Connecting Munich to Lake Como on foot means crossing multiple faces of the Alps: Bavaria, Tyrol, Engadin, then Italian shores. This account follows the route experienced by our team, with its stages, its valley changes, and the details that make you want to continue on. It does not replace the trek’s technical information sheet, but it lets you feel the rhythm of this crossing before making a decision.
Munich and the first Bavarian reliefs
Sunday morning in early August, a feverish activity reigns at Munich’s main train station (Hauptbahnhof) where many vacationers cross paths. To them are added, increasingly more, Munich men and women of all ages wearing their traditional costumes. A vague “folkloric” impression of the Bavarian capital, yet the wearing of “Lederhose”, “Dirndl” and other “Gamsbarthut” is completely deliberate.
Cradle of the Wittelsbach dynasty dating back to the end of the 12th century, of which Louis II is the most illustrious figure, Bavaria’s capital deserves a visit before the trek. With the Bavarian baroque and rococo style of its many churches, its famous city hall square in Flemish gothic style, blends with Italian influence the architecture of some monuments notably around Odeonsplatz. Add to this many museums…
Munich, home of BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke) and Siemens, also cultivates a tradition where the very lively tradition of beer, pretzel, and Weisswurst is joyfully and noisily shared in breweries, stuben, and other Biergarden!!
Traditional sign in Munich © Raymond Chabanier
A short train journey and here we are at Pfronten, a stone’s throw from Austria at the foot of Falkenstein: a mountain that proudly towers above us at 400 m high where the ruin of a medieval castle stands. It was on this site that Louis II of Bavaria had decided to build his 4nd castle: a choice that proved fatal to him and led to his deposition by Munich’s Parliament. His uncle Luitpold took the regency of the kingdom until the First World War. A hint of “family coup d’état” that would make one smile if one did not know the tragic and sad ending by drowning of the monarch in Lake Starnberg, not far from Munich…
Ruins of Falkenstein © Pixabay
Now we are facing two weeks of sustained hiking through some of the most majestic Alpine landscapes. On the menu, a few emblematic regions: Bavaria in Germany, Tyrol and Vorarlberg in Austria, Engadin in Switzerland, and the Valmalenco valley in Italy, flanked against the southern slopes of the Bernina massif. The program ends with crossing Lake Como, at the foot of the mountains.
An exhilarating sensation knowing that we will traverse the Alpine arc from north to south for two weeks. A fine effort well rewarded by the beauty of the route.
Allgäu, Bavaria © Raymond Chabanier
From Allgäu to Tyrol
For 4 days we first play hopscotch between Germany and Austria exploring this part of the northern limestone Alps, where cows peacefully ruminate in abundant high pastures where you get the opportunity to taste different Bergkäse.
High pasture in Allgäu, Bavaria © Raymond Chabanier
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A true wall rising above the Bavarian plain, the Allgäu and Tyrol Alps offer vast horizons from their summits, as well as cosy valleys such as Tannheim and Holzgau in Austria: typical Tyrolean villages where hospitality and friendly good humour are the order of the day. This convivial atmosphere will stay with us throughout our journey.
Typical Tyrolean village © Pixabay
From Holzgau, and for the next four days until we reach Switzerland, we keep heading south, south-west through Austrian regions little known to the French: the Lech Alps, named after the river of the same name that flows through Holzgau, the Verwall massif between Sankt Anton and Silvretta, and the Montafon region in Vorarlberg.
This gives us the chance to make a short stop in the chic and well-known ski resort of Sankt Anton before entering the central Alps through the rugged Verwall massif, where the Patteriol reaches 3120m in altitude. Its pointed summit sometimes earns it the nickname of the local Matterhorn.
We pass right at its foot on the south side, over a pass at 2 633 m, the Wannenjöchl. The atmosphere is guaranteed: slender peaks, rocky chaos left by old moraines, a few snowfields to cross, the Fasul glacier on the south side, brightly coloured alpine flowers, ibex and a pretty glacial lake below the pass.
Verwall massif, Sankt Anton © Raymond Chabanier
A lovely spot for a picnic, as long as the clouds and cold don’t interfere… It is at Sankt Galenkirch, at the gateway to Switzerland, that we leave this wild Verwall massif.
The Engadine and the Bernina massif
We now move into the second week.
To reach the small town of Klosters in Switzerland, between the Silvretta massif and the Rätikon, we follow a scenic former trade route between Italy and Austria via Switzerland, along the path known as the Via Valtellina.
Klosters, close to Davos, is our starting station: we take the train to Pontresina in the Engadine, before reaching our inn nestled at 2000m in altitude at the head of the Val Rosegg.
Klosters station, Switzerland © Raymond Chabanier
We are then in the heart of a glacial valley closed off to the south by a wide cirque covered in glaciers, where a few peaks rise as high as 3500m. To the east stands the Piz Rosegg, a beautiful white pyramid at 3937m in altitude, next to the Piz Bernina, which peaks at 4049m. We are “in the shadow” of the easternmost 4000 in the Alps.
Val Rosegg, Switzerland © Raymond Chabanier
The Engadine, in the canton of Graubünden, is home to part of the small linguistic community that speaks Romansh, a blend of Latin and Germanic languages spoken by around 70000 people. This language is a cousin of Ladin, spoken in the heart of the Dolomites. Romansh is one of Switzerland’s 4 official languages, alongside French, German and Italian.
The next day, after reaching the mineral world of Furcla Surleij Pass at 2755m, a unique vantage point overlooking the Bernina massif, we descend towards the great lakes of Silvaplana and Maloja spread out in a verdant and majestic setting and surrounded by high peaks. A brief stop at the charming village of Sils Maria with traditional Engadine architecture, ideally situated between the two lakes. Nietzsche spent several summers here as a guest, and his house is now a museum. “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” was written here.
Maloja, south of the lake at 1800m altitude, was the last place where painter Giovanni Segantini lived, greatly inspired by the beauty of the mountains and local life.
For geography enthusiasts, it is above the village of Maloja that the River Inn has its source at the outlet of a small mountain lake, Lake Lunghin at 2495m altitude. The Inn first cascades down to Lake Maloja, crosses the great glacial lakes to St Moritz, then plunges down the Engadine (upper valley of the Inn in Romansh) to flow into Austria and into the famous city of Innsbruck (bridge over the Inn in German) and finally ends its course after 517 km in the equally famous Danube at Passau, an elegant German town near Czechia.
Lake Maloja © Raymond Chabanier
From Valmalenco to Lake Como
We have only to cross the last border to reach Italy. This is done at Passo Muretto (2562m) after a good effort of 3 hours on an ancient path linking Valmalenco and the Engadine. An austere, mineral and at the same time luminous place that rewards the fatigue of muscles called upon for about ten days.
Hikers at Passo Muretto © Raymond Chabanier
As we descend, the superb and enclosed Valmalenco opens before us. A preserved valley, at a dead end, which comes up against the Bernina massif. Gone are the all-wood chalets, here are stone houses with slate roofs, architecture often associated with the southern Alps.
The warm welcome from Fanoni at Tartaglione refuge, good Italian cuisine … the terrace with a view of the north face and Disgrazia glacier (3678m), the emblematic peak of the region, stimulate us for a fine and solid hike the next day. It is an opportunity to explore this sector with its turbulent geology and to savour one last time this immensity of peaks and blue sky.
Disgrazia Valmalenco © Raymond Chabanier
Friday, at the end of our journey and after a short hike to the village of Chiareggio, our transfer to Como begins via Sondrio in Valtellina. Valtellina, a wide agricultural valley between Lake Como to the west and the Adamello-Brenta massif to the east, is renowned for its beef, Bresaola, as well as its vineyards.
Colico, Lombardy © Raymond Chabanier
Then 35 minutes by train from Sondrio and here we are at Colico at the north end of Lake Como. Riviera atmosphere…quite a contrast!!
Finally 2 hours 30 minutes by boat navigating the splendid Lario (the name of the lake given by locals) nestled in the midst of mountains while the shores hold numerous palaces, villas surrounded by idyllic properties, villages that rival each other in charm. One last bend and Como appears, set against the last reliefs before the great Po Plain.
Lake Como © Raymond Chabanier
Final evening and morning to visit and stroll through Como’s city centre with Italian architecture that captivates us so: duomo, abbey church, piazzas, loggia… As an anecdote, a certain Alessandro Volta was born in Como in 1745. This physicist invented the voltaic pile which later became the electric battery…
For the rest, let’s enjoy the laid-back, southern atmosphere of the city and indulge in espresso, pasta, pizza, gelato…
The mountain is behind us. But what a fabulous journey!
Did you enjoy this article? Discover our walking journey from Munich to Lake Como or our famous trek from Munich to Venice.
Text and photo credits: © Raymond Chabanier, Grand Angle guide.
Article written by
Raymond Chabanier
Mountain leader and pilot!
Eclectic! You'll find him from Salzburg to Verona, Madeira, the Vaucluse and Switzerland! He's a geographer, an aeroplane pilot, a curious person and a gourmet. Read more
