Julier Pass Road

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Tiefencastel

   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.

   Read the complete Near Tiefencastel write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Tiefencastel is where the day begins. Next is Savognin.

2. 2. Savognin

   Savognin is the main village of the Surses, or Oberhalbstein, the high valley that climbs from Tiefencastel toward the Julier Pass. It lies at about 1,200 metres, in a broad green basin with forest on either side, and it has the feel of a place that has lived off the road for a long time. The people speak Romansh, the old Latin-derived language of the Graubünden, and the road signs and village names have a gentle, rolling quality that sets them apart from German-speaking Switzerland.

   Read the complete Savognin write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Savognin comes up about 10 km into the recorded legs. Next is Julier Pass.

3. 3. Julier Pass

   The Julier is the pass that stays open. At 2,284 metres, it carries the main road between Chur and the Upper Engadin, and the cantonal snow crews work to keep it passable through most of the winter, which makes it unusual among Swiss crossings of this height. That reliability is why it has been a trade road since Roman times, when merchants carried goods north and south over the same saddle, and why it was recorded in travellers' accounts for centuries.

   Read the complete Julier Pass write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 37 km into the recorded legs you reach Julier Pass. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Silvaplana, mostly downhill.

4. 4. Silvaplana

   Silvaplana is where the Upper Engadine opens out into water and wind. The village sits on the edge of a lake of the same name, at around 1,800 metres, between the larger resort of St. Moritz and the little village of Sils, and above it the high peaks of the Bernina and Albula ranges hold glaciers in their cirques. The light here is famously clear, an effect of altitude and dry air that has drawn painters and thinkers for generations.

   Read the complete Near Silvaplana write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Silvaplana closes the day.