Winter hike from the old Walser village of Monbiel to the “quiet” Alp Garfiun with its cosy mountain inn - an oasis of peace. Continue through the enchanted winter landscape along the Lanquart river to Klosters Platz.

Photographer: Roland Steffen - Gear: Leica M11. Pictures not to be used without my explicit permission.

To the east of the village of Kloster, the valley of the young Landquart opens up. The torrent has already made a boisterous journey from the Silvretta with a lot of gradient and now meanders through the wide valley floor. The rear part of the valley is not inhabited in winter, but the Alp Garfiun mountain restaurant is open. It can be reached on a beautifully laid out winter hiking trail. The first part of the route leads from Klosters Platz directly along the Landquart River to Äuja, then from Bündelti onwards somewhat elevated cross-country below the houses of Monbiel into the valley until it joins the road somewhat east of the Walser village. This first section of the hike can also be bridged by taking the post bus from Klosters to the Monbiel terminus/parking lot and from there hiking along the little road into the valley. From Monbiel, the road is subject to a traffic ban.

However, it is not completely traffic-free - in winter it is used by carriages. But you don't have to walk on the road all the way. Just one kilometre after Monbiel, the hiking route branches off into two branches. The rolled path that leads up to the hamlet of Schwendi and then at a higher altitude over the Pardenner Boden to Alp Garfiun is sunnier, offers a beautiful view of the valley background and is therefore recommended for the outward route. On the way back, however, it is worth staying on the road. It runs close to the riverbed of the Landquart. Because the nearby Gatschieferspitz covers the sun for most of the day until well into February, the landscape here is much more wintry and offers a correspondingly picturesque sight.