Pizol Five Lakes Trail

The Funfseenwanderung runs about ten kilometres at around two thousand three hundred metres, linking the Wildsee, Schottensee, Schwarzsee, Baschalvasee and Wangsersee - five lakes of different colours in bare rock, each reflecting the surrounding peaks. It takes four to five hours with substantial ascent and descent. The route carries a specific piece of recent history: in September 2019 several hundred people walked up here for a funeral march for the Pizolgletscher, which had lost so much mass that it was removed from Swiss glacier monitoring - a memorial plaque was fixed to the rock, and the event was reported internationally as one of the first ceremonies of its kind.

What you actually see

• Five lakes in bare rock - Wildsee through Wangsersee, each a different colour.
• A glacier's funeral - the 2019 march and the plaque left on the rock.
• Ten kilometres at 2,300 metres - four to five hours with real ascent.
• The Rhine valley below - the view down from the ridge sections.

When to go

Late June to October, once the snow clears. A day.

Honest expectations

It is a proper mountain day, not a stroll - boots, weather gear and an early start. Snow lingers into July at the passes. The lifts close in the evening and out of season. There is little shelter on the route.

Nearby

Bad Ragaz and the Tamina gorge are below; Walensee is west.