Cultural Hike: Tschiertschen - Molinis

There is no shop along the main road, instead you find plenty of meadows, pastures, forest and a bridge across the Plessur river.

The hike starts on a small road and continues on meadow and forest paths. You may begin the hike in Tschiertschen as well as Molinis.

A long time ago there was a debate whether the train tracks to Arosa should pass via the left or the right hand side of the Schanfigg valley. Since it was decided to build it on the right hand side the hike now starts by a bus ride from Chur to Tschiertschen along the left hand side of the valley.

From one side of the valley to the other

Starting point is Tschiertschen on 1,340m above sea level. It is worth taking a stroll through the charming village with its wooden houses. Together with Arosa, Tschiertschen has a long tourism tradition. The construction of the connecting road to Chur (1887-94) and the first ski lift (1952) transformed Tschiertschen into a winter holiday destination.  

From the village entrance in the South we keep following the road to Molinis. Our first stop is the restored old sawmill which works by hydropower from the Ruchtobel river.

After a little longer on the road, the path branches off to "Gadenstett". Via the "Canier Eggen", a north facing ridge, we reach the "Gross Bach" (big river). Then follows a short ascent that ends at the opening "Zana". Molinis, our final destination, is already close.

The main road of Molinis

The bridge across the Plessur river in Molinis is called "Bahnhfstrasse" (main road - train station road). However, like everywhere in the Schanfigg valley, the train station is located rather far away from the village centre. It might be wise to take a little break before starting the last part of the hike that leads all the way uphill to the train station.

 

 

Author: Hansjürg Gredig, ZHAW Life Sciences and Facility Management