Swiss National Park

The Swiss National Park is the only national park in Switzerland, and it is the oldest in the Alps and in central Europe. It lies in the Engadine valley in the canton of Graubünden, in eastern Switzerland near the Italian border.

It was founded in 1914 and now covers about 170 square kilometres. It is a strict nature reserve, the highest protection level of the IUCN, and it is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Nature is left to itself here: visitors must stay on the marked trails, dogs are not allowed, and nobody may sleep outside the one mountain hut.

How the park began

In the early 1900s many Swiss landscapes had been changed by farming, and in 1904 Swiss politician Fritz Bühlmann and others called for a nature reserve. A committee chose the area around the Fuorn Pass because it was remote and rich in plants and animals. In 1909 supporters leased the Val Cluozza from the village of Zernez for 25 years, and the park was created on 1 August 1914.

Rules and wildlife

The park has more than 80 kilometres of marked hiking paths. The only mountain hut where you may sleep is the Chamanna Cluozza. The highest peak, Piz Quattervals, is 3,165 metres high. Visitors often see and hear alpine marmots, and the park is home to ibex, red deer, chamois, red foxes and golden eagles. Wolves and brown bears are sometimes seen, but they no longer live in the park all year. The visitor centre is in Zernez.

On the globe

The model shows an Alpine valley protected as wilderness. Look for the mountains and the marked trail.