Pizalun - mountain with the most spectacular views
A couple of weeks ago I was searching for an easy forest hike somewhere in the canton of Graubünden as my favorite trails are there and it's not that far away from where we live. This is how I came across Pizalun.
The 7 km long trail with an elevation gain of less than 500 meters was exactly what I was searching for. It should be completed within 2.5 hours, but I knew that it will take us much longer as we planned to take a lot of photos and have a picnic in the forest.
Although Pizalun (1478 m) is one of the smallest mountains in the canton of Graubünden, it offers spectacular 360 degrees view of the Chur Rhine valley, Sargans region, the mountains of the Rätikon, the Pizol group, the Calanda massif and the Churfirsten-Alvier group.
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The trail starts in St. Margrethenberg - a popular winter sports region close to Bad Ragaz. It says on internet that it starts directly from the parking area, but we couldn't find the signs. We checked the google maps and it turned out that the trails starts on the other side of the village! Well, at least we found it.
Let's walk!
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As soon as we reached the trail, we were greeted by a couple of cows 😊 I should be honest here and say that they rather ignored us though. They were too busy with their lunch.
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After a short steep climb we got to see St. Margrethenberg behind us. It's situated in such picturesque landscape...
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The path led us through woods and meadows..
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Behind this meadow there was the most challenging part of the trail - a steep and long climb through the forest. The summit was behind the trees so we couldn't see it and we didn't know how long we would have to climb. There were a few people coming back from the summit looking refreshed and happy while we were breathing hard and sweating. At that time I realized that in the afternoon it will be me who will walk down and I was feeling instantly better 😊
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We made it!
The summit can be reached by a metal staircase. There is an observation platform on the top so let's have a look!
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The stairway is very narrow and only one person fits there but as there was no one coming I had enough time to take a photo on the way up..
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We are here!
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Now it's time to enjoy the views...
Right in front of us is the Callanda massiv.
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On the right side there are mountains of the Rätikon.
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Further to the right...
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Now we are looking in the direction of the Appenzell Alps, north of Sargans.
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There are signs with panorama views of the mountains and their names on each side of the platform. There are so many summits visible from here that I didn't even try to remember some of them.
Now it's time to have a picnic on the way back...
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We didn't want to take the same path back to the village so we decided to take a longer path which would lead us around the mountain and then back on the other side..
We came across a couple of wooden houses and we walked through beautiful meadows.
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Until we came to this bench (there was no other bench up until this moment) where we could finally eat our lunch. I know, I should have taken a photo of our food but I was too hungry to think about such details 😊
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We rested for half an hour and continued on the path... On this side of the mountain there were more meadows than woods which was good for our vitamin D intake...
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After some time we reached an asphalt road which led us directly to the village. Overall, we walked almost 10 km instead of 7 km but we didn't mind as the weather was pleasant, we had a lot of fun, took way too many photos and had full bellies 😊
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And here are some flowers that I came across...
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No matter what I did they just didn't pay the slightest attention to me 😊
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I hope that you enjoyed our walk today!
Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Martina
First, there is NO WAY that I would've climbed up that little metal ladder... So you are for sure way braver than me.
Second, that is quite the beautiful hike. I finally realized what is different in your area than mine. We have lots of underbrush and weeds in our forests. Your pics show none. Its like Monsanto sprayed Roundup all over the Alps and nothing but big trees and green grass. (maybe some side effects, but hey its pretty!!!) :P
Another awesome post though Martina, I really really enjoy them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hahaha, I've tried more difficult things in my life :) In 2 weeks I'm gonna do a tandem jump from 4000 m (not my idea). So when I survive that I can do anything :D
I had to google Monsanto to understand the joke, lol. If you talk about that.. I remember seeing a lot of bushes and weeds in the South (Spain, Italy). We don't really have it in Central Europe.
I'm still waiting for a post from your hill/mountain :)
Have a good Tuesday!
It's always a pleasure to see your photo essays of the beautiful countryside in the areas of Europe I had become most familiar with many years ago.
As a young NYC born and raised kid, I was spellbound by the majestic landscape of the Alps on the first morning I awoke, having arrived there in the darkness of night.
The little cloud floating across the road at a short distance from me was a bit confusing...like a ghostly puff-ball...I'd always thought that all clouds hung out much higher in the sky :>)
Hahaha, I can imagine that it was confusing. It's so different to New York! It happens regularly that we drive through clouds. I find it a bit scary though as I realize how high we can go by car..
It must have been a shock to wake up in the morning and see all those mountains around you. It happens to me as well when I travel during night and it takes me some time in the morning to realize where I actually am :D
Pleasure is mine.. I love comments like yours :)
:>)
great contribution and fantastic pictures real class, thanks for sharing :)
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That is pretty. It would be fun (and probably dangerous) to stumble up into the mountains a couple hours before sunrise to catch the first rays streaming through the mountain peaks. Those rock formations are pretty, but that staircase looks a little scary.
Fun photos with the cows, too! Those are some pretty ones. ...well, as far as cows go!
I've heard that many people do that in the Alps. You can get amazing shots like that. But honestly I am too lazy to wake up this early in the morning and moreover I would have to stay there overnight as it's quite far away from home but you are right, that would be fun.
Cows are beautiful animals. I really like them :)
Spectacular indeed! Breathtaking captures :)
Dakujem!
Spectacular views from up there, congratulations! I can see the turquoise waters of the Rhine in the valley, there is so much beauty in your photos.
I find it strange to see how artificial Rhine looks there. I think that the watercourse is man made there. It's just so straight and unnatural. Very different to where we live but you know that as you were here already :)
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it was so good to see this post amazing shots
Thank you!