Calanda (hut) Challenge

This challenging mountain bike tour starts in the heart of Chur city. The Calanda mountain is situated on the sunny side of the Rhine valley, therefore the tour is possible already in springtime (in summertime early start recommend). At first, follow the national cycling route no. 2 (Rhine route) northwards until you reach the village of Haldenstein. Cross the Rhine river and drive into the village, in direction of the castle. In the village centre, the mountain road branches off to the right side. Now get ready for a long ascent of total 1'500 meters in height. On the way up you pass by several alps as Arella, Funtanolja, Neusäss, Altsäss until you finally reach the Calanda hut.

The hut is feasted during the summer months, so you can have a drink and a meal there. If you really want a challenge, then you can climb up (by foot) to the peak of the Haldensteiner Calanda (730 meters in height and appr. 1 ½ hours from the hut). To have enough time and being able to enjoy the scenery, an overnight in the Calanda hut is absolutely recommended then.

For the descent, take the singletrail right from the hut. Later, you will follow the ascent road for a short track, before a narrow and technical trail branches off to the left at Alp Neusäss, that leads to the Vazer Alp. After a descent on the alp road, at point 1515 another trail branches off to the right side and will take you to the beautiful settlement of Batänja. From there follow the forest road until you pass by the ruin of Lichtenstein. Shortly later for the last piece of the descent, another trail on the left side will take you back down to the village of Haldenstein.

The ascent route is signposted as "Dave Kilshaw's Calanda Challenge", a free, interactive outdoor sports adventure. You'll find 6 signposts along the way, which contain a Scan-Point. If you master the more than 20 km, and 1,500 vertical meters along the well-kept forest road up to the Calanda hut, and can scan the respective points with the swissrent-App you can earn 20 «mountainmiles» per scan, which can be redeemed for rental with swissrent. The first Scan-Point signpost is right in the middle of the city center (Alexanderplatz, in front of the City Shop Chur).

• Swissrent App