Lake Lunghin and Piz Lunghin

This hike brings us to a lake, a peak and a pass which all bear the name "Lunghin". It is a panoramic route, suitable for everyone (at least up to the lake and the pass, while the climb to Piz Lunghin is a little more challenging). For those who still have energy, the excursion can be extended to the picturesque village of Grevasalvas, a few kilometers further east, which can be reached via a panoramic trail, with wonderful views of the Sils and Silvaplana lakes and the more peripheral peaks of the Bernina mountain group.

From the Maloja Pass to Lake Lunghin

We pass the Maloja Pass; one kilometer further on, Lake Sils appears, on whose banks the houses of Cadlagh (1799 m) stand. After passing the town, we find a small car park on the left, where we stop the car and start walking. The path rises rapidly, drawing a diagonal towards the west in the meadows, to intercept the path that goes directly up from Maloja. To deal with the difference in altitude more easily, the route is broken up by numerous geometric hairpin bends.

The dark waters of Lake Lunghin, overlooking the Bregaglia Valley.

Higher up, the path enters, with a now moderate gradient, into the short valley hosting the Lake Lunghin, our first destination. The lake is located on the edge of a high rocky balcony, of which we now only see the buttresses. With a final effort, we are finally at the lake (m2484, h1.45). On our left is the Piz Lunghin, towering over the dark but clear waters of the lake.

Piz Lunghin and Passo Lunghin

Starting from the lake you can take a nice circular tour that takes you to the summit of Piz Lunghin, then to Passo Lunghin, from which you then return to the lake. We therefore take the path that goes up the southern side of the lake. Higher up the path forks; on the right to go directly to the pass, on the left to climb to the summit of Piz. We choose the latter possibility. The path, little more than a trace, climbs up the northern slope of Piz Lunghin, carving a steep traverse into a scree. And so we soon reach a saddle along the Lunghin crest, where we can finally overlook Val Bregaglia. The summit is just a few dozen meters away, which we overcome with a small path that requires only a couple of slightly exposed passages.

There is no need to even say how far the view can extend from the summit of Piz Lunghin (2780m, h0.30). Below us, on the left, there is Lake Lunghin, with the entire zig-zag path that we used uphill. Thenthe Maloja with its tortuous hairpin bends, Lake Sils and Silvaplana. And on top of everything, the elegant sequence of white peaks of the Bernina and Disgrazia groups.

Volcanic atmospheres on the climb to Piz Lunghin.

To reach the Lunghin Pass we now have to go back down to the saddle, where instead of going down towards the lake we continue along the ridge. We reach the pass in just a few minutes (m2645, h0.15). The pass is famous for being one of those rare points of contact of more than two watersheds. At the Lunghin Pass you meet the Danube basin (the water that descends from the pass towards Lake Lunghin ends there; final destination: the Black Sea), the Rhine basin (which collects the waters that descend towards the Septimer Pass; final destination: the North Sea), and finally the Po River (which collects the waters that descend from the pass towards Val Bregaglia), which will eventually flow into the Adriatic.

From Passo Lunghin, we are back to Lake Lunghin in less than half an hour.

Crossing from Lake Lunghin to Grevasalvas

From Lake Lunghin we have two possibilities. The first, is to descend back to Cadlagh along the same ascent path. The second, is to draw a long crossing at the foot of Piz Grevasalvas, up to the town of Grevasalvas, and from there returning back to Cadlagh. If you choose this second option, you need to take the small path that starts from the lake's outlet stream (signs for Grevasalvas-Plaun da Lej). These descent is a magnificent panoramic trail overlooking the Sils and Silvaplana lakes, particularly colorful under the afternoon light; the landscape is entirely Segantini-esque, with Swiss cows, green meadows, and glaciated peaks in the background.

Ravensburger impressions along the trail from Lake Lunghin to Grevasalvas

In Grevasalvas (about 1950 m, 1.30 am) we can take a short break. There is no shortage of tourists here, attracted by the characteristic architecture and landscape that surrounds what is called "Heidi's village". Here in Grevasalvas, in fact, between 1974 and 1978 the troupes filmed two television cycles on the life of the lucky fairy-tale figure Heidi, created by the Swiss writer Johanna Spyry.

To return to Cadlagh we recommend taking the dirt road that goes from Grevasalvas to Blaunca (2037 m), and then pushing into the middle of a large plateau hanging above the Lake Sils. At the end of the plateau, the path reconnects to the uphill path to Lake Lunghin. In just a few minutes we make our comeback in Cadlagh (h0.45).