The Engadine's pride and joy is the Swiss National Park, easily accessed from Scuol, Zernez and S-chanf. Spanning 172 sq km, Switzerland's only national park is a nature-gone-wild swathe of dolomitic peaks, shimmering glaciers, larch woodlands, pastures, waterfalls and high moors strung with topaz-blue lakes. This was the first national park to be established in the Alps on 1 August 1914 and 100 years later it remains true to its original conservation ethos, with the aim to protect, research and inform.
Given that nature has been left to its own devices for a centenary, the park is a glimpse of the Alps before the dawn of tourism. Some 80km of well-marked hiking trails lead through the park, where, with a little luck and a decent pair of binoculars, ibex, chamois, marmots and golden eagles can be sighted. The Swiss National Park Centre should be your first port of call for information on activities and accommodation. It sells an excellent 1:50,000 park map (Sfr20), which covers 21 different walks through the park.
You can easily head off on your own, but you might get more out of one of the informative guided hikes run by the centre from late June to mid-October. These include wildlife-spotting treks to the Val Trupchun and high-alpine hikes to the Offenpass and Lakes of Macun. Most are in German but many guides speak a little English. Expect to pay around Sfr25 to Sfr35 per person. You should book ahead by calling 081 851 41 41.
Entry to the park and its car parks is free. Conservation is paramount here, so stick to footpaths and respect regulations prohibiting camping, littering, lighting fires, cycling, picking flowers and disturbing the animals.
