Overnight at the very back of the Onsernone Valley near Spruga

(Note: This post published on November 20, 2025.  At the time, I lost all my photos, and these are the only ones I could rescue from the Facebook post I made at the time). 

Friday August 9, 2013 - When it rains in the North part of Switzerland, it is usually sunny South of the Alps, so we took the train on Friday a.m. to Locarno, boarded an Alpine Bus, and headed to Vergeletto (over 300 curves in a narrow mountain road). From there it was a cable car to near the summit (Alpe Salei), and from there we hiked down approx. one hour to the small mountain village of Piansecco, where we stayed the night in a stone cabin (owned by friends’ of Urs). The view down the valley was stupendous. Nearby in a small hamlet was a lady who provided meals, so we walked there for supper. 

The next day we hiked another hour down to the village of Spruga, and from there to the river which forms to border to Italy. This is the very end of the road as well, and there are popular roman baths here, which we had a look at. To avoid walking the same small piece of road twice, we did a small stretch of trail on the Italian side of the border, as a loop around the baths. Over the two days, it was a 10-kilometer hike. 

First stop: Alpe Salei, for something to drink. Behind me is the Onsernone Valley, we are heading that way!

View East to Lago Maggiore

This is the little cabin where we spent the night. It even had a shower!

Still suffering from jetlag, I had a bit of nap here!

The view is all the way down the Onsernone Valley. 

This type of architecture is called Rustico. This was the little hamlet where we walked to (Mondada), to have something to eat at a little restaurant run out of a family home. 

From Mondada you look down at the roofs of another little hamlet called Al Fenéi. 

This is the terrace where we ate our dinner, looking toward Italy. 

Looking East from the Cabin

There are many ruins like these up here on these steep hills. Apparently the stones from these ruins are used to build other houses. 

This is the road at the very end of the Onsernone Valley, past Spluga, and near the Italian border. On the second day, we down the mountain and then to the Roman Baths at the border, and then back again to Spluga to catch the bus back home. 

This is approximately the trail we hiked on the two days. Day1 was from the top of the Alpe Salei cable-car to Pian Secco (with a detour to Mondada for dinner), and on the second day down to Spruga, then along the road to the Roman Baths at the border, and back to Spruga.