Alp Grüm: 2 lake gems hidden in the mountains
First glimpse of Lago Palü from the Alp Grüm station
The journey begins at the pinnacle of the glorious Bernina line, adorned with majestic crowns of mountains and crystal blue and aquamarine lake gems.
Crossing the zig-zag of track tracks down to the first lake
The trail starts at the Alp Grüm stop, right before the train descends the mountain towards the Mediterranean valleys of Italy. First, the trail leads across the zigzag of train tracks down the mountain towards the turquoise lake, Lago Palü.
View of the train tracks from Lago Palü
We did this hike around Halloween, so the lake was already freezing over with intricate, glowing pine needle designs interlaced in the emerald ice. The patterns reminded me of the sky in a Starry Night.
Pine-needle designs embellishing the frozen lake
After gazing at the post-impressionistic lake, we began our ascent towards our goal, Lagh da Caralin. The trail started off through the iconic golden larches, dozens of frozen waterfalls dangled in the distance.
View from the forest towards the second lake
As we continued, the delicate strings of diamond ice-falls not only lured us forward but also graced the edges of our trail. Large crystal ice-gems were entangled in streams of fresh glacier water.
Crystallizing waterfall near the path
Next was the most challenging part, we crossed a field of rocks where we had to search for the trail markings painted on one of the hundreds of rocks that jagged out before us. We were motivated to cross quickly by the anticipation of the second lake and the formation of clouds overhead that warned of an arriving snow storm. The view was incredible, so we lingered for a couple moments to breathe in the scene that displayed our entire journey from the golden larches to the emerald lake to the rail crossings and beyond.
View from the rock field down onto Lago Palü
Soon we arrived at the lake that we had been dreaming of the whole time. Lagh da Caralin proved to be even more exquisite than we had imagined. It was an absolute fairy tale. The dainty traces of crystalized water gracing the steep rock faces led down to the mystical, ice blue lake. At this point, the lake was almost entirely frozen with thin edges of ice laced against the rocks. We took some time to enjoy a little picnic before returning down the path with snowflakes lightly encircling us. By the time we reached the station, the snow was in full swing. It was the most magical way to welcome the winter season.
The frozen Lagh da Caralin
Start/end station: Alp Grüm
Alp Grün Lake Tour GPX file: Alp Grüm Lake Tour
Map of tour with elevation profile
