Zernez is a small village in the Lower Engadine, at about fifteen hundred metres, and the gateway to Switzerland's only national park. The Inn river runs through the valley, a cold green stream fed by glaciers, and the surrounding mountains are dark with larch and pine. The village has an unusual look for the Alps, with white houses decorated with sgraffito, patterns scratched in plaster, and small windows set deep into thick walls, typical of Engadine architecture. Most of the older buildings date from after 1872, when a fire destroyed much of the village, and the rebuilt streets are wider than most in the valley.
The Swiss National Park, founded in 1914, is the oldest in the Alps and has the strictest rules: no camping, no picking flowers, no dogs and no leaving the marked paths. The visitor centre in Zernez explains the park's wildlife, which includes red deer, ibex, chamois and marmots, and, more recently, bears wandering in from Italy. The park's other claim to fame is that it has been left to nature for over a century, giving scientists a rare view of what happens when humans stop interfering.
The road through the park is the Ofen Pass, which climbs from Zernez to about 2,150 metres before descending into the Val Müstair. It is a fine ride, with smooth curves through thick pine forest, and a high, open section with big views. Traffic is moderate, speed limits are low and enforced, and the pass is open year-round in principle, though snow and ice can cause delays. Wildlife can appear on the road, and deer are common at dusk. At the bottom, the Val Müstair has a Romansh-speaking population and a remarkable Carolingian convent at Müstair, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with frescoes from the ninth century.
The nearest towns of any size are Davos, over the Flüela Pass, and the Italian resort of Livigno, through a tunnel.
Try a slice of Engadiner Nusstorte, a rich walnut and caramel tart that is the valley's signature, with a cup of coffee, at one of the bakeries.