The best cycling routes around Parc Ela

Cozy mountain house where you can get good food

Beautiful, cool hike almost entirely in the forest.

A village submerged - Marmorera The flooding (1954): 29 houses, 52 stables and a church sank into the water. A new Marmorera was built slightly higher up on the slope for the relocated inhabitants. On September 14, 1955, the Marmorera Castiletto dam was inaugurated. Among those present were, in addition to the Zurich City President Emil Landolt, local politicians such as Gion Not Spegnas, District President of Oberhalbstein, as well as involved entrepreneurs and officials. While the illustrious guests attended the ceremony in the high-alpine valley basin, the plant further down in Tinizong, one of the three power station stages, was already producing electricity for Zurich. The reservoir looked like a natural mountain lake with a smooth water surface, in which the sunlight glittered. But the apparent mountain idyll hides a secret. On the dark ground lie the ruins of the village of Marmorera – once a flourishing community that benefited from coach traffic over the Julier Pass before the construction of the Albula Tunnel, but whose citizens had been barely making a living from agriculture since the Second World War. Text / Source: Swiss National Museum, Landesmuseum Zürich, Museumstrasse 2, Zurich https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/2022/09/staudamm-marmorera/

Lai da Marmorera / Marmorerasee since 1954 Sunken village and lost homeland – The story of Marmorera The story of Marmorera is a story of change and loss. In the 1950s, as Zurich increasingly needed electricity, a reservoir was built on the Ova da Marmorera river. This led to the flooding of the village of Marmorera, which then sank into the reservoir. The inhabitants were resettled, and the old village disappeared into the water of the new Marmorerasee. The Marmorera Castiletto dam was completed in 1954, and the old municipality of Marmorera was replaced by the new Marmorera. Today, only a few houses remain on the shore of the lake, and the story of Marmorera remains a fascinating testament to a turbulent past. Text / Source: wikipedia.org https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lai_da_Marmorera

Julier Pass, History (Pass height 2284 m above sea level) The column remnants exactly at the summit of the Julier Pass and the finds of Roman coins nearby point to a very early use of this Alpine crossing. The Septimer Pass, a few kilometers to the west, which was however steeper and more avalanche-prone, can certainly be considered a competitor. What is certain is that both were used intensively in Roman times. The Julier even with two-wheeled carts. In the age of packhorse trains, the Julier increasingly lost importance because the topography at the Septimer Pass was hardly a factor and, moreover, the detour via the Engadin was not necessary. With the construction of a cart track over the Septimer (1387), the Julier was definitively left behind. The Julier remained important for access to the Upper Engadin and the Bernina Pass. The actual road construction over the Julier took place between 1820 and 1826. In this phase of history, the Julier retained "the upper hand" over the Septimer. On the one hand, topographical reasons were decisive, and on the other hand, the canton could not afford to ignore the Engadin. This was the first road construction project in which the canton acted as the client. In the second half of the 19th century, various route adjustments followed, which became necessary due to the increasing feeder traffic for the Upper Engadin health resorts. The opening of the Albula Line of the Rhaetian Railway in 1903 caused car traffic over the Julier to collapse again. When the Federal Council put pressure on the Graubünden government in 1923 for a car-suitable transit route, the canton opted for the Julier route. Between 1935 and 1940, the pass road was renovated and was the first Alpine crossing to receive an asphalt surface. Today, the Julier is the most important, year-round open, northern access to the Engadin. Text / Source: Interessengemeinschaft Alpenpässe IAP, Postfach 11, Realp https://www.alpen-paesse.ch/de/alpenpaesse/julierpass/

Already in the Roman Empire around 2,000 years ago Already in the Roman Empire around 2,000 years ago, the Julier Pass was of great importance. At the pass summit, two columns of a Roman sanctuary still stand today. Today, the pass road over the Julier is the most important road connection to the Engadin and is passable all year round. In the vicinity of the Julier, you will find numerous hiking and biking routes on which the landscape can be ideally explored. From the Julierhospitz (pass summit 2284 m above sea level), the exploration tour or hike to the clear mountain lake Leg Grevasalvas begins. Text / Source: Graubünden Ferien, Alexanderstrasse 24, Chur https://www.graubuenden.ch/de/ausflugsziele/julierpass

Tor Alva: The White Tower of Mulegns The world's tallest 3D-printed structure has been erected in Mulegns on the Julier Pass. The White Tower (Tor Alva) by Origen is a walkable installation, a cultural building, and a tribute to the sugar bakers of Graubünden. The White Tower of Mulegns is 30 meters high. Its 32 concrete columns were produced using the 3D printing process developed at ETH Zurich. This makes the tower, which opened on May 20, 2025, the tallest building of its kind worldwide. The client is the cultural foundation Nova Fundaziun Origen. On the top floor of the White Tower, small-scale theater and concert events (32 seats) can take place. However, the building is much more than just a new, extraordinary venue for the internationally renowned cultural foundation. The installation can be explored up to the dome. Visitors can reach the four floors via a spiral staircase inside. The higher you ascend, the more delicate the all-white structure appears, and the space becomes noticeably lighter and airier. At night, light shines out into the landscape between the tall columns and wide openings, like a lighthouse on the Julier Pass road. The fine lines and ornaments on the columns are reminiscent of the craft of the former sugar bakers from the region. They sought their fortune abroad; some became wealthy, many others disappeared. With its newest structure, Origen also addresses this ambivalent history of Graubünden emigrants. Even today, mountain villages in Graubünden are threatened by emigration. Through its work, the cultural foundation strengthens the economy in Val Surses and promotes gentle tourism. At the same time, the White Tower is intended to showcase the possibilities of the innovative 3D printing process in building construction. In this manufacturing process, a robot successively applies thin layers of concrete through a nozzle. Thanks to computer technology, the concrete is used precisely only where it is structurally needed. This reduces material consumption. Furthermore, due to its circular design, the tower can be easily dismantled and reassembled elsewhere. Currently, the White Tower is planned as a five-year installation. Text / Source: Graubünden Ferien, Alexanderstrasse 24, Chur https://www.graubuenden.ch/de/news/tor-alva

Beautiful view up- and downstream. In spring with impressively low water levels, which makes the massive dam visible.