Weekend at the Back of the Maggia Valley. Day 1: the Hidden Val Calnègia

Saturday and Sunday August 17-18: The Maggia Valley in Canton Ticino is a magnificent, magical and very long valley stretching from near Locarno on Lake Maggiore northwards to the Gotthard Region in the Alps (covers 1/5th of the terrain in Ticino) . There are myriads of side valleys and side valleys of side valleys to discover, with their crystal rivers and old old stone villages, and not easily done in a day trip.

A few years ago we spent three days in this area, discovering some of these side valleys. On one excursion we walked down the entire length of the Bavona Valley and came upon a magnificent waterfall in Foroglio, which appeared to have access to a hidden valley above. On another excursion to the remote town of Fusio we looked right into another side valley, the Peccia Valley which looked accessible. So with an opportunity for a two-day trip, we decided to discover these side valleys at the very North of the Maggia Valley.

We spent one night in Cevio, at a B&B Agritourism accommodation add-on to a sheep barn, complete with monster spiders in the shower (well that happens on a farm, says Urs), but the location near the bus stop and the town of Bignasco was ideal for our excursions into the Bavona Valley and the Lavizzara.

DAY1: Valley Calnègia, Side Valley of Bavona Valley, Side Valley of the Maggia Valley

(photos of Day 2 are HERE)

Before heading into the Bavona Valley on the single bus we could connect to in the morning, we came to Bignasco an hour early to walk through this apparently very old town (documented first time in 1230) and to view the waterfalls nearby, and then we had a fine Macchiato and Tiramisu at the local restaurant before joining the rest of the hikers who came up on the next bus, an hour ride from Locarno in the South.

Bignasco is called the gateway to the Lavizzara, which is the valley on the right (where we are headed on DAY 2). The valley on the left is the Bavona Valley, where we are headed today.

On the East side of the Maggia River is the old town part of Bignasco, which we had a look at while waiting for the Bavona Valley Bus. One house says 1559 on it, which I imagine is the year it was built.

We saw signs for the waterfall, so headed that way. Love the gate, not holding a lot in or out....

Beautiful waterfall and waterhole for swimming, but this would have been too early in the morning!

The church in Bignasco is on a triangle of land at the confluence of the Bavona and Maggia Rivers, the gateway to both the Lavizzara and the Bavona Valley (in the back) which is where we are headed thsi day

And time for a Macchiato coffee and Tiramisu before catching the bus into the Bavona Valley (because we were here earlier than the next set of people coming from Locarno, we had better seats on the bus)

Bignasco is at the junction of the two valleys that we are discovering this weekend. Our accommodation was in Cevio, not too far off

The waterfall in Foroglio... it was actually not that difficult to walk up to the clearing above the waterfall. Took only about 20 minutes. Unfortunately the clouds moved in as we started on our excursion here.

Another pretty village in Canton Ticino: Foroglio

Most of the way up to the top of the waterfall was over stone steps like this, an easy ascent of about 20 minutes.

Fantastic view of the Foroglio Waterfall and the Bavona Valley looking eastward

These kind of features make an ascent much more fun!

No danger here, everything well-secured. A beautiful landscape as well

It only took us about 20 minutes to get to this clearing at the top of the waterfall.

Old stone bridge across the river Calnègia. From here it was a 40-minute uphill walk through the forest parallel to the river. Not much to see but at least the sound of the water is nice. Trail was full of rocks, so you had to watch your feet...

We took a detour from the main trail to a little cluster of houses called Gerra. Main feature here were the massive boulders which at one time broke off the vertical cliffs of this valley

We found this ideal place for our picnic lunch, an intricately created stable for goats built into the heap of boulders, including cellar partitions (in the center) for which they carved a gutter out of the rock to prevent rainwater from seeping into the cellar.

Fascinating place for our picnic lunch, on top of a mega-boulder

A few little stone houses in the little summer pasture called "Gerra"

This is the final set of houses in the valley, Calneggia. This valley used to be used for summer pastures, and the farmers lived in these houses. Some of them are vacation homes now.

We decided to go a bit further up into the back of the valley, before the really steep ascent started. There were many waterfalls back here

This is the back of the valley before a steep ascent to some lakes up higher (another 3 hours 30 minutes!) Shortly past this bridge, we headed back down again.

Heading back down to Calneggia, and after that back out of the Calnègia Valley to Foroglio in the Bavona Valley

The waters here, like in most of these Ticino valleys, is crystal clear and turquoise. We were planning on the 4 p.m. bus (second-to-last out of the valley) so there was no time for a dip

Back at Gerra. Between Calnègia and Gerra the river disappears underground and re-emerges about a kilometer down the valley, but we had no sight of where that took place (on either side)

The bridge to Gerra, although unnecessary as the river has disappeared unterground here.

The rest of the way to the first alpine pasture above the waterfall is all the way through the wild forest again

Back in Puntid. The sun FINALLY came out and we debated skipping the 4 p.m. bus for the last one at 5:20 to enjoy the sunshine up here. BUT then it would have been late for dinner and a shower back down in the valley

Heading back down to Foroglio.

Heading back down to Foroglio. We had to hurry our descent because of the bus.

Made it back to Foroglio with 3 minutes to spare, although the bus was late

This hike took close to 4 hours because of the rocky terrain. You have to watch your step better, and that simply takes longer. I was quite tired because we took almost no breaks on the way back.

We got back to Cevio at about 5 p.m. and still had plenty of daylight to walk around this quaint picture-book town, then drop off our stuff at our room (with the spiders) and go for dinner at a nearby "Grotto" which is an outdoor restaurant with granite tables, and a kitchen area built right into the boulders, just the way the stables were... it was a good evening.