St. Moritz and the Engadina

The Engadina is the high valley of the Inn River, in southeastern Switzerland, in the canton of Grisões. In the upper part, the Upper Engadine, a chain of lakes runs from Maloja to St. Moritz, between mountains that exceed 3,000 m. To the south lies the Bernina massif, with glaciers such as Morteratsch, visible up close from Pontresina and from the summit of Diavolezza.

St. Moritz sits at 1,822 m, above the lake that bears the city's name. Its mineral springs were known already in the Bronze Age, and winter tourism grew in the 19th century. The town hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1928 and 1948, and the natural-ice bobsled run to Celerina is rebuilt each winter. On the frozen lake, the horse races of the White Turf usually take place in February.

The tracks of the Rhätische Bahn are part of the journey. The Albula line climbs from Thusis through spiral tunnels and crosses the Landwasser viaduct; the Bernina line passes the Ospizio Bernina, at 2,253 m, and descends to Tirano, in Italy. Both lines and the surrounding landscape were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. The Bernina Express and the Glacier Express run on them, linking St. Moritz to Zermatt.

In the Engadina people speak German, with the Swiss German dialect, and Romansh, the valley's language, present in place names: St. Moritz is San Murezzan, Pontresina is Puntraschigna and Sils is Segl. Grisões has three official languages, and Italian is the language of Maloja and the Val Poschiavo, through which the Bernina Express descends. English is widely used in tourism. The currency is the Swiss franc, and Switzerland does not use the euro.

This destination brings together 1 city: St. Moritz.