Spluga Pass (from "spelunca" meaning grotto) is situated at a central
point of the Alps at an altitude of 2,113 meters and is the panoramic meeting-point
between the Lepontine Alps to the West and the Retiche Alps to the East. This
special position of the Spluga Valley (also known as San Giacomo [St. James]
Valley), which starts here and extends towards the South, has made it historically
important as a commercial and cultural hub between its two naturally bordering
areas: the long, narrow Lario Valley towards the South, and the Rhine Valley
to the North. The Chiavenna plain to the South is the lowest (330 m.) and closest
point to the entire Alpine mountain range divide, while to the North we find
the Rhine plateau stretching all the way to Thusis (600 m.) in the Grigioni
area, 43 kilometers from Chiavenna. Nowadays, a north-south link is guaranteed
by Lake Como's State Highway 36 that starts in Milan and ends 148 kilometers
away on the Italian-Swiss border.
Spluga Valley's mountainous terrain, located at the northern-most point of the
Lombard region, is similar to its near neighbor, the Valtellina area, in that
it is the result of an impressive geographical phenomenon: in an extremely slow
process, the terrain was formed when great rocks pushed up from the bottom of
an ancient ocean known as the "Tetide". The valley is crossed by a
torrent called the Liro, a tributary of the Mera and Adda Rivers, and is surrounded
by two chains of mountains that divide it from the Moesa hydrographic basins
with the Ticino River towards the West and the Lei Rhine River to the East.
This latter river joins up with the Hinterrhein Rhine that runs north from Spluga
Pass. Arriving from a northerly direction, the traveler reaches the summit of
the pass and then descends to the enchanting and quaint Montespluga village
at an altitude of 1,908 meters. The large surrounding glacial hollow still serves
as a fertile summer grazing area for herds of cows and horses and is graced
by a picturesque artificial lake created in 1931. Framing this hollow are some
of the principle peaks of the Valley: Pizzo Tambò (3,279 m.). Pizzo Ferrè
(3,103 m.), Pizzo Suretta (3,,027 m.) and Pizzo Emet (3,208 m.). At the foot
of these mountain peaks lies a chain of beautiful glacial lakes, further adding
to the particular charm of the views visible from the summits.
