NATURAL BEAUT Y
NATURAL BEAUT Y
MORTERATSCH THEMED WALK
FOLLOWING THE TRAIL OF THE GLACIER SPIRIT The hike up to the largest glacier in Graubünden passes boulders, waterfalls and rare plants – an experience for the whole family. P H O T O S : G I A N G I O VA N O L I
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After walking just 50 minutes from Morteratsch railway station, the ice tongue of the glacier can already be seen.
ometimes nature is so i mpressive and so varied that it makes you feel a little intoxicated. “In very rare cases, that literally happens,” according to hiking guide Christine Salis, “because a wonderful liqueur is made from the wild musk yarrow that grows here in the valley.” Today is a clear summer’s morning, and we quench our thirst with a cappuccino and mineral water before setting off towards the Morteratsch glacier. We have a 5.8-km walk ahead of us that starts at the restaurant at Morteratsch station. “150 years ago, the glacier reached almost to where we are sitting now,” says Salis, who frequently undertakes the trip to the perpetual ice with hikers. The trail through the blossoming valley is f lanked by 16 boards with information on the vegetation and the retreat of the ice. At one of them we meet 14-year-old Finn, his brother Teague and their parents. Finn is just wonder-
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Flowering plants and the milky glacier lake (left) are just two of the highlights on the hike through this charming landscape.
S T. M O R I T Z S U M M E R 2 0 1 7
S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 S T. M O R I T Z
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