New version of the classic marathon: Around the Swiss National Park in two trail days

This year in August, the bike marathon will circle the Swiss National Park in Graubünden for the 25th time. An anniversary that should not be missed by passionate long-distance bikers. But the passion of our tour author Andreas Kern is trails. That's why he took a few very worthwhile detours on his tour around the national park and took an extra two days to complete them. His conclusion: perhaps the most beautiful weekend tour in the Engadin!

Beautiful turn into the "Valbellissima"

Cappuccino. Espresso. Grazie. My Italian is limited. But I can just about guess what "Valbella" means: "beautiful valley". There is no shorter and more succinct way to describe this canyon. A narrow mule track glides over the flat Fuorcla da S-charl crossing, nestles close to the stony southern flank of the Munt da la Bescha, then bends away to the south and literally drops down to the Ofen Pass. A feast for anyone who loves pure nature trails. As we swing down to the road, we both realise: this valley should not be called Valbella, but Valbellissima.

Valbella sounds Italian, but it is in Switzerland. More precisely: in the easternmost tip of Graubünden, close to the border with Vinschgau and the Livigno Alps. Two hours earlier, down at Alp Astras, we had decided not to drive over the Pass da Costainas like everyone else. What luck! Once a year, 1500 bikers race from Scuol over the Pass da Costainas into Val Müstair and back to the Lower Engadine via Livigno and the Chaschauna Pass in the legendary National Park Bike Marathon.

Poor things! Firstly, the scenic beauty is pretty unenjoyable at race pace. And secondly, the marathon riders miss out on the "Beautiful Valley" because they ride around the bottom. But the Valbella with its 2535 metre high Fuorcla da S-charl is just one of the fantastic four. The first of four dream passes on our two-day tour. Hardly any other route packs more highlights into a time frame of just 48 hours.

The tour around the national park almost fell through. Two days before the start, my fellow cyclist had dropped out and I had to improvise. My mate Xaver from Scuol quickly put out a WhatsApp call - and exactly one person got in touch: Mario. Lucky me. The 53-year-old is now proving to be not only extremely fit and photogenic, but also a living Engadin encyclopaedia. Two days of full-throttle biking including local history lessons in the saddle.

Wild wonderland of the Jufplaun plateau

The 141 kilometres of the National Park Bike Marathon can be tackled at race pace with 1499 like-minded people. Or you can take a relaxed three or four-day tour. With the self-guided option, your luggage is chauffeured from hotel to hotel. But the price is also Swiss: from 884 Swiss francs for four nights' accommodation, GPS data and luggage transfer.

Firstly, it's too expensive for me, secondly, I want to complete the tour in two days and thirdly, I have two more passes in my quiver that would perfect the tour. Pass number two on our ambitious weekend plan is a lonely beauty: the Passo Gallo. Most bikers leave this highlight to the right because they cycle via Döss Radond and the Val Mora. Fine scenery, but too bland for us.

If, on the other hand, you carry your bike for a few minutes from the Ofen Pass, you open the door to the wild wonderland of the Jufplaun plateau and get to know this lonely Passo Gallo. "Passo" is almost an exaggeration. A flat meadow hill with a fjord view and countless fast hairpin bends is a better description. The rapid descent down to Lago di Livigno feels like the purest biking paradise. Dark, rutted mountain giants are the only witnesses to the rapid descent.

Opposite and 1200 metres above the fjord: a mountain with the auspicious name of Cima Paradiso. Kiosk or mirage? An hour later, Mario and I find ourselves at a typical Italian picnic spot, almost falling into the fjord from delight. Cars parked all over the place, an Amore couple on borrowed 26-inch bikes - and we landed straight back in reality from paradise.

Passo Trela instead of Alpisella

It's a long day. And I'm already feeling pretty spreadable. So I take the precaution of buying four cans of Coke and two soggy sandwiches. Because I know what awaits me here late in the afternoon. Again, we have two options: like the marathon crowd over the Passo Alpisella, or over the Passo Trela. Mario doesn't even know the latter. But I do. So the decision is made.

On to the third of the fantastic four! The sun is already dangerously low as we tackle the final 400 metres in altitude. Mario is having fun. He shoots up the steep track to Alpe Trela like the mountain time king of the Tour de France. By the time I arrive at the cosy ensemble of huts, he has long since changed and is already waiting impatiently. Onwards! It's about to get dark.

Don Camillo - a village priest as smuggler boss

Half an hour later, we are at the top of the pass. Opposite us, the road to Passo d'Eira and the village of Trepalle, which translates as three balls, cling to the eastern slope. It is not known where the strange name comes from. What is known, however, is that the village priest Don Parenti was the boss of the local smuggling gang in the 1950s - and the literary role model for Don Camillo. Exactly, the one with Peppone.

Livigno, here we come! The trail in front of us looks great. Beautifully narrow, scree-free, a small work of art by the local trail builders. Compared to this cream slice of a pass, the Alpisella is nothing more than an overcooked pea stew.

Day 2: Over the flow trail on the Chaschauna Pass

New day, new touring luck. Three of the four planned passes are behind us. Today the duty is followed by the freestyle. But we've been warned: the Chaschauna Pass is a very sneaky fellow. Its hundred-year-old military road climbs so mercilessly steeply up to the old barracks that you almost fall over backwards as you push up. And Mario? He drives every metre. Maybe he's not Mario at all, but Supermario?

When I push the door open, he's been sunbathing on the wall of the house for half an hour. Almost there! Less than a hundred metres of ascent and we're at the flat, Tibetan-looking pass summit. Last year, my mate Xaver told me about the stroke of genius of the bike locals from S-chanf. They had managed to squeeze 1.7 million francs out of the village coffers to carve a fun downhill flow circus into the Engadin's unspoilt landscape on the northern flank of the Chaschauna. Money well spent!

I particularly like the suspension bridge over the Inn below Ardez. Probably because my grandad built it. - Mario Riatsch

A thousand metres later, Mario and I dip our feet into the ice-cold Inn. But we're still a long way from Scuol. The combination of too much photography and too little training is now bursting my 48-hour schedule like a soap bubble. But we are in Switzerland, the land of the railway par excellence. So we stuff an Engadine nut cake into our rucksacks in Zernez, sprint to the railway station and zoom to Ardez on the Rhaetian Railway.

This is where Mario grew up, back there: his parents' house. It goes down to the wildly foaming Inn. We are in Marioland. His grandad built the suspension bridge over which we sway back and forth to the east bank. But instead of a trail that leads us back to Scuol, we have to push up 150 metres in altitude! We don't have time to visit the lord of Tarasp Castle, Not Vital (his real name). Too bad, because the world-famous artist is Mario's uncle.

Now it's Mario who's pressing the button. He wants to be in Scuol on time for the start of the children's race. This always takes place the day before the National Park Bike Marathon. And I take this opportunity to find out who invented the most beautiful marathon in Graubünden, if not in Switzerland, if not in the Alps, back in 2001. Exactly! Mario. Mario Riatsch.

Info - you need to know this...

The original route of the Bike Marathon around the Swiss National Park in Graubünden covers a total of 141.8 kilometres and 3848 metres in altitude. Touring bikers are recommended to ride this route in four stages. We have modified the route for our two-day version: more trails and a shorter route by post bus and Rhaetian Railway.

Mountain biking is strictly prohibited in the national park itself (Rhaeto-Romanic: Parc Nazunial Svizzer). However, the circular route with start and finish in Scuol and an overnight stop in Livigno is all the more rewarding. For ambitious bikers with a taste for spectacular, unspoilt Alpine landscapes, this long tour is one of the best that Graubünden and Switzerland have to offer.

Biking is strictly forbidden in the Swiss National Park. But that doesn't matter, because the route around the outside is one of the most rewarding in Switzerland, if not in the Alps.

In terms of technical difficulties, the route is rather tame, with only a few passages that scratch the S3 level. Instead, one scenic highlight follows the next. The only downside: the high prices in Switzerland, but the costs can be cushioned with an overnight stay in Livigno, Italy.

Stage 1: S-charl - Livigno

• Length: 50.6 kilometres
• Uphill: 1749 metres in altitude
• Downhill: 1676 metres in depth
• Difficulty: difficult

Tour description

Day one doesn't start in the saddle, but in the Postbus. One of the "yellow angels for cyclists" takes you from the Stradun (main road) in Scuol to Val S-charl in the morning. Otherwise, day one would mutate into a monster stage. Amidst the sgraffito-adorned houses of S-charl (1810 m), we set off towards the Pass da Costainas. At Alp Astras (2135 m), turn right and push and carry your bike up to Fuorcla Funtana da S-charl (2393 m). At the top, Valbella awaits with one of the best trails in Graubünden. A real insider tip! The trail ends directly at the Ofen Pass (2149 m). After the lunch break, it's time to push and carry towards Jufplaun. The reward awaits at Passo Gallo (2279 m) in the form of an almost infinite number of switchbacks down to the reservoir. The grand finale to Livigno also has to be hard earned late in the afternoon. The ascent to Passo Trela (2295 m) is steep and also includes another long pushing section.

Starting point Scuol

Parking spaces in the centre of Scuol are all subject to a charge. If you are staying at the Bike-Villa, you may be able to leave your car at Werni Dirren. There are a few free parking spaces at the eastern end of the village at the Manaröl cross-country skiing centre.

Highlights

• The Val S-charl with picture-book village
• Swiss stone pine forest God Tamangur
• Ortler view at the Fuorcla Funtana da S-charl
• The mystical Jufplaun plateau
• Fjord-like reservoirs of Livigno

Key points

30 minutes of pushing and carrying to Fuorcla Funtana da S-charl. At the Ofenpass: a tricky section on foot towards Jufplaun. After Alpe Trela, push for 30 minutes.

Retreat

Inns in S-charl and directly on the Ofen Pass, summer kiosk on Lago di S. Giacomo, Alpe Trela, Rifugio Alpisella, countless restaurants in Livigno

Stage 2: Livigno - Scuol

• Length: 53.3 kilometres
• Uphill: 1108 metres in altitude
• Downhill: 2591 metres in depth
• Difficulty: medium

Tour description from Livigno to Scuol

Day two starts relaxed with the gondola ride from Livigno to the Carosello 3000 mountain station, which is "only" at an altitude of 2750 metres, but offers a fantastic view of the Ortler and Bernina. On the built trail through Val Federia, you're almost melting with flow. After the obligatory breakfast pit stop at Alpe Federia, today's "executioner" awaits - the legendary Chaschauna Pass (2694 m). If you crank all the way up here, you won't be in the worst shape. On the newly built trail, you surf brilliantly down into the Val Chaschauna and on to S-chanf. From here, the route continues along the Inn valley down to Zernez. The Rhaetian Railway can take you to Ardez (24 min. journey time) where you can go trailsurfing again. The fun descent to the suspension bridge over the Inn is followed by an uphill push. Pass Tarasp Castle and the grand hotels on the way back to Scuol.

Highlights

• Carosello 3000 mountain station
• Pass Chaschauna
• Route along the wild Inn with suspension bridge
• Tarasp Castle

Key points

The ultra-steep ascent from the Valle di Federia up to the Chaschauna pass is unrideable for normal cyclists, but pros will find this a test of endurance at its best. The rest of day two is a long, scenically magnificent "ride out". Shortly before Scuol, the S3 descent down to the Inn and an uphill push section await.

Retreat

The only spot for a second breakfast is Alpe Federia. Down in the Engadin, every village has a restaurant, and in Zernez there's also a small supermarket near the railway station.

More information about the MTB tour around the Swiss National Park

Journey

The best starting and finishing point for bikers from Germany is Scuol, the main town in the Lower Engadine. By car: over the Fernpass to Imst and Landeck. From here, drive uphill along the River Inn across the border in Martina to Scuol. Travelling by train is possible, but complicated (at least two changes from Munich) and time-consuming (at least 5:20 h). Info: bahn.de

Overnight stay

If you're coming from the centre or north of Germany, you don't necessarily want to set off in the middle of the night, but rather arrive the day before in a relaxed manner. Overnight tip in Scuol: Werni Dirren's bike villa and base for Supertrail Rides. But watch out! This 400-year-old Engadine house is so beautiful that you might prefer to stay here rather than go on a two-day tour ... If you can tear yourself away, you can arrive in Livigno on the evening of day one. Here you are spoilt for choice, from a campsite to a five-star superior palace. We spent the night in the small but cosy Hotel Del Bosco (www.hoteldelbosco.it) in Via Teola 160. The only problem: the hotel is another 100 metres above the centre of Livigno.

Bike shops / Tour guide

The well-stocked Scuol bike shop of Engadin Adventures is located directly at the valley station of the Motta-Naluns cable car. Ex-downhiller Andi Mair repairs (almost) everything. You can also hire a bike here. If you have technical problems in Livigno, it's best to go to The Bikestore in Via Domenion 91. If you've fallen in love with Scuol, you should definitely add a few more days and try out one or two alpine trails - local Xaver Frieser from Supertrail Rides knows the best ones.

Lift / Shuttle

The first postbus from Scuol to S-charl departs at 7.35 am. You should definitely catch this bus if you want to keep to the ambitious daily schedule to Livigno! Info: www.postauto.ch Please note: The Carosello 3000 gondola on the second day only runs from 25 June to 18 September. The Rhaetian Railway, on the other hand, runs all year round.

MTB marathon: Around the Swiss National Park 2026

The 25th anniversary edition of the famous marathon classic will take place on the weekend of 28/29 August 2026 in Scuol. Info: bike-marathon.com

The GPS data for the tour

BIKE subscribers can download the GPS data free of charge at bike-magazin.de under "My area".