Not only the enchanting sight of the sparkling Engadine lakes amidst the majestic mountain ranges, but also the spicy blend of scents of the lush nature that rises to the noses of bikers beguiles their senses. It is clear that people who love life and want to spoil their guests with beautiful pleasures have settled in this world. Bikers will not only find a captivating climate up here in summer, but also a fabulous gastronomic culture along with a well-developed bike infrastructure.
by Rolf Fleckenstein
Bikers rolling over the trails in the Engadine soon catch the sweet, spicy scent of the meadows, herbs and alpine roses that can be found in nature in the Engadine. It smells downright delicious, as if a gifted star chef were standing in the kitchen preparing a fabulous creation. Already nature stands for pleasure up here. But bikers are first interested in tours and trails. Currently, mountain bikers in the Upper Engadine have 400 km of signposted trails at their disposal, which is quite a lot. Even if not all mountains in the region are (officially) open for mountain bikers, but are concentrated on the local mountain of St. Moritz, the Corviglia, and there are cable cars around it, such as the Signalbahn, Corviglia funicular, Marguns and Piz Nair, the tours that can easily be found on the destination site www.engadin.stmoritz.ch and even fly over with a 3D flight simulator, offer everything that bikers desire, above all they combine trail fun paired with fabulous panoramic experiences of the region and this in a pleasant climate and healthy mountain air.
Fantastic tours "Piz Padella" and "Piz Nair over 3 Fluors
Without wasting time with empty phrases, we would like to recommend two tours. One is the "Padella Panorama Tour (672)", which starts in Celerina and leads as a circular tour counterclockwise to Samedan, up to Alp Muntatsch, past Piz Padella, back down to Marguns, up to Corviglia, down to Alp Suvretta past St. Moritz, on to Silvaplana, to lead back to St. Moritz Bad, on to Lake Stazer and end in Celerina. The tour can be started from different places or can be done in several daily stages, Marguns, Corviglia and Signalbahn are available. The tour delights with a fantastic panorama that starts at the height of Piz Padella. On the tour you also pass the mountain hut El-Paradiso, there you should definitely plan a rest, the dishes are a poem. The 39 km long tour overcomes 1,533 meters of ascent and takes a good 5-6 hours.
On the other hand, the tour "Piz Nair via 3 Fluors" to Samedan must be recommended. Piz Nair has only been open to bikers since 2013. It can be reached comfortably by train, hoists bikers over the 3,000 meter mark and welcomes them with a panorama restaurant. From there, a spectacular descent in the high alpine mountains awaits down to Fuorcla Schlattain and Lej Alv, where you can of course also enjoy the mountain lake romance. The following traverse below the 3 rocky outcrops leads to the Selin mountain flank with impressive views of the Engadine plateau and the Bernina valley. Afterwards the trail leads past Piz Padella to Alp Muntatsch to Bever and back to Celerina. Here, too, panoramic experiences are guaranteed with a dash of high alpine feeling. However, the key data speak for themselves: On a length of 20.4 km, 405 meters of ascent and 1,672 m of descent await, which means pure downhill fun that lasts a good 3-4 hours.
But of course, that's not the end of the story. Whoever spends a biking vacation in Upper Engadine must definitely go to Pontresina and from there towards the Bernina Pass, explore the Val Rosegg, stop off at Morteratsch, where a hearty kitchen fills hungry bikers' bellies with hearty delicacies again, barbeque, cordon bleu festival, smoked salmon, Engadine nut cake, are just a few keywords that should be mentioned here. There the water flows in the mouth of each Biker and the extra power can one well use, because here no railroad support waits with exception of the Rhaetian course. You can also find tours to the Val Fain or the Roseggtal.
E-bikes and road bikes welcome
The region is of course not only open to mountain bikers, but many rental companies now also offer e-bikes. Many of the tours described can be ridden just as well with an electric mountain bike. Especially in the direction of Bernina it goes relatively flat up, but the route drags, so an e-bike is handy or even a road bike. Especially road cyclists will find up here when it comes to passes. From Silvaplana the Julierpass starts steeply upwards, in the direction of Sils the Malojapass is waiting, from Susch in the Lower Engadine the Flüelapass starts to Davos and also the Ofenpass can be found in the Lower Engadine or the Berninapass from Pontresina if you want to go to Posciavo/Puschlav. Road cyclists will find a real mountain pass paradise here, but you have to be fit for it, but you are not alone as a road cyclist up here. Again and again you can see the brave guys climbing up the steep slopes or then darting down into the valley like arrow bullets.
Enchanting natural beauty
Unbeatable is the unique sight of the beautiful nature, as if God had been godfather in the creation for the most beautiful postcards in the world. It is not for nothing that the Engadine is considered the most beautiful vacation region in Switzerland. The good Lord has really created here a garden of beauty that nature can offer....
Would you like to read the whole article, then order the issue Sportguide Bikeferien 3/2015 with the following form:
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