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Via Mala Gorge |
 Location : Between Thusis and Andeer
How to reach
By Post Bus : Take the Post bus from Thusis, Zillis or Andeer to reach Via Mala Gorge.
By Car : Take a car in the direction of San Bernardino. Exit Viamala. Please use the Parking (P).
In Latin Via Mala means a bad road. This place is the narrowest section of the Hinterrhein Valley on the way to San Bernardino Pass. Via Mala Gorge is 6 km from the town of Thusis in the Eastern Switzerland. It is the largest gorge in the canton of Graubunden. It is only a few meters wide, with rocks up to 300 m high forming its walls. If you want to experience the Via Mala then don’t miss out the descending 321 safe steps to Rhine. On the way you will see an old bridge dating 1739, once used as a north-south route by traders and their pack animals. Visitors can walk through the Via Mala from Thusis on the old pack trail. In May 1788, Goethe traveled to Italy through the Via Mala. Although he didn’t leave any literary records of the trip, but he did make some sketches to document his route.
Near the town of Thusis in eastern Switzerland, the six-kilometre long Via Mala Gorge plunges 500 meters down between limestone walls to the Hinterrhein River. Raging torrents have gouged out many extraordinary, smooth rock formations and water mills over the centuries and the waters are particularly wild in the lower section at the Verlorene Loch (Lost Hole). If you fancy a closer look, you can take the 321 steps down into the depths of the ravine. On the way you’ll see an old bridge dating from 1739, once a part of the Via Mala (Evil Road), a former mule path hewn out of the rock, once used as a north-south route by traders and their pack animals. The climb back up the 321 steps is breathtaking – in more ways than one!
The Via Mala Gorge, 5km from Thusis, is the largest gorge in the canton of Graubünden, in parts only a few meters wide, with rocks up to 300m high forming its walls. To experience the Via Mala in full, don’t miss out on descending 321 ‘safe’ steps to the Rhine, admiring the potholes and the old bridge dating from 1739, and hiking along the old pack trail.
To experience the Via Mala fully, you should descend the 321 safe steps to the Rhine, admire the "whirl-pots" and the old bridge dating from 1739, and hike along the old mule track across the Via Mala from Thusis.
On the old muleteer's trail, the Viamala can be traversed on a hiking tour starting in Thusis. In May 1788, Goethe travelled to Italy through the Via Mala. Although he did not leave any literary records of the trip, he did make some pen-and-ink and pencil sketches to document his itinerary.
Nature lovers will be in their element in the Nolawald in Thusis at the entrance to the Via Mala Gorge, a wood with a woodland art trail leading past numerous works of art.
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