Hike Report – ‘Senda Lais da Macun’ (SM 756-M)

Short Description

‘Senda Lais da Macun’, or “Macun lakes trail”, in Graubünden, Switzerland, is a demanding day hike route that leads – as per the name – to the Macun lake plateau, 2600 meters above sea level. (The highest point of the route being around 2940 m).

The Macun plateau is the only enclave of the Swiss national Park of Graubünden. Apart from its over 20 small alpine lakes, it is also home to a colony of capricorns.

The Schweizmobil route does not include the round tour of the lakes, weirdly, while mine does.

I’ve also inverted the suggested direction, mainly because the last Train back to Lavin leaves 45 minutes later than the last train back to Zernez and I wanted to give us as much leeway as possible. Also, I figured it would be easier to find free parking in the much less touristic village of Lavin than in Zernez. I was right.

Notes

• Please do not leave the marked area in the Macun plateau to give the animals their space.
• Careful at the highest point of the route. There is a left turn that is easily missed, as it looks like the trail continues straight (which would be a mistake.)

Impressions

Our route starts in the charming small village of Lavin at the river Inn, which we soon cross to begin our ascent to the Macun Plateau, first through pine forests, then bleak but beautiful, typically rugged alpine landscape of Graubünden.

A full week’s worth of cardio later, we’d reached the famed Macun plateau, and the lakes – the Lais da Macun – did not disappoint.

From the clear, blue Lai dal Dragun, which is supposedly home to a small dragon, to the cloudy green, fish shaped Lai da la Mezza Glüna, to the turquoise Lai Sura and all the small lakes around and inbetween, there’s a huge variety of uniquely beautiful mountain lakes to behold. And all of that against the backdrop of the Graubünden Alps, including the Silvretta range. A magical place to be.

We took as much time to bask in the fantastic atmosphere as we dared (because we preferred to arrive at Zernez before dark), then made our way up to Fuorcletta da Barcli for the final leg up to 2940 meters above sea level (9645.669 feet).

Having averted disaster by noticing the left turn at the top late but better late than never, we made our descent to Zernez, arriving just after sunset with very tired feet but a head full of beautiful new memories.

This was one of our longest hikes to date. Factoring in the terrain and altitude, as well as the intensity, it was probably the hardest. In terms of sheer length (of both time required and distance including altitude meters traveled) though, ‘Appenzeller Alpenweg’ still holds the crown with a calculated 42 “Leistungskilometer” (“Performance Kilometers”).

Would you like to share your own experiences with this hike? Do you have any questions? Something to add? Feel free to leave a comment below 🙂

Route Report / Gallery

Full size images without watermarks are available for licensing to interested parties. Check romans.pictures for a selection of my favorites, or contact me for details.

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