The hike starts at the Madrisa mountain station, which can be reached independently, but is quite a steep and demanding climb. You can also take the cable car from the village of Klosters to the top. The station, and a great viewpoint, is at 1,884 metres above sea level.

A surprise on the other side of the mountain

It takes around two hours to reach the Rätschenjoch at 2,602 metres above sea level. On the other side of the hill there is a surprise.

When I reached the spot, I made big eyes and immediately forgot about fatigue and hunger. For the panorama is unearthly. At first I thought I saw mountainsides covered thickly with snow. But it wasn’t snow, it was white rocks, which looked amazing against the background of other colours. I recommend! The photos don’t do justice to what I saw there.

If you don’t mind cold and wind, you can relax on the mountain and enjoy the view. My legs carried me further, right into the centre of those white rocks. This was not too difficult, as the path goes downhill all the time from this point. However, care must be taken, as in several places the ground is unstable due to falling stones. These sections were secured with ropes.

Marmots on the trail

I am signalling that there are a lot of marmots in this area, so keep your eyes open. We came across one by accident, walking between rocks. Others were hiding in the grass and watching us from a distance. So, when you hear a rather loud whistle (which means “Attention people” in free translation), look around to see if there is a small marmot head sticking out somewhere.

The last part of the route

The final kilometres of the hike are a pleasant, low-effort creek road through picturesque villages.

There is also the option of going down on a scooter, which you can hire in the first village you pass.

Mountain pubs and cheese shops can be found at the start of the route, i.e. at the Madrisa station and on the other side of the hill behind the Rätschenjoch.