Hike from Lake Pigniu to Andiast in the Surselva Region of Graubünden

Saturday October 9^th, 2021 – Lately we seem to be alternating between walks in the region of the Anterior Rhine and the Posterior Rhine, and now it’s back to the Anterior Rhine!

It also seems that lately many of our excursions start with fog…  Which was again the case on our trip to Lake Pigniu, or “Lag da Pigniu” in Canton Graubünden near the Rhine Canyon, a beautiful stretch fondly known as the “Grand Canyon of Switzerland”. The last time we went through the canyon by train was in 2018, so it was time to come to this area again. (On our way to Ilanz in the early morning we saw very little because of the fog, but on the way back we still had some lovely evening sunshine).

Once upon a time we noticed a lake on a map, with nearby access by bus (one of those small buses which only runs twice a day and only till mid-October) and a relatively easy access on foot, and with a forecast for sunny weather for the day (albeit after 11 a.m.), this was the day we chose for this hike.

From the village of the same name as the lake where the bus run ends (only three of us on the bus, by the way), it’s a 45-minute walk to the dam (built in 1989), followed by an hour to walk the circumference of the lake. We were lucky that the fog cleared exactly when we got to the lake, and we were also lucky with the timing as we had just finished the walk around the lake when loads of people appeared. (Popular family destination, can also be accessed by car!)

Following the walk around the lake with its beautiful blue-green glacial water and fantastic mountain backdrop as well as some stunning waterfalls, we then continued out of the Pigniu Valley and into the Rhine Valley. We kept right on walking (about 4.5 hours in total) to the furthest bus stop we could, and then returned via the Rhine Canyon to Chur.

Interesting Historical Note: Behind Lake Pigniu is the Panixer Pass (also known as Pigniu Pass), a passage from Canton Glarus into Canton Graubünden which the Russian General Suvarov crossed with his troops in 1799 while fleeing from Napoleon. That year in October, the early winter made passage extremely difficult. The troops lost their way in the fog, and 1/3rd of his men died from starvation, fatigue, and falls down the mountain. Also, he lost all of his artillery and most of his horses. In 1999 a local artist was commissioned to do a painting on the dam to commemorate the crossing. After 20 years, the painting has unfortunately faded quite a bit...

There is some interesting information about this passage and of the possible origins of the Bündner dish called "Capuns":  https://www.surselva.info/en/Nature/Lag-da-Pigniu

Heading up into the Pigniu Valley with the little bus, this view is across the valley to Andiast, which is the village we had planned as the end of our hike (because we walked back out of the valley on that side). 

After arriving in Pigniu, the first stop is a look into this very old church. Church of St. Valentin, dedicated in 1465

Still some fog and low clouds as we inspect the village of Pigniu

The inside of the church had some very nice and probably refreshed frescoes

Russian General Suvorov crossed the Panixer Pass in 1799. (Also looted this village because his men were starving, so not very nice for them..)

Some curious little ones!

A look out of the valley, where the weather is really not very appealing!!

It only took us 45 minutes to get to the lake, not 1 hour as per this sign. This trail is part of the Via Suvorov Trail, which we have hiked in Glarus and in the Muotathal. Also part of the St.James Trail through Graubünden

It took us 45 minutes to walk to the lake from Pigniu, a little over an hour around the lake, then 90 minutes to Andiast. We still felt like walking, so we continued as far as we could until the next bus scheduled to descend to Ilanz.

As we head up to the lake, the clouds are slowly disappearing, and the dam appears

The Pigniu Dam is not very old, it was built in 1989

Painting by a local artist commemorating General Suvarov's crossing of the Panixer Pass in 1799. The painting was done in 1999 and is very faded. 

When we got up to the lake, we decided to cross the dam first, and take the far side trail to the back of the lake, as there was sunshine there. 

This side of the lake was still in shadow, so we walked back on this side later when the sun came there. 

On this, the West side of the lake, the trail was a narrow mountain trail, very nice to walk. On the far side is a waterfall, and higher up that way would be the Panixer Pass

A zoomed view of the waterfall above which is the Panixer Pass, where General Suvorov descended in October 1799

A look back toward the dam and down the valley, where there is still lots of cloud/fog, whereas we now have sunshine at the back of the valley!

On this side of the lake were also some waterfalls, so we took a quick detour for a closer look.

Very cold up here next to the waterfall!

Heading back down to the lake again. These are the Pigniu Waterfalls

A look across Lake Pigniu from the very back. We took the wide road back on the other side, crossed the dam again, and walked out of the valley on this side. 

More fantastic mountains and cliffs

A good place to stop for our picnic lunch. As we were finishing lunch, we could see lots of people coming along the trail on the other side, so we moved on. 

Heading back to the dam. We now have sunshine on this side, and the other side is in shadow

Crossing the dam for the second time today!

A look down the Pigniu Valley. The clouds have finally cleared and it is beautiful and sunny now. Below the dam is a parking area, where people can drive to if they just want to walk around the lake (great for families)

A long forested section as we head out of the Pigniu Valley

Now we can see the village of Pigniu on the other side of the valley, where we started our hike

We followed this level road all the way out of the valley and then around the hillside to the right.

As we head out of the valley, a look back at the village of Pigniu where we started our hike, and the V-shaped section at the back where the lake is located.

Around the corner and we come to Andiast. We were planning to end our hike here. 

A look down into the Surselva Valley from this mountain village of Andiast. 

Church in Andiast.

View of Andiast from further below. When we got to the main square in Andiast, the bus was just leaving, but we felt like walking, so we continued on for another hour until the next bus passed by this way. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. We were originally going to end the hike in Andiast, but decided to walk for another hour. But to get to the railway line further below would have taken too long. As it was, we walked for 15 kilometers on this hike. 

After returning to Ilanz by bus from Waltensburg, we took the Rhätian Railway train back through the Rhine Canyon to Chur. By this time it was 4:30 p.m. and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of afternoon sunshine we still had in the gorge. 10,000 years ago there was a massive rock slide here (Flims rockslide, the biggest known landslide incident in the Alps, and the biggest worldwide whose effects are still visible), and the Rhine River has carved out some fantastic rock formations through the debris of that slide. 

This is the Rhine Gorge, known also as the "Grand Canyon of Switzerland", or "Ruinaulta" in the local Romantsch language. 

Riding the train through the Rhine Canyon. This is a section where there is no hiking trail nor a paved road. The only way to see it is from the train. 

Some stunning rock formations carved out by the Rhine River over the past 10,000 years. 

Rhine Canyon in the late afternoon light

Heading along the Anterior Rhine River toward Chur.

(PS, this is what the Rhine Canyon looks like from above, a photo I took in October 2015)

 

From Brüsti to Gitschenberg via the Gitschital Valley near Lake Uri

Saturday October 2, 2021 -- First hike of October and perhaps the only one for a while? (Massive rains expected again, and snow to low elevations, and cold temperatures...)

We ended up doing a hike we had done once before, but many years ago (August 31, 2016 -- one of my first albums, those photos are HERE). It wasn't our intention to do the same hike, but once we got to the start of our excursion, we could see that the valley we wanted to visit had too much shade.

The start of the hike in Brüsti near Altdorf in the Reuss Valley is accessed by two cable cars which cover an altitude of over 1000 meters. This is the starting point for the 6-hour hike across the Surenen Pass to Engelberg (a hike we've also done, those photos are HERE), a hike into the Gitschital (Gitschi Valley) to the North, and another hike along the mountainside to the South, which we had wanted to do, because it involved riding two more of those farmer's cable cars which we have not yet ridden, and a walk into a remote high valley below the Pass. But once we reached Brüsti we could see that most of the lower valley was in shadow from the steep mountains to the South, so a hike best done earlier in summer. We decided it was time to redo our 2016 Gitschital hike, one that we had enjoyed at the time.

With the exception that we had thick cloud cover and the winds started up by the time we got to the cable car at the end of the hike (any more wind and the owner would not have let us use the cable car!), we had lots of sunshine and enjoyed walking at the base of these Uri mountains as much as we enjoyed it the last time. There were no cows on the alpine pastures this time, but we did see a couple of marmots again, enjoying a final bask in the sun before heading down for their long winter naps. 

To reach the start of our hike we took two cable cars from Attinghausen, which is in the Reuss Valley near Altdorf and across from the Schächental Valley.  

The two cable cars were took: The first little red one holds 6 people, the blue one holds 8. These cable cars take us about 1000m above the valley bottom.. 

On our way up, we saw deer grazing in the pastures. 

Our original plan was to go left to Alp Waldnacht, but we could tell there was a lot of shade further back in the valley, so we decided to redo the hike to Gitschenberg, just over three hours. 

Even though we had a total of almost 600 meters of ascent, the hike was not particularly strenuous. The descent into the Gitschital Valley is steep and in the shade, so wet and slippery, and we had to be careful there. 

It's nice that the cows are still out in some mountain pastures!

This little vacation house is called Sonnenblick, or "View of the sun", which lives up to its name!

Down below is Alp Waldnacht which we had planned to visit, but the rest of the valley (to the right) is very shady, so we decided to stay higher up.

A view down into the Reuss Valley. 

A view up into the Waldnacht Valley. The steep mountains to the South cast a lot of shadow at this time of year, so we will go there sometime in Summer.

Heading up along a section of the Via Alpina Trail (no.1) which passes over the Surenen Pass to Engelberg. 

This interesting passage along a narrow ridge is called Chräienhöreli. Down below in the back is the Waldnacht Valley. Still in shadow. 

Awesome view into the Schächental Valley toward the Klausen Pass (we had considered going there, but were worried there would be too many people going there. There is popular high trail called "Schächentaler Höhenweg" for which the weather today would have been perfect.)

Behind us is the Gitschen Massif and the little farm called Alp Grat where we had a meal last time we did this hike. (The farmers have gone back to valley bottom as of end of September. They are usually up here from June/July to September)

Here is the saddle where we cross into the Gitschital Valley after passing Alp Grat farm. 

Looking down into the Gitschital Valley. Behind that is Lake Uri, an arm of Lake Lucerne. 

Zoomed look at Alp Gitschenberg, where we will take the other cable car down. 

Panorama view of the Gitschital Valley. The descent into the valley is also on the shady side. We had to go carefully as the trail was slippery in places. 

Descending carefully on the shady side of the Gitschital Valley

Superb view of the (Rophäien) massif above Flüelen (there is a popular trail there called "Wildheuweg", or "Wild Hay Trail" which I walked on my own in 2019, the photos are HERE) and Mt. Fronalpstock behind that.

Above us is the peak called "Gitschenhöreli", approx. 2900m at the summit. Behind it is a glacier and an alpine hut where one can spend the night.

Heading down the Gitschital Valley. Instead of walking all the way out of the valley, we are going through the forested area on the left. 

A look at where we descended from Alp Grat on the other side. 

It was a surprise to catch sight of a couple of marmots. They usually head off to their winter hibernation at the end of September. So this is the last time they will be enjoying the sunshine!

Two cute marmots enjoying the last rays of sunshine before their winter sleep

It is so overwhelming to stand below these massive rock formations. 

A final look back at the Gitschital Valley before we head up the hill through the forest. 

Autumn Saffron (Herbstzeitlosen) remind us that winter is coming... 

No, wait, here is a last look into the Gitschital Valley behind us!

And now we get a stunning clear view into the Schächental Valley, all the way back to the Klausen Pass. The plateau at the front is called Haldi, where we have also been often. The hills on the left are also a favourite. 

Ahead of us is Gitschenberg, the cable car which we are going to ride back down on. 

A close-up look of Gitschenberg, the cable car station, and behind that Lake Uri (Urnersee) and the city of Brunnen at the back. 

Pretending to be enjoying the view.... It now quickly got cold and windy with the start of the Föhn winds.

We discovered that there is only one cable car which runs on these cables, and it was currently down in the valley. So first we had to call Mrs. Arnold to operate the cable car. She has to drive there from her home, and then it took at least 10 minutes for the cable car to arrive!

Lucky we got here first! Five people arrived right after us, and three of them had to wait a full 20 minutes till they could ride down (i.e 4 people per trip), meaning that it was 30 minutes before they got to the bottom!!!

It's a steep 900-meter descent to valley bottom, and the cable car is slow. It's a full 10-minute ride! (At the arrow is the base station of the cable car!)

The ride is slow enough you have lots of time to enjoy the view of Lake Uri and the Reuss Delta at Flüelen. 

A lovely view over Altdorf / Schattdorf / Bürglen... i.e. the Reuss Valley area near Flüelen

Down below is the lower cable car station. (The castle is called Schloss A-Pro)

Castle "Schloss A-Pro" is a restaurant

After 20 minutes, the second cable car finally arrives at the bottom with the three other people who waited with us. Good thing there are not very many people who use this cable car! Mrs. Arnold has to wait there also, until everyone is down!

A final photo with the cable car before we catch the bus back to Altdorf

What our hike looks like on Google Earth Satellite Maps. 

Location of this hike, not far from where we live in Zug

This photo was taken from the other side of the valley, when I walked the "Wildheu"Trail. From here you get a good view right into the Gitschital Valley.