Ruinaulta, the Rhine Gorge

After the last ice age a mountainside above Flims collapsed into the valley, one of the largest rockslides known in the Alps, and the young Rhine has been cutting through the debris ever since. The result is a stretch of about a dozen kilometres between Ilanz and Reichenau where pale cliffs and pinnacles stand over a braided river, with pine growing out of the rubble. The Romansh name Ruinaulta means high ruin. No road runs along the bottom; the railway line goes through instead, stopping at halts used mainly by walkers and rafters, and the clearest views are from platforms built out over the edge above Conn and from the Versam side.

What you actually see

• The viewing platform above Conn - a deck projecting out over the cliffs.
• The braided river - pale gravel banks shifting between the white walls.
• The railway through the gorge - trains on a ledge above the water, with tiny halts.
• Rafting and canoe trips - the usual way to see the bottom of it in summer.

When to go

May to October, when the paths are clear and rafting operates. The river runs high and grey with meltwater in early summer and clears through autumn. Morning light suits the viewpoints on the Flims side, afternoon those opposite. Late October adds larch colour above the white rock, and the paths are quieter then.

Honest expectations

The gorge is best from above, and the walk down to the river and back up is a real climb with little shade in places. Trains through it are ordinary service trains with normal windows rather than a panorama ride. Some viewpoints have short but steep approaches, and the main platform above Conn is crowded on summer afternoons.

Nearby

Flims and Laax on the plateau above, with Chur and the Domleschg valley downstream.