusis, passing through three mountain communities with pretty houses with old churches, and great views into the Domleschg region. We just made it to the train station in Thusis at 2:30 p.m. for the 14:33 train. (We were home by 5:15 p.m.). 

Much of the hike was along paved roads, with a few pasture and forest trails. Here we took our first break at the convenient bench, as I was much too warm in my black leggings, and had to change to lighter pants. Behind me you can see the little church in Obertschappina where we started on this hike. 

Piz Beverin and the little church in Obertschappina where we started our hike. 

To the east we can see into the Albula Valley, where the train continues on from Thusis via Filisur toward St.Moritz. 

Much of our hike was on mountain roads like this, which was no problem for us. 

The first village we came through after starting on the hike is called Oberurmein, which is where we had ended the January 2020 winter hike. 

Houses in the village of Oberurmein. 

This style is very popular in the Engadine Valley. 

View into the Albula Valley. 

Close-up of the Albula Valley. The mountains, I believe, are part of the Silvretta Alps near Davos. 

We have the cutest squirrels here!

To our north we see other mountain villages which we need to discover on a different hike. These villages are called Portein and Sarn and are part of a themed trail called "Pelegrinadi" which features highlights of the original market trail from the Via Mala to the south.  

After a stretch through the forest, we come upon the Flerden Church along the paved road above the next village of Flerden. The bell-tower on this church was built between 1430 and 1440, and the original bell from 1440 still hangs here. 

In early 1500, the original Romanesque church was rebuilt in the late Gothic style and enlarged to the current build. Shortly afterwards, the Reformation came to the region, and most of these older, Catholic churches had frescoes which were then whitewashed over. Here in this church one such fresco has been exposed, and we could see that the whitewash was about half a centimeter thick. 

As it was now just shortly after noon, this was a nice, sunny place to have our picnic lunch! This church, by the way, along with the one at Obertschappina where we started, are two of the six churches which are part of the Pelegrinadi Trail along this flank of Mount Heinzenberg.

Below us is the next village we are passing through: Flerden. 

Another pretty Engadine-style house. 

The wooden barns are pretty as well, especially if there is a splash of colour from the flower boxes!

Here is a close-up look across the valley to the northeast: There are a lot of castles and fortresses here in the Domleschg. Later in January 2020 we returned here to do a walk from castle to castle, including past the one on the cliff on the left. That was a fun walk. (Photos are HERE). 

A look up past the roofs of Flerden to the little 15th/16th-Century church above the village. 

So many ears!

Another close-up look to the village of Sarn to the north along the hillside here!

Now the paved road winds back and forth down to the next town of Masein, but we took shortcuts through the pastures, which is OK to do at this time of year, as the grass no longer grows, and the pastures are no longer fenced in. 

Another forest stretch and we look down at the next church in Masein. (Behind it in the forest we can just see the top of the 800-year old Untertagstein Castle, which was put up for sale in 2024 (See the listing HERE!)

Now we are walking above the village of Masein, which we passed by bus earlier. Up ahead we can see into the Via Mala Gorge, which we walked out of in July 2018.

Close-up look at the little church in Masein. We took another shortcut through the pastures to get down directly to the church. 

First mentioned in documents of 1441, the church also took on the wooden interior design of the Reformation, although it was first a Catholic church. (We could see a date of 1501 painted in the Late Gothic ceiling in the Apse area). 

View to the Via Mala Gorge from the church cemetery in Masein. Our trail continues down below the little community of houses in the center of this photo, then to the left toward the Tagstein Castle.. .

A particularly nice house in Masein. 

A zoomed view of the Tagstein Castle, for sale since March 2024 (price on request!)

A look up the mountain to the village of Masein and its church, where we just passed through. 

Now on the final stretch toward the city of Thusis, which we are approaching from above. 

To the east past the city of Thusis and at the entrance of the Via Mala Gorge is the town of Sils (Sils im Domleschg, as there is another Sils near St.Moritz). This is where we ended our hike out of the Via Mala Gorge in July 2018, and walked through on our way to Thusis from out of the Schin Gorge in September 2022. 

A long road southwards above the city of Thusis, which we wanted to walk through from its south side northwards back to the train station. (In retrospect, we should have taken the next available short-cut to the city below, as this road was boringly long). 

Down below is the city of Thusis, located at the north end of the Via Mala Gorge. As we had never actually been in the city of Thusis, we wanted to walk through it from south to north. 

South end of the city of Thusis. We didn't have a lot of time to get to the train station, but we did have a quick look inside the Reformed Church, also a Late Gothic build from the late 15th Century similar to the one in Masein, and converted during the Reformation of the 16th Century. 

Inside of the 1491-1506 built church in Thusis, in Late Gothic Style. Converted to an Evangelical Church during the Reformation in 1525. The building is under Monument Protection. 

As it turns out, the main street in Thusis had no charm at all. This might have been the most interesting alley on the way to the train station.

We got to the station at 14:30 for the 14:33 train (under three hours to get home). The mountain to the west which we had just walked down was already starting to cover the city in shadow, so there wasn't a lot of reason to stay longer. 

This is what our hike down Mt. Heizenberg looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

On the way back to Rhäzüns by train, we pass this lovely church in Cazis, which we haven't visited yet. It is called St.Martin's and dates from at least the 12th Century!

And up on that cliff is a fortress tower which we have long talked about hiking up to. It was kind of on today's plan, to take the bus from Thusis at 3 p.m. to Rothenbrunnen and hike up there, but we'd had enough hiking for the day after all. So still postponed for a later date!

Back now in Reichenau-Tamins, where the two major branches of the Rhine River meet. From here it's not far to Chur, then also relatively quickly to home, which we reached at 5:15 p.m.  

These are the hikes we have done around the Domleschg Region. 

Where Thusis is located within Switzerland.