River rafting on the Inn

A rapid is coming up. Jagged rocks rise menacingly from the water, and we’re headed straight for them. Suddenly our raft starts spinning, bumps into a rock, and lurches sideways through the churning foam. Toby laughs. The experienced rafting guide is totally in control. He’s just playing with the current and clearly enjoying it.

It’s my first time rafting on the Inn – this mighty Alpine river fed by countless glaciers as it winds its way through the Engadin and Tyrol. More than 300 glaciers are said to still nourish its flow. The milky turquoise color the Inn is so famous for comes from the glacial meltwater and the fine sediments it carries. It’s no wonder the river is often called «the green river from the Alps.»

Toby heads for the next rapid. The boat is compressed and starts to lean. Are we about to tip over into the cold Inn? Just like in the photos I saw at the raft base. No way! Toby, who’s paddled this route hundreds of times, assures me we’re nowhere near the limit.

While the Inn is relatively flat and leisurely in the upper Engadin, it turns into a wild mountain river in the Lower Engadin. The gradient is suddenly steeper and the water has carved several gorges into the landscape here, where the Inn can rush down the valley untamed. A natural jewel and Eldorado for whitewater sports enthusiasts.

«Kayakers from all over the world come here to paddle through the famous Giarsun Gorge», says George Hein. He is the managing director of «Engadin Adventure» and therefore Toby's boss. The company has been organising river rafting tours on the Inn for 25 years. George is also the narrator on the short videos.

We are not in the wild Giarsun Gorge, but further down on the gentler Scuol section of the river, where the gradient eases off again. To my surprise, Toby takes a rapid backwards, of course he laughs and points to a magnificent mountain. «Look, this view reminds me of Canada».

«En» is the Romansh word for the Inn. Add the word «Giardina» [Garden] and dropp the R, you get the name of the famous high valley: Engiadina – the garden of the Inn.

By now, I'm really starting to enjoy the ride and I even have time to look around. Spruce and larch trees grow close to the riverbank, so I can see squirrels leaping from branch to branch. Then a heron appears, flying over the water in front of us, looking for prey. Truly a beautiful garden in this Engadin, and full of life.

An ambush: the second boat waits behind a rock and splashes us as we pass. We cheer and return the same with our paddles. Then the venerable Scuol Palace appears on the left: a magnificent building from the Belle Époque, once known as Kurhaus Tarasp. In the 19th century, kings and czars travelled here to drink mineral water and bathe in it.

Over 20 mineral springs bubble up from underground around Scuol, many of them close to the River Inn. The reason for this phenomenon is the geological peculiarity that very old rocks come to the surface here, which are usually covered.

The three most famous mineral springs – Bonifacius, Emerita and Lucius – were contained in the «Büvetta Tarasp» drinking hall. This elongated building now appears on the right-hand side of the river. I’m in awe as we drift past this relic of early spa tourism. Sadly, for safety reasons, the spring hall is no longer open to the public.

«Break!» shouts Toby. What break? He steers the boat to the left, lets himself drift in the eddies and we've already docked on the bank. A good raft guide can stop his boat practically anywhere in the river, he says with a shrug. A few steps further up is the Büvetta Sfondraz. There are delicious snacks and drinks, and if you like, you can sample the mineral spring that rises here. The water tastes like iron, but it is said to be healthy.

Back in our now-familiar rubberised coaster. The trickier passages are behind us, time to enjoy. Toby points to a striking line on the steep bank. «In spring, the water has risen up there. The river is constantly changing, gravel banks appear and disappear.»

The water level fluctuates due to natural influences such as heavy rainfall or snowmelt, but the Inn is also a regulated river. The Engadin hydropower plants channel and pump a large proportion of the outflowing water through pressure tunnels and into the Livigno reservoir. As a result, the Inn in the Lower Engadin only carries a residual amount of water.

Electricity has been produced in this way since 1970. In the 1980s, the first river rafters discovered the Inn and travelled down the Scuol route to Martina. The Giarsun Gorge was not yet navigable at that time, as the Inn carried significantly more water than it does today. However, with the construction of a second power station stage in 1993, the flow rate was reduced – and suddenly river rafting was possible in the Giarsun Gorge. This added another highlight to whitewater sports in the Engadin.

Our tour is slowly coming to an end. We pass Scuol, recognisable by the church of San Geer, proudly perched on a rock. Another iconic image that remains in my memory. Finally, we reach Pradella, where the Inn is dammed and only flows slowly.

Half of the crew jump into the water, enjoy floating and swim ashore. We have to leave the Inn at this point. It is not possible to continue due to the lock of the nearby power station. However, you can go round it and get back into the river further down. For now, I'm glad to feel solid ground beneath my feet again. Thank you Toby and crew for this unique experience.

Text: Franco Furger
Pictures: Dominik Täuber