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Walks near Pontresina 1805m - page 4 The Innquelle & the Diavolezza

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To the Innquelle (source of the Inn)

Tuesday 5th July 2011 It takes over an hour for the bus from Pontresina to get to Maloja at the end of the lakes, as it goes into the towns. St. Moritz Dorf is worse than ever, a bit of Central Paris dumped in the hills & that is not as good as it might seem. At Maloja, I walked back along the road until a bergweg mark appeared on a building on the lake side. This is important, as the start of the path is obscured by building works.

Looking across to the infant Inn from Maloja

The 3rd bridge over the Inn

It goes up to a farmhouse, then down a bit to a bubbling stream with a bridge you go over. This is the Inn & its 3rd bridge. The path goes steeply upward with many zig-zags for a long way, which is a good thing as much of it is like a staircase. Several times, I bumped into an Aussie couple with a Swiss guide but then, they disappeared ahead & I only saw them again at their lunch spot much later.

The steep part is effecitely, stepped

The 2nd bridge

Lag da Lunghin, the Source of the Inn

Panorama South-East from the Lagh da Lungrin, Bernina Group on the left, Monte del Forno on the right

The path becomes longer, crosses the Inn by its 2nd bridge until a few more zig-zags brings one to the lake, the Lagh da Lunghin. This is the Innquelle (or Inkwell, if being rude), which has the spring in it which starts the Inn. The views going up are grand, with even Piz Bernina poking up eventually.

The 1st bridge & the path to Sils Baselgia

The Bernina Group from the Lag da Lunghin

See those rocks on the left...

There is another way down, which crosses the infant Inn as it pours from the lake & contours away to the North-East, mostly dropping & going behind a hill which hides the lakes for a while.

...multi-coloured rocks from previous photo

St. Laurangh opposite Sils Baselgia bus stop

The path lies above the top lake, the Lei da Segl & comes out at Sils Baselgia bus stop, which is opposite the St. Laurengh (I take it that is St. Laurence) church, built 1448. The official time up is 2 1/4 hours, about right & so is the time down this way. I was 10 minutes early for the bus time, very good! A Swiss couple arrived late but so was the bus.

Dinner was: salad buffet; chicken soup with Martini; trout with trout caviar; a mint sorbet; Saltimbocca alla Romana; cheese buffet & Cherry timbale, so standards have not slipped since I brought my Father!

From the Diavolezza Cable Car

Monday 4th July 2011 I took the train to Bernina-Diavolezza Station & the cable car up. If you really want to, you can walk up & down but, with the 'free' bus pass, is seems hardly worth it, as the views back to the Austrian dissected peneplain are not that great. The panorama is splendid.

The Diavolezza cable car from the valley

Diavolezza lake on the way up

The Diavolezza top station

The Diavolezza Panorama - Piz Cambrena, Piz Palu, Bellavista, Crast Aguilzza, Piz Bernina, Piz Morteratsch

Note. The 'bus pass' goes as far as Alp Grum, so you can either walk over or catch the train there, to make a day of it, unless you have other ideas.


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Contact: Ken Baldry, 17 Gerrard Road, Islington, London N1 8AY +44(0)20 7359 6294 or e-mail him
URL: http://www.art-science.com/Ken/Alpine/Pontresina/pt4.html Last revised 17/7/2011 ©2011 Ken Baldry. All rights reserved.