Taminaschlucht

Useful Information

photography — Bad Pfäfers. Public Domain.

Location:	Bad Pfäfers, near Bad Ragaz. A13 Zürich-Chur, exit Bad Ragaz Nord, towards center, turn left to train station. From train station or center of Bad Ragaz take public bus to Bad Pfäfers. Walking from Bad Ragaz 1 h, from Valens (steep) 20 min, from Pfäfers 50 min, from Ragol 1 h.
Open:	Gorge: MAY to AUG daily 10-17:15. SEP to OCT daily 10-16:15. Bus: MAY to mid-OCT daily in 10:35-16:35 hourly, out: 10:55-16:55 hourly. Rössliposcht: APR to OCT daily after appointment. [2026]
Fee:	Gorge: Adults CHF 5. Guided Tour: Adults CHF 25, Children (6-15) CHF 15, Children (0-5) 5. Bus: Adults CHF 11, Children CHF 6. Groups (10+): Adults CHF 8. Rössliposcht: Carriage (8 Persons) CHF 380. [2026]
Classification:	Gorge
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, D=45 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Bernhard Anderes (1999): Führer zum Alten Bad Pfäfers, Drucki-Papeterie, Sarganserstrasse 9, 8887 Mels, ISBN-Nr. 3-907926-22-6.
Address:	Taminaschlucht, Altes Bad Pfäfers, Edi Reber & Andrea Eder, 7310 Bad Ragaz, Tel: +41-81-302-7161. E-mail: Bus: Busbetrieb Gessinger, Bad Ragaz, Tel: +41-81-3022385. Rössliposcht: C. Kurath, Bad Ragaz, Tel: +41-81-3023175.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

740	abbey Pfäfers founded.
~1240	hot springs discovered.
~1350	first spa in the gorge erected by the monks.
1382	oldest written account.
1535	Theophrastus Paracelcus (*1493-✝1541), famous doctor, natural scientist and philosopher, becomes first medical doctor of the spa.
1704	Abbot Bonifaz I. Tschupp hires the Tirolian Andreas Menzenkopf to build a new bath.
1718	Abbot Bonifaz II. zur Gilgen inaugurates the bath.
1838	bath owned by the Kanton St. Gallen.
1969	bath closed.
1983	start of restauration.
1987	tunnel to the spring grotto built.
1995	restauration completed, bath is now culture center.

Description

Taminaschlucht is the gorge of the Tamina river, a tributary of the Oberrhein. Bad Ragaz is built on the alluvial fan of the Tamina, before it flows into the Rhein. The famous spa is based on a healing spring, which is located in the Tamina Gorge, about 4 km from the village. To develop this spring for medical use, a bath was built in the Middle Ages, called Bad Pfäfers. At this time people had to walk into the gorge, or were lowered into the gorge in a basket on a rope. From Pfäfers above Bad Pfäfers its 150 m height difference.

The Rhine valley is wide, has a flat floor made of river sediments, and rather steep walls. The side valley of the Tamina river also has steep walls, but at the beginning it is not really a gorge, but after 4 km it narrows. Here is the location of the historic spa Bad Pfäfers, the end of the road and the start of the narrow slot canyon, which is about 600 m long. The trail ends here and visitors have to go back, but actually here the valley starts to widen again. 2 km upstream the valley is wide again and the location of the village Tamina. As it was not possible to build a road through the narrow slot canyon, the road was built above, where a sort of ledge or plateau even allowed peoplke to settle. There are several villages and hamlets like Pfäfers and Valens. Actually there is a road on both sides, and both go down to the valley floor above the narrow section.

Today there is a 4 km road into the gorge to Bad Pfäfers and the entrance of the Taminaschlucht, the most narrow part of the valley. But the city center of Bad Ragaz is for pedestrians only, and this road into the gorge too, even bicycles are not allowed. There are three ways to get to the gorge: walk almost an hour, take the public bus or hire a horse carriage called Rössliposcht. The horse carriage once had a daily tour where individuals could just enter and pay for a single person, but this was unfortunately discontinued. You have to book a carriage in advance and pay for the whole carriage, which only works for small groups. The public bus starts at the train station (parking lot), stops at the post office and the spa, and goes in and out once an hour from 9 to 18. From the old spa, which is now a cultural center, you enter the gorge with its 500 m long path. You can visit the gorge self-guided and with a guided tour which must be booked online.

The Tamina gorge is really narrow, before it was a valley with steep walls, but now it is a 100 m deep, irregular shaped crack in the rock. About 10 m apart, the two walls are almost parallel, but not vertical. The whole gorge is toppled about 15 °. The path is constructed along the eastern side, and the western side is hanging over the path. At the end of the 500 m long gorge is a tunnel, constructed in 1987, which leads to the grotto of the thermal spring. A small spring on the side produces 36.6 °C warm water, but the main spring is collected and used for the spas in Bad Ragaz.