Lake Sils

About this place

Lake Sils is a lake in the Upper Engadine valley in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland, named after the village of Sils and lying between the Maloja Pass and Lake Silvaplana, about 11 km southwest of St. Moritz in a straight line. It lies at 1,797 metres, overlooked by mountains over 3,000 metres such as Piz Corvatsch. At 4.1 square kilometres it is the largest lake in the Engadine and the largest natural lake in the Alps above 1,000 metres. It was formed by a natural dam from a prehistoric landslide. Blue and turquoise water stretches between towering grey mountains with snowy tops, dotted with small pine-covered islands and fringed by green meadows. The wooded Chastè peninsula reaches into the lake at its northeastern end, and in autumn the larches turn gold. Visitors walk the paths around the lake and on the Chastè peninsula, cycle, and boats cross it in summer. The surface freezes in winter, the high valley is often sunny, and it makes an easy trip from St. Moritz.