Tamina Gorge

The Tamina Gorge, the Taminaschlucht, is a narrow rock cleft in the mountains above Bad Ragaz, cut by the Tamina River as it drops from the heights of the Pfäfers valley toward the Rhine. It is a place where geology and spa history meet. The walls of the gorge rise to around seventy metres on either side and in places are so close that you can almost touch both sides, with the river roaring below and little daylight reaching the bottom. At the end of the gorge, the hot spring rises from the rock, and it has been used for bathing for nearly a thousand years.

The legend of the spring’s discovery goes back to the 11th century, when hunters or monks of the nearby Pfäfers Abbey are said to have found warm water bubbling from the rock at the bottom of the gorge. For centuries patients with joint and skin conditions were lowered on ropes into the dark cleft to bathe in the spring, in a cramped bathing hall, which was one of the earliest spa experiences in the Alps. The physician Paracelsus visited in the 16th century and wrote about the effects of the water. In the early 18th century a larger bath building, the Altes Bad Pfäfers, the Old Bad, was built at the end of the gorge, and later a pipeline was laid to carry the warm water down to Bad Ragaz, where the modern spa town developed from the 1840s.

Today a walkway leads visitors through the gorge. The path starts near the former bath, runs through the narrowest sections on boardwalks attached to the cliff above the water and ends at the spring, where the water emerges at around 36 degrees. The sound of the river echoes off the rock, and mist rises from the pool. At the lower end, the Old Bad building houses a small museum about the history of the spa and a restaurant. The path is wet in places and has steps, so wear sturdy shoes, and it is not suitable for prams. The gorge is open mainly in the warmer months, and it may close in bad weather or when the water level is high, so check before you go.

There are several ways to reach it. The usual approach is a walk from Bad Ragaz along a car-free road and path, which takes around an hour or more, and a bus or shuttle may serve part of the route. Pfäfers Abbey, a Benedictine monastery high above the valley, adds to the area’s interest and can be reached by road. The modern spa complex in Bad Ragaz, covered under the Grand Resort entry, shows how the same water is used today.

The gorge suits walkers, families with older children, geology fans and visitors interested in spa history. Allow two to three hours for the walk, the gorge and the museum.