Alp Grüm and Sassal Mason: the Bernina railway, the glacier and Lago Bianco

The Bernina railway is a UNESCO site and Alp Grüm is its finest station: reachable only by train, at 2,091 m, hung above Val Poschiavo with the Palü glacier in front of it. From there you walk high, up to Sassal Mason and Lago Bianco, and catch the train again at the other end.

The route

We take the train up from Poschiavo to Alp Grüm (ticket not included). From there the path climbs to the Sassal Mason refuge, slab-roofed, glacier in front, at 2,355 m.

We continue high to Lago Bianco, the milky water sitting on the watershed between the Danube and the Po, then drop to the Ospizio Bernina to pick up the train.

Who it's for

• anyone who wants a glacier, a high lake and the most famous train in the Alps in a single day
• anyone coming by train from Milan who would rather not drive
• anyone who walks at altitude but without technical ground

Good to know

Rhaetian Railway tickets are not included (around CHF 20-30 for the sections we use): we buy them together in the morning. At 2,300 m it can be ten degrees and windy even in August: layers and a shell. Sassal Mason is open June to October. We do not go onto the glacier: we look at it from the path.

You are crossing into Switzerland

A valid ID in your pocket, not in your rucksack: Switzerland is not in the European Union and border checks do happen.

Mountain rescue is charged for: in Switzerland the helicopter is billed to the person who calls it. Guiddy accident insurance is included, but a Rega card (about €40 a year) or a policy covering rescue costs in Switzerland is what we suggest to everyone.

Swiss francs: huts and cable cars almost always take cards, but a few valley huts are still cash only. The European health card is valid in Switzerland for emergency care.

Getting there

By car: the Valtellina road to Tirano, then the Bernina pass to Poschiavo, two and a half hours from Milan's eastern ring road. By train it is even better: Milan to Tirano with Trenord, then the Bernina train to Poschiavo.

By car you need the Swiss motorway vignette (CHF 40, valid for the calendar year) if you use the motorway: you buy it at the border, at petrol stations near the crossing, or online.