Juf

Juf sits at 2,126 metres at the head of the Avers valley, and it is generally cited as the highest village in Europe with year-round inhabitants - about twenty people. It was settled around 1292 by Walser families, German-speaking migrants who took up high, marginal ground across the Alps under agreements that gave them personal freedom in exchange for holding land nobody else wanted, and the German spoken here still marks the valley off from Romansh-speaking neighbours below. Nothing grows at this height, so the economy was and is cattle. The road ends at the hamlet; beyond it are passes on foot toward the Bregaglia and Italy. Winters are long, and the road is ploughed rather than closed.

What you actually see

• Europe's highest year-round village - about twenty residents at 2,126 metres.
• A Walser settlement of the 1290s - German-speaking migrants on marginal ground.
• The end of the road - passes onward only on foot.
• Cattle country above the treeline - nothing else will grow.

When to go

June to September for walking; the road stays open in winter. Half a day.

Honest expectations

There is essentially nothing here - a few houses, one guesthouse and pasture. The drive up the Averstal is long and narrow. Weather is severe and can turn in any month. This is a place to see, not a destination with facilities.

Nearby

Avers valley runs back down to Andeer; the Splugen road is west.