The source of the Jufer Rhine at Juf, the highest situated permanently inhabited settlement in Europe
It rises in Avers at the confluence of the Bergalgabach with the slightly smaller Jufer Rhine. The Jufer Rhine rises in, and is named after, Juf, the highest permanent settlement in Europe, near the border with Albula district. From this confluence, the Avers Rhine descends through a deep gorge, spanned by the 80-metre (260 ft) high Lezi Bridge. When it reaches the valley floor, it meets the slightly smaller Madrish Rhine.
After a few kilometers, it is joined from the left by the Reno di Lei, which flows almost entirely on Italian soil. The Lago di Lei reservoir is also on Italian soil, except for the dam which creates it, which was erected on Swiss territory.
The Avers Rhine continues its way through the Val Ferrera valley, which contains two populated places. The upper village is Innerferrera (Romansh: Calantgil), where the river is dammed, forming the Innerferrera reservoir since 1961. Below Ausserferrera (Romansh: Farera), the glacial valley is flanked by steep rocky slopes. The Avers Rhine then flows into the Hinterrhein in the Rofla Gorge above Andeer.
