Tiefencastel sits at the bottom of a deep, narrow fold in the Graubünden mountains, at the point where the Albula river meets the Julia, and its name, the deep castle, is accurate in a geographical sense. The village is small, with a little baroque church on a rock above the river, and its importance is mostly as a junction: roads and railways from Chur, Davos, the Engadine and the Surselva meet here. For a motorcyclist, it is the start of the Julier Pass, one of the oldest crossings of the Alps, and the entry to a landscape that rises steadily from woodland to bare rock.
The Julier has been used since Roman times, and at the top, about 2,284 metres up, two stumps of Roman columns once marked the crossing. The modern road is wide and well surfaced, with long bends and gentle gradients, making it an easy pass to ride quickly or slowly. Beyond Savognin, the valley opens into pastureland and the forest thins, then the road climbs through bare terrain toward Bivio, a village where the Italian-speaking influence is visible in the architecture. From the top, the view descends to the Upper Engadine lakes, silver and blue under a wide sky.
At Tiefencastel itself, there are a few cafés and shops, but for fuel and bigger supplies, Lenzerheide is seven kilometres away and Chur, twenty-one kilometres, is the sensible choice. Riders sometimes miss that the pass is high and exposed, so it is wise to be full before you start. The region is Romansh-speaking in parts, and you will see signs in a language that most Swiss cannot read either. The local food leans on barley, cured meat and cheese, and a bowl of Bündner Gerstensuppe, the barley soup, is a comfort in cold weather.
The railway is part of the experience. The Albula line, with its viaducts and spiral tunnels, is a masterpiece of Alpine engineering, and the red trains of the Rhaetian Railway wind through the landscape like toys. If you hear a horn echoing through the valley, you can be fairly sure a train is coming. The pass is open in summer and closed or restricted in winter, so check conditions, and expect weather to change fast above the tree line.