Short Walk in Simplon Valley, and a Bus-Train trip through Italy's Valley Vigezzo to Locarno

Friday November 1, 2024 -- This day (All Saints' Day) is a high holiday for the Catholics, so all shops and stores (including grocery stores) were closed in the Catholic Cantons, including Canton Wallis (Valais) where we had spent a night in the city of Brig, after a fabulous hike in the Lötschen Valley nearby on the day before (those photos are HERE). The reason we spent the night here is because Urs has long wanted to take the bus over the Simplon Pass through the Gondo Gorge and across the border into Italy, ending in the city of Domodossola, and from there to home via Valle Vigezzo and back into Switzerland via Centovalli. Since this was a very long trip in itself, it made more sense to start here instead of directly from home.

The day was beautiful and I at least wanted to do a small bit of walking, so after a buffet breakfast at the hotel, we took the first (for us) reasonable bus at 08:18 up to the Simplon Pass and a bit further on, where we knew the sun would be shining and we could do a 2-hour walk before catching a bus into Italy. The walk was short but lovely, more of the yellowing larches, and in fact, we were walking in one of the oldest larch forests in Switzerland (some of the trees are 700-800 years old). We even walked along an irrigation channel which still carried water, even at this time of year.

We ended our little walk with plenty of time to catch the bus, and got to Domodossola at 12:15. There was no point in checking out the town (which we have done twice before anyway) because everything except a couple of cafés (and no gelato at this time of year) near the train station was closed. So we caught the train just 15 minutes later to head to the Swiss border, and got out at the village of Re on the Italian side, where we had wanted to look at a huge church building called "Donna della Sangue" (more impressive outside than inside) and continued our trip an hour later.

We got home via Locarno at about 6 p.m. For me, just a bit too much time on buses and trains, but because of Urs' foot issue, a good outing for him!

PART I: Bus ride from Brig to Simplon Pass and Five-Kilometer walk

After a good breakfast at our hotel in Brig, we headed to the train station just after 8 a.m., for the 08:18 bus to the Simplon Pass. It promised to be another beautiful day. 

As the bus heads up the Simplon road toward the pass, we get better and better views of Belalp and the Massa Gorge on the north side of the Rhone Valley. Below the snow-covered peaks is the large Aletsch Glacier, not visible from here. 

And up ahead is the beautiful 678 meter-long Ganter Bridge which the bus crosses on the way up to the Simplon Pass. (It is the second longest spanning bridge in Switzerland, created by the famous bridge architect Chritian Menn. It was completed in 1980)

Another look to the north into the entire Aletsch Arena. The largest glacier in the Alps is in the valley below those snow-capped peaks. And you can see the popular resort villages of Riederalp and Bettmeralp, the starting points for hikes above the glacier. 

What a magnificent close-up view of the mountains that form the north side of the Aletsch Glacier. 

And here we have reached the Simplon Pass. Lovely sunshine here. That trail is one we walked on a fantastic 6-hour hike in July 2022, over the Bistine Pass all the way to the Vispa Valley (photos HERE)

As the bus approaches Simplon Dorf (Simplon Village), we have full sunshine and lots of yellow larches 

Here is where we started our hike at shortly after 9 a.m., in a small hamlet called Egga, which we passed through on a hike down this valley which we did in June of 2021 (photos HERE). 

This was a short walk for us, but a pleasant one (also, no other people around!). Starting in Egga north of Simplon dorf, we walked just over five kilometers to my namesake hamlet of Gabi. It was a 90-minute walk, which took us two hours. We walked through one of the oldest larch forests in Switzerland (Chastelberg) and even along an irrigation channel which still carried water!

It was a perfect little walk for us: Lots of sunshine, snow-capped mountains with blue background, lots of yellow trees. 

A little detour through the forest before we hit the forest road down the valley. 

At the back of that side valley is a glacier called the Rossboden Glacier. In 1901, 3 million m3 of rock and ice broke off from Mt.Fletschhorn and buried that valley. It was apparently the largest rock/ice/snow avalanche in the Alps. 

We opted to walk on the forestry road instead of the narrower trail below, as we had more sunshine this way. 

Above us is the Chastelberg forest, with all the yellow larches. This was the perfect time of year to experience this. 

A look behind us now into the Eggen Valley and the Rossboden Glacier. The main white peak is called Mt. Fletschhorn. 

To our right, we now get the first glimpse of the village called Simplon Dorf. There is always a lot of sunshine here!

At this point we joined the Chrummbacheri Suon (Irrigation Channel). It was exactly here where we came down off the mountain when we did a summer hike on a high trail above the Chastelberg forest in July 2022. Those photos are HERE.

Simplon Dorf. 

Close-up view of Simplon Dorf. 

A zoomed view of Mt. Fletschhorn. Spectacular. The mountain is just under 4000 meters. 

It is always a pleasure to walk along the many irrigation channels in Canton Valais. 

Chrummbacheri Irrigation Channel in the Simplon Valley. 

That one is called the Wenghorn. 

Perfect conditions for this wonderful hike. 

Chrummbacheri Suon

Chrummbacheri Suon

Now we have reached a part of the forest with some VERY old trees. 

Some of these larches are about 700 years old, and have circumferences of up to 10 meters! This is the biggest one which we passed. 

Walking through an old larch forest in the Simplon Valley. 

That side valley is called the Laggin Valley. We have yet to do a hike into that side valley. 

A perfect spot for a self-timed photo, before we start our 250-meter descent to Gabi. The location is called Heji (there were a few buildings here). 

A look below us at the Fura Bridge, an elegant concrete arch bridge (which apparently had a lot of problems in 2021 and traffic was limited to a single lane). 

VIDEO:

There were even some cows up here!

On our way down back to the main road, we passed a small chapel along the forest trail. A small panel next to the door indicates that this chapel, built in 1717, is an historic monument and a local pilgrim site.  

Continuing down the mountain on a trail made soft by larch needles. 

Only another 20 minutes to go to reach my namesake town!

Below us are the few buildings which make up the settlement called Gabi. The Simplon Pass road runs right past those buildings heading into the Gondo Gorge. 

Main road in Gabi. We got here at 11:06, in plenty of time for the 11:15 bus to Domodossola, which also was about 10 minutes late due to construction on the road. The chapel, built in 1815, was closed. 

In the village of Gabi (Simplon)

These are the hikes we have done around the region of Simplon Dorf. In June 2021 we did two sections of the Via Stockalper Trail from Simplon Pass to Gondo, and in July 2022 we walked the high trail from Simplon Pass, descending to Simplon Dorf through the old larch forest. The pink trail is the short 5-km walk we did this day. 

PART II: Across the Border to Italy and Back into Switzerland via Vigezzo Valley

This part of the trip consisted of a bus ride from the village of Gabi, through the Gondo Gorge, then across the border into Italy and to Domodossola (a 50-minute bus ride). The bus was quite late, so we didn't have much time in Domodossola before catching the Centovalli Train. As we'd been here twice before, we didn't want to skip a train and walk into the old town, but a gelato would have been nice. A few cafés near the train station were open, but they weren't serving gelatos any more at this time of year.

The train through the Vigezzo Valley toward the Swiss border eastward was quite full of Italian families headed for the afternoon to Locarno in Switzerland. We got out in the village of Re, still in Italy, for the short walk to the Madonna del Sangue church, which we had seen from the train on our previous trip through this valley (photos HERE), expecting some fantastic artwork, but we were sorely disappointed, as the interior, though large and airy, looked rather modern. The structure is impressive from the outside, though.

Back on the next train to Locarno, this one was so full that we had nowhere to sit, and it was so noisy. Luckily it was only 15 more minutes to Camedo on the border, and from there we had a regional train, which the Italians didn't know about. We were the only people to get out here, and 10 minutes later continued on the train ride to Locarno as almost the only passengers. 

Riding the bus through the Gondo Gorge. Most of it was in shadow. We walked all the way through this gorge via Simplon Dorf to Gondo on that same day in June 2021 when we walked the entire section of the Stockalper Trail from Simplon Pass to Gondo, a total of 19 kilometers in all (photos are HERE)

At the village of Gondo is the border between Switzerland and Italy. The bus passed through customs here, but no one checked the bus. The castle built by Kaspar Stockalper was partly swept away by the disastrous Gondo Rock Slide of October 2000 when 1/3rd of the village was destroyed. The castle has been rebuilt. 

I wasn't able to take any decent photos from the bus window as we continued through the gorge on the Italian side (via the train station in Iselle). The first decent photo was when we exited the final tunnel into the wide open area north of Domodossola. This view is to the north, toward Switzerland. 

The bus left the highway and continued through residential areas, passing first through a community with the coolest name: Crevoladossola. Obviously that church was the dominant feature in the landscape!

We got to the Domodossola train station at about 12:10, and the next train heading to the Centovalli in Switzerland was leaving in 15 minutes. Even though most of the shops were closed on this holiday, there were a few cafés catering to visitors near the station. Signs advertised gelato, so we went to have a look, but there is not a great demand for gelato at this time of year, so no luck on that.

This map shows the bus trip from Gabi via Gondo Gorge to Domodossola, then by train via Valle Vigezzo to the Swiss border at Camedo. (The "normal" way to get to Domodossola from Brig is via the base tunnel from Brig to Iselle.) We got out in Re to look at the "Madonna del Sangue" church, and boarded again an hour later, changing trains again in Camedo as the Panorama Train from Domodossola to Locarno was more than full. A regional train was leaving 10 minutes later, and we were practically the only passengers on that one!

At 12:30 we are on our way again, heading eastward into the Vigezzo Valley. This view is to the north as the train crosses a river called Fiume Toce. The mountains at the very back form a border with Switzerland. Our bus had come down a valley to the left. 

As the train winds its way up into the Vigezzo Valley, a look to the city of Domodossola in the west. The mountains at the back also form a border with Switzerland, with the snow-covered peaks being the 4000+ mountains in the Saas Valley in Switzerland. 

The train winds back and forth, past farms and vineyards. 

From here you can see the valley where we came from on the left (the first valley). On the Italian side it is no longer called the Gondo Gorge, but rather "Val Divedro".

The Vigezzo Valley on the west side was pretty narrow and remote, the mountains mostly covered in dense forest, with still pretty fall colours. The train went over several such viaducts in small side valleys. 

VIDEO:

The "Centovalli Express" train from Domodossola making its way 

over a viaduct in the Vigezzo Valley

For the first stretch, there were only a few villages here and there, and lots of forest. On this side, there were a couple of small villages as well, which were serviced by this train. The river is quite far below us. 

About half-way to the border, the valley widened out, and there were several larger villages like this one, called Druogno. 

We got to Re (the name of this village) at 1:30 p.m., where we knew there was a large church building which we wanted to look at. In exactly an hour there would be another train passing through, so that's the one we wanted to catch. This is still in Italy, just a 15-minute train ride from the Swiss border. 

It took us less than 10 minutes to walk from the train station up the main road to the church building. The bell tower stands quite a bit separately! The domed roofs are quite impressive. The church is called "Madonna del Sangue", or: The "Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Blood". 

There are actually two structures here: The smaller church which we entered first dates from the early 1600's, and the large one, the Basilica, is from the mid 20th-Century. 

I should have taken a closer look at the painting on the altar in this older building: It is one of those paintings where the baby is depicted as simply a small version of a grown man, breastfeeding while looking straight ahead. I always wonder if people centuries back never had a good look at babies or naked women. (There is a photo of it on the church's website, HERE)

The organ in the older sanctuary

This is the interior of the more modern building. The columns extend all the way up into the domed areas that you can see from the outside. 

The Church of "Madonna del Sangue" from the parking lot below. 

Heading back to the train station again. We didn't really need a lot of time inside the building after all, so we made it back to the train station in plenty of time. 

The 14:24 "Centovalli Express" train to Locarno is just pulling in. It was even more full of Italian families than the other one was! After all, it was a beautiful day, like a Sunday, for a family outing across the border. Standing room only, so we were glad to get out of the train again in Camedo, on the Swiss side of the border. Otherwise it would have been a long and noisy one-hour trip to Locarno. 

In Camedo we left the "panorama" train and hopped onto a regional train leaving about 10 minutes later. We were practically the only passengers on that train! And we could open the windows and lean out... like here, as we pass Lake Palagnedra

Enjoying a ride through the Centovalli on a regional train, with only a handful of passengers

Now crossing the Melezza River as we leave Intragna. The Melezza River flows into the Maggia River at Ponte Brolla, and then into Lago Maggiore at Locarno. 

Passing all the pretty villages between Intragna and Locarno, in a region called the "Terre di Pedemonte". This is the church in Verscio. We saw many people in the cemetery this day, as it was "All Saints' Day" 

Crossing the Ponte Brolla Bridge, with a look down at the Maggia River, and the lovely way that the stones have been carved by the river. This is a favourite passage, and a bridge we have crossed many times. 

Final stretch before Locarno, riding along the Maggia River now and looking up toward the Centovalli where we have just come from. This is where the Melezza River joins the Maggia River. We got to Locarno at 15:20, but didn't stay there. Heading home with the next train, we were home before 6 p.m. 

This is basically the tour we did on these two days. Day 1: Zug to the Lötschen Valley via Zurich and Bern, then an overnight in Brig, and with the bus to Domodossola, then train to Locarno, and via the Gotthard Base Tunnel back home to Zug.