Schneeschuhwanderung Cavaglia

The Cavaglia station with its hipped roof reminds one of a typical house in the Bernese Oberland. It was built as a hotel for a now-vanished workers settlement high in the upper reaches of the Poschiavo Valley. From here the path leads to the even older rustic village of Cavaglia, now a sleepy picturesque vacation spot. As recently as 1972 it was a busy year-round settlement for the employees of the nearby power plant belonging to the Forze Motrici Brusio (now the Repower electric utility) and it even boasted its own schoolhouse. Exiting the village, the trail follows the RhB track into the Val da Pila, and if one is lucky one can reach the elegantly curved stone Val-da-Pila Viaduct as the Bernina Express train passes over.

The trail returns toward Cavaglia along the other flank of the valley and leads by Li Vegli at the northernmost end of the plateau to the Cavaglia power plant that began operating in 1927. Its design was inspired by a medieval fortress and its massive arched entrance was modeled on an Engadine house. It was built by the local architect Nicolaus Hartmann Jr. (1880-1956). Hartmann was responsible for many structures that line the Bernina railroad, among them the stations at Alp Grüm and Ospizio Bernina.

From there, the path leads across the glacial plateau following the gravelly Cavagliasco River bed. Ancient forests flank the fields leading back to the station, and from there trains take you southward to Poschiavo or northward via Alp Grüm and over the Bernina Pass to Pontresina.