Hike along the Swiss-Italian Border on Monte Generoso

Saturday June 22, 2024 -- The nicest weather forecast for this day was in the very south of Canton Ticino, so we did another excursion to the top of Monte Generoso to hike a crest trail we had not done before. 

The soonest we could get to the top was at 10:45 (a three-hour trip from home because we could ride the fast train through the base tunnel on a Saturday morning), but we still had some superb views of the Valais mountains (where the rains and melting snows have caused many rivers to flood, communities cut off from access, and others needing to be evacuated) even though the clouds covered their peaks more and more.

But for most of the day we had sunshine (except along part of the higher altitude trail, when, as usual, a thick cloud caused shadow exactly where we were and nowhere else far and wide!) until just after we boarded our bus at the end of the 4-hour hike in Rovio at 4:30 p.m, after which even here the skies became overcast. On our way home (three hours not counting the bus ride, but it would be an hour less if all the trains could run the base tunnel) by train up the Leventina Valley, the skies became dark, it rained again, and all the rivers and waterfalls were simply gushing with an overabundance of water. 

But we were able to enjoy another satisfactory hike, most of it along the very border line between Switzerland and Italy.  

Heading by train from Lugano to Capolago where we will take the first cogwheel train (10 a.m.) up to the summit of Monte Generoso. In the circle is the crest we walked along this day, and on the right in the circled area you can just make out the "Fiore di Pietra", one of Mario Botta's famous architectural creations and the summit stop of the train up the mountain. 

A look down at the industrial area of southern Switzerland, i.e. Mendrisio. The border with Italy is just past those towns in the center. I am always amazed at how the landscape transitions so suddenly from mountains to totally flat.

The first look at where we will be hiking... view from the train on the way up to the summit. We descended from the right to Arogno, and then walked down the valley to Rovio. That valley is called Valle Mara. The city of Lugano on the lake can be seen just behind Arogno.

Summit station of the Monte Generoso railway. The train ride up the mountain from Capolago (which translates to "head of the lake") takes 40 minutes. 

This is Mario Botta's (a famous Swiss Architect) "Fiore di Pietra" (=Stone Flower, a restaurant and conference center), completed in June 2017. We have been here several times already. 

View down to Valle Mara below, Monte San Salvatore and Lake Lugano behind that. On clear days you can see all the way to the Valais Alps, which were semi-covered in clouds this day. 

View south to the Muggio Valley, another beautiful valley where we have done several hikes as well. The mountain in the center back forms the border with Italy to the south. 

The circular building below is called a Nevera, and is actually a cellar which the mountain farmers used to fill with snow in winter to keep milk and cheese cold over the entire summer. These are unique to this region. It is becoming more difficult to use these with the lack of snow in winter. We did a hike in July 2023 from this summit past several of these hamlets with the cooling houses. (Photos HERE)

This day we did not go up to the regular viewing platform as we've been up there twice before. Instead we walked on the east side of the crest to "Cima della Piancaccia" where we had our picnic lunch and then descended to Arogno. 

We started at 11 a.m. from the summit station of the Monte Generoso railway, walked via Cima della Piancaccia along the Swiss/Italian border, then down to Arogno, where we could have caught a bus out of the Valle Mara. But we weren't tired and it wasn't hot, so we continued along a pleasant paved road out of the valley to catch the 16:26 bus in Rovio, where we had been twice before. In total, a 12-km and four-hour hike with a lot of descent, 1356 meters! 

Starting our hike at 11 a.m. with a view south into the Muggio Valley. 

And this view is all Italy, as we are now walking right along the border (Switzerland directly on the left of this trail.)

Panorama view to the east This is all Italy and the Italian Alps past Lake Como on the left. The crest on the right forms the borderline as well (Switzerland is on the other side of that crest). 

At this point we ended up taking a detour up to a small summit which we thought was an alternate route over the crest. As it turns out, it was part of what they call a "Via Ferrata" where you need helmets and ropes with carabiners to finish the trail. Still, we had a good view from there. 

On our way up to the next summit, a look back at the actual summit of Monte Generoso at 1701 meters. There is a viewing platform up there, fairly easy to access from the station. We didn't go up to that summit this time, but walked along the trail on its eastern base (on the left). 

This is an interesting view for us across an Italian landscape to Lake Como, as we had hiked down to that small farm on the left (called Orimento) in May of 2019 (photos HERE) and from there descended the valley towards the right, back into Switzerland. 

At the summit we discovered that this was part of the Via Ferrata. But I could continue on for a bit over this lovely bridge!

There was a vertical drop with ladders here, and they recommend ropes and carabiners, so we didn't continue here. I headed back, and we descended back to the regular trail below, which we then followed all along that crest to the left.. 

Heading back to Urs along the Via Ferrata Trail. He stayed on the "safe" part to take photos!

Heading back down to the main trail. This is a border stone: Italy on the left, Switzerland on the right. 

Back on the normal trail, we pass the "Via Ferrata" peak on our left. 

More stunning views of Lake Lugano, Monte San Salvatore, and the Valais Alps at the far back. 

And now we look behind us at the rock formation where the trail crossing across the summit requires ladders and cable handholds, and ropes with carabiners! I was up there at that summit from the other side!

Here we are at Cima della Piancaccia, where we plan to have our picnic lunch before starting the very long descent to Arogno. (2 hours 20 minutes according to the sign)

It's noon and we are having our picnic lunch right on the border of Switzerland and Italy!

We stayed on the summit for 20 minutes, mainly watching the young people who are climbing the ladders on the cliffs. They did bring ropes and helmets!

Enjoying a rare beautiful day in the mountains!

Enjoying the panorama view before starting on our descent. In the very center of this photo, surrounded on three sides by Lake Lugano, is Monte San Giorgio, one of Switzerland's 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

Just as we started down along the crest, a single cloud covered the sun and it became quite chilly here!

This cool flower is known as a "round-headed rampion" or "Pride of Sussex" (Latin name is Phyteuma orbiculare). The German name: "Kugelige Teufelskralle" is a much more descriptive name, as it translates to "Round-headed Devil's Claw". 

Now the sun is shining on the crest, when we aren't there any more! We had our lunch break on one of the small peaks on the left. 

The Italian sign posts are quite different from the Swiss ones. From here you can descend to Orimento (in Italy) where we also were on a similar hike in 2019, having descended on the Italian side after reaching Cima della Piancaccia at the time. 

There was a large section of trail overgrown with this weird long grass that kept tripping us up!

This small building (Rifugio Guardie di Confine) was built during the First World War and was subsequently used as accomodation by border control guards who were stationed here to control contraband smuggling. 

We then had a long descent through the forest, on nice soft trails, much better than the otherwise standard rocky trails here in Canton Ticino.

We took an unofficial trail which detoured to this alpine farm called "Alpe di Arogno" and would have taken a snack break here, if there hadn't been people residing here at the moment! History has documented the existence of this "alp" since 1795, but it is assumed that it is much older. Back then the farmers would bring 60 cows and several goats up here in the summer. The accommodations were "modernized" in 1948 and offer 16 beds for groups to rent. 

A magical place in the forest on the way back to the main trail. 

We have seen geology like this before in the Breggia Gorge nearby. There the exposed rock was millions of years old. I wonder if it is the same here? (Photos HERE)

From here we still have over an hour to descend

On the way down we passed a couple of mountain farms, and had the view of this mountain to our north, called Sighignola. This flank is in Switzerland, but the summit and the other side are in Italy. A local once recommended to hike up there on a clear day, the views are stunning. It is something we still plan to do one day. 

Getting closer now to Arogno at the valley bottom. First glimpse of the summit of Monte San Salvatore directly ahead of us. 

Now we've reached the road and need to decide if we will walk into the city of Arogno to catch the bus or continue out of the valley. We decided for the valley walk, as we explored this city quite thoroughly on a hike which we started here in September 2019. 

Close-up view of the beautiful church building in Arogno at the back of Valle Mara. 

Looking down Valle Mara to Monte San Giorgio

Lovely terraced vineyards here. 

Along the way, we passed several residences, old and new. It took us an hour to walk out of the valley to the bus stop in Rovio. 

A look behind us up the Mara Valley to Monte Sighignola. Most of the way out was on this road (a small stretch on the forest road after this) but it was an easy walk compared to the long descent from the mountain!

A close-up view of the "Stone Flower" from the Mara Valley road below. 

We could have ended our hike here at this bus stop before the center of Rovio (we have been here twice before, and this church is always locked), but we had enough time for an additional 10-minute walk around the hillside to the south for a view down to Capolago, and to check if the construction near the 11th Century chapel San Vigilio was completed, so we could look inside (last time it was off-limits)

Unfortunately, the 11th Century San Vigilio was still off-limits, as construction work is still going on. We especially came this way last time when we did a walk from Rovio down to Melano and Capolago in November 2023. 

At least we were able to quickly enjoy this view to Capolago "Head of the Lake" to the south, where we started our excursion with the Monte Generoso train at 10 a.m. this morning. (The train ascends and enters a tunnel in the mountain on the left). On the right is the easternflank of Monte San Giorgio. 

Descending to Rovio we get this great look across the town and up to the crest we walked earlier! That's 1200 meters higher than here! On the left is Monte Sant' Agata, whose summit we ascended in March 2023. 

It's now 16:19 and the bus stops in front of the church at 16:26, so we have to hurry now. As usual, we made it with a few minutes to spare. We didn't go into the church this time, though, as we also explored the church and the town of Rovio at length after descending from Monte Sant'Agata on the March 2023 hike. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. The red line is the Monte Generoso cogwheel railway line. The ride up to the summit takes 40 minutes. Our walk down to Rovio was a 4-hour walk, of which the final hour was a walk out of the Mara Valley from Arogno to Rovio. (We could have ended the walk in Arogno, as that is the end bus stop in the valley). 

We have done a lot of hiking in the region of Monte Generoso, the Muggio Valley, and Monte San Giorgio (bottom right). This region is all along the Italian border, as shown by the thin yellow line. 

Shortly after leaving Rovio and heading north by train, the sky darkened and it began to rain. Here is the entrance to the Mesocco (Misox) Valley near Bellinzona, where just the day before some massive mudslides came down those mountains at the back, burying four people and destroying the main highway from the San Bernardino Pass. This is a huge disaster for the region as the roads are closed now and it will take months to repair, and the summer holidays are just starting, where so many people from northern Europe want to use this route to get to Italy. 

Where Monte Generoso is located in Switzerland, in the very southern part and surrounded on three sides by Italy.