This Sunday I went for the first time in my life for a via ferrata. I had an AMAZING time and definitely I am going to repeat such an excursion this summer! Switzerland's alps have more than a hundred via ferratas. Via ferratas are mainly classified in 5-6 difficulty levels. Switzerland mostly uses the Hüsler guidebook that grades the path difficulty from K1 (easy) to K6 (very difficult). Via ferratas date back to the First World War, when the first paths were built mostly in the Dolomite mountain region. Nowadays there exist more that 1000 via ferratas in the European Alps, with the majority being in Italy and Austria.
On Sunday we went to the oldest via ferrata in Switzerland that dates back to 1739, and has existed in its current form since 1907. Klettersteig Pinut is graded as easy(K1) and if you have never tried a via ferrata before I definitely recommend to start with this one, as it is recommended also for children and families. Since via ferratas are also dangerous the two tips that I would give to beginners are:
Klettersteig Pinut is located in the Canton of the Grisons, in a wonderful region to visit for plenty outdoor activities. The whole activity took us approximately 7 hours including 3-4 stops for a total 1-1.5 hours. We hiked in total a distance of about 8km hike, we climbed 480m of via ferrata climbing in 3 segments with some small hikes in between, and in total we ascended 841m.
We did a circular path starting from Fidaz village (1216m), reaching the Flimserstein plateau (2057m) of Alp Flimserstein, where we had a beverage refreshment in the hut up there (it is self-catering and you can pay with cash or Twint), then we passed by the Servetsch-Pinut, he hiked for about 2 hours down to Bargis, and from there we descended the path back to Fidaz. You can find some similar routes here and here.
Below you can also see my activity as it was tracked on map.