Stage 3: ViaSpluga

The viaSpluga is a cultural and long-distance hiking trail in the central Alps which has linked the peoples of  the  German,  Romansh,  French  and  Italian-speaking  regions,  as  well  as  the villages  of  Thusisand Chiavenna. The viaSpluga mainly follows historic mule  tracks,  whose  original  structures  have  largelybeen preserved or restored. The viaSpluga stretches for a total distance of about 65 km.  

Stage  3  /  Splügen-Isola:  Today  we  reach  the culmination point of the tour, the Splügen Pass, which stands at an altitude of 2115 metres. It appeared as a mule  track  on  a  Roman  military  map  and was previously called "Colmen d'Orso", which means "Bear Pass".  From the  14th century  onwards, the  Splügen Pass  was  known  as  a  mule  route  from  southern Germany  to  the  Lombardy  lowlands.  Transit traffic across  the  Splügen  Pass  only  declined  sharply following the opening of the Gotthard railway in 1882. Travelling via Montespluga and the Cardinello Gorge, which was long regarded as the most hazardous part of  the  route  (it  is  all  well  developed  nowadays), today's stage ends at the village of Isola.

Today's highlights are, for example, the Marble Bridge along the route of the viaSpluga, the restored historic mule  track  on  the  Splügen  Pass,  the  300  m  long avalanche gallery, which was created in 1843 to make the pass accessible in winter, in defiance of the snow and  ice.  In  former  times,  the  romantic  Cardinello Gorge was the most notorious section of the Splügen route.

The viaSpluga is marked throughout from Thusis to Chiavenna as regional hiking trail No. 50, as well as with brown viaSpluga signposts.

 Stage 3: Splügen–Isola (I): Hike along an Alpine pass on the unique mule track over the Splügen Pass with an exposed descent through the gorge of the Val Cardinello.  Setting off from the mountain pass village of Splügen, the  trail  takes you  through  larch  woods  running alongside the Hüschera Stream and then crosses the large car park. Keeping to a track, follow the stream until you reach the main road at the actual Splügen Pass.  Veer  right  at the Marble Bridge and take  the hiking  trail  close  to  the  Hüschera  Stream  in  the direction  of  Bodmenstafel.  After  the  switchback  (pt. 1845), cross the road and then the stream. The path soon  leads  along  carefully  assembled  cobbles over the Altbäärg and on up to the border. This is definitely the section of the route on which you will experience the  most  pronounced  sense  of  the  old mule  track. When you reach the culmination point (alt. 2115 m),the trail continues straight ahead on the cobbled path and crosses a run of bulky rocks. At the Cantoniera, cross  the  road  and  follow  the  trail  to  Montespluga.The  route  runs  along  the  right-hand  side  of  the reservoir up to the dam wall, of which you walk along the crest. After the dam, follow the signposts  which lead to the mule track through the Cardinello Gorge. The  path,  which  is  cut  into  the  rockface  in  some places, leads  to Isola via  the hamlets of  Soste and Torni.