Hike from Alpe di Neggia to the Remote Village of Indemini

(Post done on December 14, 2021)

Last Day of Three-Day trip to Ticino: Indemini

Tuesday May 17, 2016 – For a long time we had wanted to go to the secluded village of Indemini, which you could say is “at the end of the world”, tucked into a steep valley between Monte Lema and Monte Gambarogno near a pass that goes from Switzerland into Italy. There are only four buses per day that travel the 20-km zigzag road (motorcycle heaven!) from Lago Maggiore near Locarno to the little village, which is the final bus stop on the stretch. In fact, just South of Indemini, the road crosses the border and continues down the Veddasca Valley and back down to Lago Maggiore on the Italian side. Indemini is actually at the back of the Veddasca Valley, and is the only Swiss community in that valley.

We were never able to get to Indemini on a day trip, because there is no connection to the bus early enough for us, so since we spent three days in the area, this was a good opportunity for us to finally make the trip to this, one of the remotest and most inaccessible villages in Canton Ticino. (We spent the night in a hostel in Losone near Intragna)

The bus ride from Vira on Lago Maggiore to Indemini takes over an hour, but we got out at Alpe di Neggia, which is the highest point of the trip (over 1400m higher than the lake level) and the pass before the descent toward the Italian side. From the pass we walked along the southern flank of Monte Gambarogno to Indemini, then took the bus back again. 

The village of Indemini consists of seven tiers of houses on the steep hillside, facing the morning sun. Most of the homes are narrow, 5-storey homes, built entirely of locally quarried stone. Until 1917 there was no paved road accessing the remote village. Until then, the inhabitants mostly earned their living smuggling goods across the border. The village incline is so steep that it was really hard work walking up and down the alleys.

From the lakeshore at Locarno, this is a look across the lake to Monte Gambarogno. The bus winds its way up the mountain on the left, toward the "pass" at Alpe di Neggia, where we started our hike along the southern flank of Monte Gambarogno

From San Nazzaro, the road winds for about 20 kilometers and over an hour, over the pass at Alpe di Neggia to Indemini. (End of the line for the bus on the Swiss side, but the road continues down the Veddasca Valley into Italy). Until about 1920, there was no paved road access to the village of Indemini

On the bus ride up the North side of Monte Gambarogno, this is a look at the sunny hillside of Cimetta, with all the suburbs of Locarno

Also on the bus ride up, a look into the popular Verzasca Valley and the renowned Verzasca Dam

We arrived at the pass at Alpe di Neggia at about 9:30 a.m. and admired the fantastic view North down onto Lago Maggiore and the Verzasca Valley. We also stopped to have a cup of coffee at the restaurant here, before starting on our hike. 

The 5-km hike along the South side of Monte Gambarogno was not a long one for us, although challenging enough. Our main goal was to inspect the village of Indemini and have lunch there. 

There were some interesting sections along the trail, where cable hand-holds were necessary

A view of the Mt.Tamaro/Mt.Lema range to the East and South, and the road that continues down to Indemini (This is still in Switzerland). We hiked across that ridge in 2014

An interesting trail

(It looks like Urs is carrying a shopping bag! I believe I had picked up some new hiking shoes while we were on this trip)

Before our descent to Indemini (bottom left), this fabulous view is across the Italian border, down the Veddasca Valley all the way to Lago Maggiore (which is mostly located in Italy anyway)

The first house you reach when you descend into the village of Indemini!

This 5-km hike took us less than two hours to do. We arrived in Indemini before noon, and decided to walk around the village before having lunch in the only restaurant (mainly because there were too many people there at the time). 

Narrow and steep alleyways in the village of Indemini

Some very old houses here. The village, being so remote, has not suffered from a lot of modern construction. 

A view of Indemini from the Northern arm of the village

A  nice time of year with all the wisteria in bloom!

Heading down to the bottom of the village. We'll have to go uphill again to get to the main road and the restaurant!

Parish church of St. Bartholomew at the very South end of the village. Everything else behind that is Italy. 

Returning to the restaurant for our lunch. Ossobuco was on the menu, and we were really looking forward to it!

We had to settle for pasta. We learned something new this day: Restaurants like these cook only a certain amount of the daily special, and when it's gone, it's gone! We should have started with lunch, and done the village tour afterwards! But the pasta was good too....

Heading back toward Alpe di Neggia by bus, on our way back down the mountain. 

One last look at the Maggia Delta across the lake, before we get down to lake level. It's a long way home, so we wanted to get a relatively early start!

From a previous hike which we did in 2014 from Monte Tamaro to Monte Lema, this view is to the West, down toward the village of Indemini. The red line is approximately what we walked .

Location of Indemini near Lago Maggiore and the border to Italy

NOTE: Photos of DAY 1 and DAY 2 of our three-day trip can be viewed HERE and HERE