Lai da Palpuogna

The Palpuognasee lies at about eighteen hundred metres just below the Albula Pass, a shallow lake of a few hectares ringed by larch and stone pine with the pass road above it and the Rhaetian Railway's Albula line - a World Heritage route - climbing the valley below. It is small enough to walk round in twenty minutes, and its reputation comes from a 2007 Swiss television vote in which viewers chose it as the most beautiful place in the country, a result that surprised people who expected a famous peak. The colour shifts from green to deep blue with light and depth, and the reflection of larches in late September, when they turn gold, is the image most often reproduced.

What you actually see

• Larch and stone pine round the shore - gold in the last week of September.
• A twenty-minute circuit - the lake is genuinely small.
• The Albula railway below - the World Heritage line climbing to Preda.
• A television vote in 2007 - viewers picked it over every famous peak.

When to go

Late June to October; late September for the larches. Two hours.

Honest expectations

The pass road closes for winter, so access is seasonal. Parking is small and fills quickly in autumn, when the larch colour draws crowds to a very small lake. Swimming is possible but the water is cold. There are no facilities.

Nearby

Bergun and the Albula line are below; the Engadin is over the pass.