Guarda (1,653 m) lies way up in the valley, nestled between rolling hills and meadows on the sunny side of the Unterengadin, proffering stunning panorama views over the Engadine mountain world. Where the 190 villagers, the majority of whom still speak Rhaeto-Romance, are pleased to provide a fair number of tourist beds.

The village once lay directly on the road to Engadine, thus absorbing much of the merchant traffic travelling between Innsbruck and Lake Como. However, already since1862 through traffic has been guided over the bottom of the valley, leaving Guarda an oasis of peace. Thanks to this Guarda has maintained its attractive village image, with numerous proud-looking Engadine houses famous for their attractive graffiti murals. In 1975 Guarda was awarded the prestigious Wakker Prize for its tidy appearance and the village centre soon stood under protection. It long counts as a heritage of national importance. Impressive arched doors, small windows just big enough to let the light through, contrasting large bay windows, decorative wrought iron and traditional adornment make practically every house a piece of cultural history worth discovering.

Guarda became famous through the beautifully illustrated book «Schellen-Ursli». The book tells the story of an unhappy boy named Uorsin, who had no bell to be able to take part in the Chalandamarz procession, which took place at the beginning of March every year so that the village children could shy-away any bad winter spirits. He therefore decided to make his way up to his parents alpine to get a bell, forgetting in his haste just how far and dangerous the path over snow-covered meadows and slippery paths was. Exhausted and frightened, he fell asleep in the hut while his parents and relations desperately searched the village for the missing lad. But the very next day, a beaming boy came back to the valley carrying a beautiful bell – and naturally, he was able to take part in the Chalandamarz procession.

In Guarda, as in many other Engadine villages, the ancient tradition is still carried out today. And the family «Via Uorsin» theme path, recalls memories of the touching Schellen Ursli story.

Summer

Nature, hiking and culture fans have plenty to look forward to here. And families with children feel equally at home as bikers, hikers and sport enthusiasts. The Piz Buin (3,312 m and highest point in the community), Silvretta region and Swiss National Park are all close at hand – and those who wish to take a stroll in the healthy mountain air, through woods of larch and meadows carpeted with alpine flowers, find themselves in heaven! A total of 16 hiking paths with hikes varying from 30 minutes to 9 hours begin in Guarda.

Winter

The region is easily explored on well-marked winter hiking paths and snowshoe trails. And further facilities for winter activities include the village ice-rink (for skating or ice-hockey), a children’s ski lift, sledge run and langlauf track at the bottom of the valley, which extends over a length of 70 kilometres to Maloja, but at the same time permits the weary taking the Rhätische Bahn in order to arrive at their intended destination.