On En, Val d'Uina, Pforzheimer Hut and back

Cross-border route from the campsite in Sur En, Graubünden, Switzerland to Lake Pforzheimer in South Tyrol, Italy, many MTB riders on the way. The route leads through the fantastic Val d'Uina and the spectacular Uina Gorge. At Lake Pforzheimer, there is a piece of history. There is an old mountain hut, the Old Pforzheim Hut, now Rassas Hut, which belonged to the German Alpine Club in the Pforzheim Department and was built in the late 1800s. A few years later, the beautiful rocky path of the Uina Gorge was completed, half of which was financed by the same German Alpine Club, while the Swiss region of Upper Engadin took over the other half of the costs. Now the hut was accessible not only from Austria but also from Switzerland, giving a significant boost to visitor numbers. After World War I, South Tyrol was annexed by Italy, and the Germans who had allied with Austria in that war lost their ownership of the mountain hut. It was then operated for a while by the Milan Mountain Club, but interest from Italy was limited. Later, it served as a toll station, as it was located on a frequently used smuggling route. In 1964, the building was destroyed by fire and fell into disrepair. In 2015, the restoration was finally completed, the hut was now converted into a museum and has since been listed among the European alpine structures of historical interest. In 1980, a new mountain hut, the Sesvenna Hut, was built nearby in the now Italian region of Vinschgau. If you are not in a hurry, you can make it a 2-day trip and stay overnight here, but book in advance. The return route is the same, bringing the total distance to 26.4 km.