Bernina Pass Attractions
One of the most rewarding routes through the Alps is the one which runs from St Moritz over the Bernina pass and down the Poschiavo valley into Italy, and usually remains open throughout the year for both road and rail traffic. The pass is not only the watershed between the Engadine and the Valtellina but also the boundary between Rhaeto-Romanic (referring to the language and culture peculiar to southeastern Switzerland and the Tyrol) and Italian culture. The road, already being used in the 13th C. and built in its modern form between 1842 and 1865, traverses magnificent mountain and glacier scenery.
The journey from St Moritz to Tirano in Italy goes over the 58km/36mi long pass road, via Pontresina (8km/5mi) to the Bernina pass (24km/15mi), and then via Poschiavo (17km/11mi) to Tirano (34km/21mi).
By rail on the Rhätische Bahn, the journey takes 3.5 hours (the highest railroad over the Alps). A tourist attraction is the Bernina-Express from Chur via the pass to Tirano, which can also be combined with the Glacier-Express.
The journey from St Moritz to Tirano in Italy goes over the 58km/36mi long pass road, via Pontresina (8km/5mi) to the Bernina pass (24km/15mi), and then via Poschiavo (17km/11mi) to Tirano (34km/21mi).
By rail on the Rhätische Bahn, the journey takes 3.5 hours (the highest railroad over the Alps). A tourist attraction is the Bernina-Express from Chur via the pass to Tirano, which can also be combined with the Glacier-Express.
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Diavolezza (ski area)
Diavolezza provides great opportunities for skiing in the Alps. It is located in close proximity to the Diavolezza-Haus from where beautiful views of the Alps can be seen. Tourists can also take guided glacier walks from this point.
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Bernina pass (Val di Livigno)
The Bernina pass reveals a dramatic landscape, surrounded by peaks and beautiful vistas.
Piz Lagalb
Piz Lagalb (2,959 m/9,708ft: lower station Curtinatsch 2,090 m/6,857ft, upper station 2,896 m/9,502ft: restaurant, with panoramic view): wildlife park, view into the Valtellina. The cableway, 2,381 m/7,812ft long, runs up from Curtinatsch (Bernina-Lagalb) in eight minutes.
Facilities
Restaurant or food service
Alp Grüm
This belvedere (2,091m/6,860ft) overlooks the Palü Glacier and the Poschiavo Valley. It can be reached from the Ospizio Bernina station.
Bernina Hospice
The Bernina Hospice (2,309 m/7,576ft: 40b.) is a good walking and climbing base. Two lakes, Lej Nair (Black Lake, 2,222 m/7,290ft) and Lej Pitschen (2,220 m/7,284ft), fed by springs, drain northward into the Inn; they are separated by a masonry dam from the Lago Bianco (White Lake, 2,230 m/7,317ft), an artificial lake supplying the Brusio hydroelectric station. From the Alp Grüm (2,091 m/6,861ft: railroad station) there is a fine view of the Palü glacier (Alpine garden). Nature-lovers can observe many species of birds, from the golden eagle to the rock swallow, from the pigmy owl to the snow finch.
Le Prese (summer holiday resort)
4km/2mi beyond Poschiavo is the summer holiday resort of Le Prese (alt. 965 m/3,166ft) on the Lago di Poschiavo.
Val di Campo, Switzerland
5.5km/3mi from the Bernina pass is La Rösa (1,878 m/6,162ft), a picturesque little mountain village at the foot of Piz Campasscio. Then downhill above a wooded gorge, with beautiful views, followed by two sharp bends down to Sfazu (1,666 m/5,466ft: restaurant) and over the Wildbach at the mouth of the beautiful Val di Campo (on left), a valley gouged out by a glacier (narrow mountain road, 8km/5mi, maximum gradient 13%). 4km/2mi beyond La Rösa, on the left, is the Pozzolascio restaurant (1,530 m/5,020ft), near a small lake.
Facilities
Restaurant or food service
