The Upper Engadine is the high valley where the Inn begins its long journey to the Danube, and around Samedan and Celerina it is at its most open: a flat valley floor at more than 1,700 metres, broad meadows, the river meandering between larch woods, and mountains on both sides rising to glaciers. The light here is famous. Painters such as Giovanni Segantini came for it in the nineteenth century, and the dry, clear air gives the valley more sunshine than almost anywhere in Switzerland. In autumn the larches turn gold, and the whole valley glows.
Samedan is the administrative centre of the Upper Engadine, a village of about three thousand people with traditional Engadine houses: thick stone walls, deep-set windows and facades decorated with sgraffito, patterns scratched into the plaster. The language here is Romansh, the fourth national language of Switzerland, and you will see it on signs and hear it in the shops. On the valley floor lies the Engadin airport, often called the highest in Europe, used mostly by private planes bringing visitors to St. Moritz. Celerina, a little further south, is the finish of the famous bobsleigh run from St. Moritz, which is rebuilt from natural ice each winter, and the Cresta Run, where riders hurtle head-first down an ice track on toboggans.
St. Moritz, about five kilometres away, needs little introduction: a glamorous ski resort since the nineteenth century, host of two Winter Olympics, with luxury hotels, designer shops and a frozen lake that hosts horse races and polo in winter. In summer it is quieter, and the lake and the walking trails are lovely.
For riders, the Upper Engadine is a crossroads of great passes. The Julier comes in from the north, the Maloja drops to Italy in a spectacular series of hairpins, the Bernina climbs toward Poschiavo and Tirano, and the Albula, one of the most beautiful passes in Switzerland, joins the valley at La Punt. The roads in the valley itself are well surfaced and fairly straight, but they fill up in the high seasons of summer and winter, and the speed limits are strictly enforced. The weather is changeable, and snow can fall at any time of year.
Samedan has fuel, shops, restaurants and cafes, and St. Moritz has everything you could need, at a price. For a cheaper option, try the cafes in the smaller villages, and order a slice of Engadiner Nusstorte, a rich walnut and caramel cake that keeps for weeks and travels well in a tank bag.