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Chamanna Georgy – sleeping at 3175m on Piz Languard

07 August 2020

If we had to pick our favorite hut in Switzerland, Chamanna Georgy would be it. Located in the southeasternmost part of Switzerland, it is the highest hut in the Engadin region - at 3175m a.s.l. and only 80m in altitude below the peak of Piz Languard. After having stayed at the hut in 2015, we decided to return this year, at the beginning of July.

In short:

  • Where: Engadin, region in the canton of Graubünden in southeasternmost Switzerland
  • When: beginning of July
  • Accommodation: Chamanna Georgy
  • Budget: CHF 84.00 per person for a bed in the dormitory, dinner and breakfast are included in the price

The amazing thing is that from the hut, the top of Piz Languard can be reached within a short 10-15 minutes walk. Piz Languard offers an incredible 360° panorama, with views on Piz Bernina, the Morteratsch Glacier, the Val Prüna, the Italian alps, and numerous mountain lakes.

Moreover, there is a good chance of spotting Alpine Ibex. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any this time, but they often pass by the hut. Below, you find some pictures from our last Piz Languard hike in 2015.

There are various ways to hike up Piz Languard. We would recommend to either take the Muottas-Muragl cable car or the chair lift from Pontesina to Alp Languard. As we came from Bern the same day, we went to Pontresina, took the chair lift and started our hike from Alp Languard. From there, it is a roughly 3 hours hike up to the Chamanna Georgy and the peak of Piz Languard. The path is relatively flat at the beginning and gets steeper towards the end. The views are impressive all along. The higher you climb, the better you see the Morteratsch glacier on the other side of the Bernina valley. The last few hundred meters up to the hut can be exhausting but the view from the top is definitely worth the effort!

This year the weather was rainy when we arrived at the Chamanna Georgy hut and hence, we did not have a sunset that evening (we have included few pictures from the one in 2015 above). The good thing was that we had more time to spend with the hut guards Celine and Simon. It was interesting to learn about their daily challenges. We were impressed by how well they where already taking care of everything, despite being there only for a few weeks. The dinner (wild garlic pesto with pasta and Tiramisu as dessert) was delicious! After a glas of wine, we went to bed so that we could get up early the next morning.

Our alarm clock rang at 5am. We stood up and climbed to the top of Piz Languard. The views that morning were magnificent.

After enjoying the sunrise, we went back down to the hut, where Simon had prepared breakfast for us. At 8am two municipal workers, who were improving the hiking trails, got flown up to the hut. Look at the pictures below, how cool is Chamanna Georgy’s helipad? It looks like an eagle aerie.

Strengthened from the breakfast, we left the hut and started our way to La Punt-Chamues-ch (~25km, 6h), passing the Segantini hut (with the Swiss toilet), then Fuorcla Muragl, along Val Prüna, down to the village. It was beautiful (and away from the touristy paths from Fuorcla Muragl on) but rather long… One alternative that we can recommend (as we did it in 2015) is to go down direction Diavolezza.

The different options are summarized below:


Route - Option 1: Cable car Muottas Muragl – Segantini hut – Ibex path - Chamanna Georgy / Piz Languard – Fuorcla Pischa - Train station Bernina Diavolezza

  • Length: approximately 17km
  • Altitude difference: about 900m up and 1200m down
  • Hiking time: roughly 4 hours from Muottas Muragl to Piz Languard and about 2-2.5 hours from Piz Languard to Bernina Diavolezza
  • Budget: CHF 25.00 per person for the Muottas Muragl cable car (one way)

Route - Option 2: Chair lift to Alp Languard – Chamanna Georgy / Piz Languard – Fuorcla Pischa - Train station Bernina Diavolezza

  • Length: approximately 12km
  • Altitude difference: about 900m up and 1200m down
  • Hiking time: roughly 3 hours from Alp Languard to Piz Languard and about 2-2.5 hours from Piz Languard to Bernina Diavolezza
  • Budget: CHF 16.50 per person for the Alp Languard chair lift (one way)

Route - Option 3 (our choice for this time): Chair lift to Alp Languard - Chamanna Georgy / Piz Languard - Segantini hut - Lej Muragl - Fuorcla Muragl - Alp Prüna - Serlas - La Punt-Chamues-ch

  • Length: approximately 28km
  • Altitude difference: about 1300m up and 1500m down
  • Hiking time: roughly 3 hours from Alp Languard to Piz Languard and about 6-7 hours from Piz Languard to La Punt-Chamues-ch

How to get there:
By public transport: Take an intercity train to Zurich, where you change to another intercity train to Chur. In Chur, you need to catch a regional train in direction St. Moritz. In Samedan, change to a train for Pontresina. Depending from where you start your hike, you need to get off in Punt Muragl (option 1, stop on request) or in Pontresina (options 2 and 3). If you descend to Bernina Diavolezza (options 2 and 3), you can catch a train back to Pontresina or St. Moritz. In case you choose option 3, you end up in La Punt-Chamues-ch. From there, you can first take a train to Samedan. Then, from Samedan there are trains in all directions (Pontresina, St. Moritz, Chur).

By car: There are various car parks in Pontresina. We recommend leaving the car there. If you plan to start your hike from Muottas Muragl (option 1), you can take a regional train from Pontresina to Punt Muragl. On how to get back to Pontresina, please refer to the public transport section above.


Where to stay:

We highly recommend spending one night at Chamanna Georgy. Please check out their webpage for availabilities and further information.