Vrin: Greina hikes and village culture

Vrin combines alpine routes with a specific cultural destination: the Stiva da morts, or mortuary chapel. To plan your stay, you can first decide whether hiking in the Greina, a snowshoe tour, or local history should be the main focus.

Greina: Plateau and hiking routes

The Greina has been a protected area since 1996. It is a high-alpine plateau that is not used for agriculture. Alpine plants, as well as ibex, marmots, and many other animal species, can be found there. A hiking route into the Greina starts in Vrin and leads via the hamlet of Puzzatsch to Diesrut Pass, at the foot of Péz Ner.

A three-day tour through the Greina to the Lukmanier Pass also starts in Vrin: its first stage leads to Capanna Scaletta. This route features a diverse range of plants; along the way, you may spot marmots and, with a little luck, chamois and ibex. The route to Diesrut Pass and the first stage to Capanna Scaletta therefore lead to different destinations. If you are planning a multi-day tour, Capanna Scaletta is the destination for the first stage.

Plan hiking and winter tours

In summer, Lumnezia offers an extensive network of hiking and biking routes through its natural and cultural landscape. A hiking bus makes it easier to reach the Triel middle station or Alp Sèzner. The Bus alpin runs from Vrin to Puzzatsch/Parvalsauns in Lumnezia and takes passengers directly to starting points for hikes into the Greina. As service may vary by season, check the timetable for your planned travel date before setting off.

The Péz da Vrin snowshoe tour is rated WT3 (difficult). It starts in Vrin and leads across the alpine meadows of Prada to Alp Dado. Winter route conditions can change; take current conditions into account when planning your tour. This tour therefore differs from the Greina hiking trails both in its snowshoe route and in its explicitly stated difficulty rating.

Mortuary chapel and local history

The Stiva da morts, or mortuary chapel, can be visited. The key is in the church, to the left of the entrance. In 2003, Gion A. Caminada designed the mortuary chapel as an architectural response to Vrin’s mourning traditions. Wood from forests near Vrin was used for the building; local craftsmen processed the wood in workshops in the village. mira!cultura offers guided tours of Vrin. Alongside routes through the alpine landscape, local history and architecture are therefore available as separate areas of focus.

Vrin and Lumnezia

Vrin is a mountain farming village with extensive alpine pastures. Lumnezia is the largest side valley of the Surselva and includes Vrin as one of its villages. Thanks to the absence of through traffic, the broad, sunny alpine valley preserves its unspoiled landscape. When comparing route information, note this difference in geographical scope: the extensive summer network of hiking and biking routes is described for Lumnezia, while the Greina routes mentioned here explicitly start in Vrin.

The village’s early history includes its founding by Romans who came from Lumbrein in the High and Late Middle Ages. Vrin was first mentioned in 1208 or 1209 in a letter from Pope Innocent III. The origins of the village and its first written mention are therefore two distinct historical reference points, alongside Vrin’s present-day role as a mountain farming village and starting point for several routes.

Discover more destinations: Laax, Waltensburg, Ladir, Flond, Tujetsch, Cumbels, Igels, Disentis/Mustér

For the regional travel overview: Surselva.