Lai da Palpuogna is a mountain lake at Albula Pass in the municipality of Bergün, in the Grisons (South-Eastern part of Switzerland) The crystal clear blue-green lake is nestled in a gorgeous and peaceful mountain region and invites you to relax and dream. Did you know, in a 2007 television program of the Swiss channel SF 1, the lake was voted the most beautiful place in Switzerland. The lake is part of the nature park "Parc Ela" and flows through the river Albula.

I've visited the lake many times in various seasons and conditions. The most breath-taking time is for sure during summer or early autumn, when nature is at it's purest colors. My personal favorite is during autumn when the so called "Golden summer" starts and all the larches turn into a golden tone. I recommend coming for sunrise or early morning because the water is still and you'll be able to admire the panoramic water reflections. The lake is inviting to linger, it has several picnic and fire pits distributed around the lake.

Hike / Directions By train: The Rhaetian Railway goes to Preda. From there, a forest path leads idyllically in about 45 minutes up to the lake. The little effort is rewarded with crystal clear water and a larch forest. For safety reasons you can not swim in the Lai da Palpuogna. By car: You can park in Preda at the train station and also do the entire hike, or there are some parking lots right at the lake and you'll reach the shore in about 5 minutes.

The panoramic Albula/Bernina railway line forms the heart of the Unesco World Cultural Heritage listing and is regarded as one of the world’s most spectacular routes. The #UNESCO route itself covers 122 kilometres from Thusis to Tirano, passing 196 bridges, 55 tunnels and 20 towns along the way. It is more than 100 years old.

On the site itself you can visit three different viewpoints and watch the red train pass. Important note when planning your trip is that the train passes only twice per hour (ca. :50 and :05) so make sure to arrive at the viewpoint always quarter to the full hour and you can see the train passing.

By train: get off the train at Filisur and from there you need to walk back to the viewpoints (30min). Calculate for this trip 3-4 hours with rest and picnic. the nice thing is actually that you even can continue your journey further to Engadin after the visit of the Landwasserviadukt.

By car: on the way to Filisur you'll find a parking lot on the left. From there it is an easy walk to the bridge (15min) and for the upper viewpoint you'll have to calculate another 20min.