"Via del Mercato" Trail from Verdasio to Intragna (Centovalli)

Wednesday Sept.30, 2020 -- Last hike of the month, lovely weather in Canton Tessin, loads of people there. We decided on a trip to the Centovalli again for a change, to walk along the hillside between Verdasio (one of our favourite villages) and Intragna. A good choice, as we only met a handful of people along the way.

The village of Verdasio lies about 160m above the railway line, but closer to the station called "Palagnedra" than the one with its own name. As the train first stopped in Verdasio Station, the train pretty well emptied as dozens of people apparently came to ride the two cable cars which are the main reason the train stops here. Both of these were options as we were deciding on what to hike for the day, so good thing we decided on an option without cable car!

The hike was mostly through forest, pretty level, winding along cliffs and over streams. This used to be the old market trail for villagers in the Centovalli to bring their goods out of the steep valley to markets in Intragna or Locarno. We descended to Corcapolo as we'd never been there, then crossed the Melezza River on a suspension bridge, and continued along the South side of the valley to the magnificent Ponte Roma (originally built in 1578) and on to Intragna. 

We had planned to be home by 19:30, but there was a train breakdown between Locarno and Bellinzona, on the only stretch where hundreds of "Northerners" like us trickling in by bus and train from all the many side valleys have to travel on to get home after this magnificent day.... As one train after another was cancelled because they couldn't get the stuck train out of the way, more and more people gathered, causing one bottle-neck after another, and we finally got home at 22:30 after three hours delay. Kind of took the magic away from the day. Looking at pictures brings back the better feelings....

Additional Note: Three days later the region was hit by a storm, and experienced quite a lot of flooding, so our timing for a trip there was good!

Even though there is a train stop called "Verdasio", the train station at "Palagnedra" is closer to the Village of Verdasio, where we started our hike.

We found a new "unofficial" trail heading up from the main road to Verdasio, which passed through several properties like this one.

Another lovely property we passed on our 40-minute ascent to Verdasio

Arriving on the outskirts of Verdasio: That crane is a permanent fixture, as there are buildings being renovated. It was here already in 2017, our most recent visit to Verdasio.

Village church in Verdasio

One of our favourite view points near the church cemetery

A look westward down the Centovalli. The villages on the right are all near the Italian border. The mountains in the back are in Italy.

A zoomed view of the village of Costa, high on the hill above Comedo, which is the last Swiss town before crossing the border into Italy. We have walked up to the village before.

This lovely restaurant next to the church is unfortunately closed, as they are looking for a new owner.

Rediscovering Verdasio. This is my third time here.

Verdasio in the Centovalli

Starting on our hike along the old market trail. First section was slightly uphill, then fairly level after that.

There is so much thick forest here in the Centovalli

A few old bridges to cross

Passing under one of the Verdasio Cable Car lines. This is the one that goes up to Monte di Comino, on this side of the valley. The other cable car goes to Rasa on the South side, you can see the stripped forest across the valley

An easy trail with lots of interesting sections

Walking along Trail no. 631: "La via del Mercato". One hour from Verdasio (after 40 minutes to get there), and next stop is Corcapolo, another hour from here.

Looking down at a hamlet called "Slögna". A great spot!

At one point we had a view way down to the railway line. As the train was just passing, I zoomed in on it... The railway line was way further than it looks!

A few sections along cliffs

A pretty cool looking fungus!!

Old stone bridge, streams and water pools to discover

Arriving at the outskirts of Corcapolo, with the typical dry-stone houses

Heading through the narrow alleys of Corcapolo

We're making our way to the church, as there are usually benches there for a coffee break, sometimes even a view

After our break, our descent to the suspension bridge to cross the Melezza River, to the South side of the valley

Now we're on the South side, looking westward at the hillside we just walked along

It took us about 30 minutes to walk from Palagnedra station to Verdasio, two hours more to Corcapolo, and after crossing the River, another 90 minutes to Intragna. So about four hours total.

A cute little hidden spot along the trail, next to a feeder stream. This place is called Remagliasco.

A Roman bridge, but a small one. 

This is the main Roman Bridge near Intragna, the "Ponte Romano", originally built in 1578 (the oldest existing bridge of its kind in the region). It has become quite a tourist attraction for people driving into the Centovalli. 

The Ponte Romano over the Melezza River is HUGE (26m high and 36m long) and required an actual "uphill climb" to get to the center

We crossed back to the North side of the valley again over the Ponte Romano. It was quite a "slog" to get back up to the main road.

Intragna, with the highest church tower in Canton Ticino.

Coming into Intragna over another Roman Bridge.

We've been to Intragna many times, but this old community washing trough is a new discovery for us.

Intragna's church has the tallest tower in Canton Ticino.

Our 4-hour, 11-km hike from Palagnedra station to Intragna, on Google Earth map

Heading back out of the Centovalli by train toward Locarno. Looking back at Intragna as we cross the Isorno River, which meets the Melezza here as it flows out of the Onsernone Valley.

As there was no chance to get out of Locarno for at least an hour, we spent some time down at the lake, Lago Maggiore

Locarno has a very pretty lake promenade, and it is always nice to spend time here. In retrospect, we should have gone to dinner; instead, we spent extra time stuck in trains and train stations, getting home with a 3-hour delay

This is an area where we have done lots of hiking! Our hikes have taken us through Verdasio three times (Urs a fourth) and through Intragna at least four times. 

As a side note: These are the people who got off the train at Verdasio, to ride the tiny cable-car to Rasa. The queue extends far to the left, plus about 8 more inside the building!

From Arni (Amsteg) to Erstfeld high above the Reuss Valley

Saturday Sept.19 -- Even our best-laid plans cannot be followed through if the public transit breaks down! Due to a technical problem on the railway line which we needed for heading to the eastern part of the country -- where the weather was the most likely to remain steadily nice for the day -- we had too much of a delay to catch the single bus connection into a remote valley near Landquart, which we had planned on discovering. 

Going East any later meant most of the day would be gone, so we took a risk and headed into the Reuss Valley again, because we don't have to travel far.  There is a trail there high above the valley, that we have long planned to hike, discovered on a map after we did a hike on the opposite side of the valley some time ago, looking over at that mountain and wondering: Can we walk there?

In August 2019 we did a fabulous hike on the other side of the valley, and wondered if there was a trail over there, connecting the two alpine pastures: Vorder Arni on the left, Riedberg on the right.

Hiking on the other side of the Reuss Valley, Aug.2019. It turns out there is a trail, which we always intended to walk. That's what we chose for our Plan B.

Even though there was fog on the Arni Alp as we headed up there with the four-person cable car from Amsteg, we had high hopes that the sky would clear, as the sky was still blue to North of us, in the direction we were walking. But in the mountains, this changes quickly. Within 30 minutes we had full overcast skies, and the trail, which ended up being way more challenging (steep, overgrown, very narrow) took much longer to navigate than expected. The effort would have been so much more rewarding if we would have had the view of the magnificent mountains in this area! A real shame, as we probably won't do this difficult stretch a second time.

At least the rain held off (none in the forecast) until we had completed the difficult part. But there was no opportunity for lounging at the Riedberg Alp, and the long descent to Erstfeld we did mostly in the rain. Good thing I always have the plastic cape in my backpack!

Crossing the Reuss River just North of Amsteg to get to the cable car station. The "fog" here might have been an indication that the weather wasn't getting better!

Or maybe the thicker fog up at the Arni Alp where we are headed might have been a reason to turn back? But we had high hopes of it evaporating

The little 4-person cable car used to be an insider tip. It is tucked away from major thoroughfares. Yet on this Saturday there were quite a few people ahead of us and we had to wait 30 minutes for our turn.

Heading up above the Reuss River, it's not looking too bad to the North (The other side with the clearings is where we walked in 2019)

At the summit station at Hinter Arni, the fog seems to be clearing. The times given on the trail markers for Riedberg and Erstfeld are for if the trail was flat and cleared. It took us 2 hours to get to Riedberg, because of the difficult trail. 

A view of the Hinter Arni Alp. We have been here a dozen times, often with guests. Urs' extended family lives in this region, and his Dad grew up nearby. Usually, we walk South from here, to a small lake called Arnisee.

On the map and trail markers, this trail maps out at 3 hours 20, but it takes about 4 hours to do. (In 2019 we walked along the other hillside, starting at Schwändli in the North and descending at Frentschenberg)

Some cute farmhouses in Vorder Arni

At this point, the weather is looking pretty promising!

On the way to the view bench for our picnic lunch, this rather long and not poisonous snake was lounging on the trail! I saw it this time!

The "view bench". From here you should get a fantastic look North down the Reuss Valley! As it turns out, it was very windy and cold. 

The first stretch was quite an adventure, steep uphill but with secure handholds.

At some places we had the help of a rope to get up.

More rope work.

Steep uphill on a narrow trail along the cliffs

A peek through the trees and a close-up look at Vorder Arni where we had our picnic lunch.

I have to say I did enjoy the first section, quite an adventure

Such a shame that the air was hazy and the sky overcast. This view into the steep valley should have been magnificent.

This was the difficult stretch. A very narrow, overgrown trail on the steep slope.

Picking our way along the overgrown trail.

Then there was a steep and wet downhill section which we had to descend carefully.

If I had known the trail was this steep, I might not have attempted this crossing. At least it didn't rain while we passed along this stretch.

A look back to Vorder Arni where we started on this difficult trail high above the Reuss Valley!

Finally we got to Riedberg Alp, safe and sound. What a beautiful mushroom! It was about 30 cm tall. 

A look up along the Riedberg Alp (we came from the left side at the height of the upper cabins). This is where the rain started.....We had actually planned a coffee break with a view!

We rushed down through the forest from Riedberg Alp, and ran into these guys. Sheep can be scary if they look like they are going to attack you! And what is up with that evil-looking llama!

Posing in my rain gear. We actually waited 20 minutes in the forest here, in the hopes the rain would stop. I used the cape as a tent, and had a coffee break beneath it.

No sign of the rain letting up, so we continued down the hill in the rain. Lucky for us, the rest of the way to Erstfeld below was a wide forest road and not steep, so no issues walking in the rain.

A wide easy road zigzagging down the hill to Erstfeld

A burst of sunshine on the city of Erstfeld, as we near the valley bottom.

View South up the Reuss Valley

The glacier-fed river coming down the Erstfeld Valley joins the Reuss River at Erstfeld. I love how the two flows are different colors (white from the glacier water), and it continues like this for a while

Jagdmatt Chapel South of Erstfeld. I haven't visited this one yet. 

Our hike depicted on Google Earth maps

Another of our favourite areas to hike because we can get here quickly: Reuss Valley with the side valleys called Maderanertal, Erstfeldertal, Schächental, and Brunnital

This is what it looks like on a nice day, crossing the Reuss River into the main part of Erstfeld. On the left you can see the whiter glacier water from the Valley to the West, as it flows together with the rest of the Reuss water toward the North.