KuzarelSwiss National Park guide
Val Trupchun valley floor in the Swiss National Park with steep forested slopes and a red deer grazing in the distance
Val Trupchun · best red deer viewing, late Aug–Oct
Est. 1914 · the oldest national park in the Alps

One park, one rule, and everything else follows from it.

The Swiss National Park is the only national park Switzerland has — 170 km² in the Engadine that's been left almost entirely unmanaged since 1914 to see what happens when people stay off the ground. The result is one real rule (stay on the marked path) and a stricter set of exceptions than most visitors expect. This guide covers what's actually allowed, the three trails worth the trip, and the sgraffito villages ringing the park.

  • Size170 km²
  • Founded1914
  • Ibex in the park~300
  • Overnight huts inside the park1
Check what's allowed See the trails
Start here

Four things worth knowing before you drive to Zernez.

Red deer stag among trees in Val Trupchun during the autumn rut
Wildlife

The rut in Val Trupchun is the single best wildlife show in the Alps.

Late August through October, red deer stags roar and spar across the valley floor within easy binocular range of the trail — no telephoto lens or dawn stakeout required, just the right two months.

Read the wildlife guide →
The one rule

Off the path, everything else is a "no."

Dogs, drones, bikes, tents, swimming, fires, foraging — all prohibited, no leashed-dog or single-flower exceptions. Ten common questions, answered straight.

Open the rules checker →
Engadine house facade in Guarda decorated with scratched sgraffito plasterwork
Villages

Sgraffito started as scratched plaster in the 1600s — Guarda still wears it.

Guarda escaped the fires that erased most old Engadine villages, so its scratched-plaster house fronts are close to what a 17th-century visitor would have seen.

Walk Guarda →
Season

Mid-May to mid-November, full stop.

The park is closed over winter — no trails open before the snow clears the passes.

Plan a trip →
Is that allowed?

Answer before you pack it.

The Swiss National Park's rules are stricter and more specific than a normal Alpine reserve. Pick something below and get a straight answer, not a guess.

    Three real routes

    Every trail in the park is a there-and-back on foot — here's which one fits your day.

    Wide gentle valley trail through Val Trupchun with open meadow and forest edge
    Easy · half day

    Val Trupchun

    Gentle, family-friendly, and the park's best wildlife odds — chamois, ibex, marmots, and the autumn deer rut.

    Trail details →
    Hiking trail descending toward the Cluozza gorge with the Chamanna Cluozza hut visible below
    Strenuous · full day or overnight

    Chamanna Cluozza

    The park's one classic overnight route, dropping into the Cluozza gorge to the only hut inside the boundary.

    Trail details →
    High alpine pass trail above Il Fuorn with rocky terrain and distant peaks
    Strenuous · full day

    Il Fuorn to the Margunet

    A steep climb from the Ofen Pass road to 2,339 m — the park's real high-alpine outing, no overnight option.

    Trail details →
    Where to sleep

    Beds around the Park

    1,000 hotels from the Hotelbeds catalogue: 83 in the Engadine, where the park's gateway villages are, and the rest across Switzerland. There are no hotels inside the Swiss National Park itself, so a stay means Zernez, Scuol, S-chanf or the villages up the valley. Search a name or village, open the filters for stars and facilities, and book directly with the hotel; we show no prices.

    1,000 hotels across Switzerland

    18 of 1000 shown

    Descriptions and photos come from the Hotelbeds catalogue and are in English. Kuzarel is an information guide, not a booking site: it shows no live prices or availability. Check rates, tourist tax and cancellation terms directly with the hotel.