Route: Guarda village
Area: Switzerland
Date of walk: 21st January 2019
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 1.0 mile
Ascent: negligible
Weather: Sunny
Our arrival in Guarda one week ago coincided with the heaviest snow the area has experienced for 20 years. All walking paths were closed due to a high avalanche risk, and a further 6 inches of snow overnight didn’t improve the situation. Since that day we’ve been blessed with constant sun and blue skies, the paths all re-opened quickly, and we’ve enjoyed some wonderful walks
On our final day we had a couple of hours to spare before starting the journey home, and decided to walk around the streets of this beautiful and unspoilt village
Guarda is located 1,000 feet above the valley floor (which is why there’s a bus service to the railway station at the foot of the valley). The houses, grouped around the church, have remained largely untouched for centuries. Many of them are decorated with paintings of plants and animals, or with Romansch and Latin verses framing their doors and windows. Every property seems to be lovingly cared for by its owner
Our base for the week had been the excellent Hotel Meisser which has been owned by the Meisser family for 125 years. On another glorious morning we stepped out of the hotel and walked to the nearest edge of the village, so that we could then turn back and walk its full length. We took with us some detailed notes provided by Inntravel as part of our holiday paperwork. These describe not only the history and culture of the village, but also point out interesting features on many of the houses
I’ll let the photos tell the story of our short stroll, a fitting end to a wonderful holiday
Click on the link below for the location map
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
The streets of Guarda on the day of our arrival...
The Hotel Meisser then...
...and now
From our hotel room, a last look along the valley before we check out
We set off along the village street...
We reach the edge of Guarda and turn back, so that we can walk from one end to the other
The village library
We reach the other end of the village, here looking towards Lavin, where we'd walked a couple of days ago
Retracing our steps back to the hotel
The village fountain
Time to be on our way - last look back to the village church
Farewell to Benno and family and the staff at the Hotel Meisser, we hope to come back again...
...and farewell Switzerland
