From Isone to Tesserete in the Ticino

November 25, 2015 – Wow, it suddenly got cold here! While it’s snowing and raining North of the Alps, there is still some nice weather in our South, but COLD! 

Still it’s wonderful that we can still do some nice “fall” hiking and still get a bit of sun. On Wednesday we traveled 3 hours to Isone, a town in a side valley near Lugano (Ticino) which is the military training center for Switzerland’s mountain infantrymen, the toughest level of military training (Urs also did this training when he was 20, with his love of mountains and all!)

San Lorenzo Church in Isone

Our 12 km hike took us up the hillside, through some chesnut, oak and birch forests, with some great views of the Capriasca Valley and Monte Tamaro.

Just about one year ago we hiked that whole ridge over there from Mario Botta's church structure on the right, to the top of Monte Tamaro, all the way to Monte Lema on the left (5 hours, 15 km).

We stopped for a while to watch a helicopter deliver stone slabs for a new roof on one of the many isolated stone houses up here, many of which have no road access.

At the mid-way point of our hike -- i.e. 2 hours of hiking -- (at "Gola di Lago" = "Throat of the Lake") we stopped for lunch. There was a chilly wind blowing but the view was worth it.  

Along the way in the clearings and meadows there are stone houses, or clusters of them, vacation homes or farmsteads. Always interesting to look at.

We always look for the trail markers, to make sure we're on the right track or to see how far we have to go. If the trail marker was attached to a tree, then this often happens! 

Isone in the Capriasca Valley to Tesserete in the Colla Valley. Between Bellinzona and Lugano. 12 km, 4 hours. 

Heading down into the next valley called Val Colla we come first to the monastery of Santa Maria del Bigorio (founded in 1535), and then shortly after to the super cute village of Bigorio. All the villages around here have twisted alleys and archways and always worth exploring. 

At the Santa Maria del Bigorio with the Pilgrim's walk down to Bigorio (or up from!) 

Village of Bigorio in Ticino, Switzerland

 And always with the cats!

As we walk the last 15 minutes from Bigorio to Tesserete (where we are going to catch the bus back to Lugano) we come right down to the superb old church and colorful cemetery, and in the background some great detail of the mountains called Denti della Vecchia ("Old Ladies' Teeth") which we walked across earlier this spring. 

And finally we arrive by bus to the main train station in Lugano, for our 2.5 hour ride home. This church tower is right across from the station. I love how the late fall setting sun emphasizes the landscape features with the sharp shadow/light contrasts....