Easy walk from Village to Village in Val Colla near Lugano

Friday November 15, 2024 -- The weather suddenly turned quite cold but still with sunshine. Nevertheless, I am not ready to go out for walks in 5ºC weather, so our option for this day (Urs having Friday off instead of Wednesday) was another foray into Canton Ticino, where it is becoming more and more difficult for us to find trails we have not yet hiked!

Most of the hiking trails in the Ticino mountains require quite steep ascents or descents, and Urs still can't do much of that, even though he is now trying out special insoles. There is a sunny side of a valley near Lugano called Val Colla, at the foot of the magnificent Gazzirola peak and near the border of Italy, where we have not yet walked, as all paths are steep up and down, except for a paved road taken by the bus to get to the back of the valley. This seemed like a good time to explore the villages there, as webcams showed the trees to still have some colourful leaves as well.

Even with the Gotthard base tunnel making our trip to the Ticino an hour shorter than 10 years ago, it took us three hours to the start of our hike in the village of Cozzo at the very back of the valley (where we had once started on a very fabulous mountain hike to the San Lucio Pass in September of 2021 --> photos HERE).  From there we walked mainly along paved roads, enjoying the forest colours, the mountains, the villages (each with a church, most of which were closed at this time of year). It was a long trip for a 2½-hour walk, but we enjoyed the very mild weather, and it was enough walking for me on paved roads.

We got back to Lugano at 4 p.m., and instead of heading home right away, we had an early dinner at the Lugano Train Station Pizzeria, where we had heard they had pretty good pizzas, which was indeed the case!

After a 90-minute train ride from Zug to Lugano, we had to ride the bus for an hour into Val Colla, changing once here at Tesserete. We have passed this church many times, having visited the inside with its lovely frescoes twice. (On one of those trips in 2017, we noticed that the painting of Baby Jesus on one of the walls displays six fingers on one hand!)

The winding road up into the Colla Valley was not wide enough for the bus and this truck to pass! The bus has the right of way, and the truck is supposed to back up, but both the truck and our bus had cars behind them! So after a lot of hand gesturing, our bus driver got out, and told the car behind us to back up, so he could also back up to a spot where the truck could pass. That seemed to be the best solution, apparently. 

A look toward Mt. Gazzirola as the bus heads into the Colla Valley. 

The bus runs all the way to the back of the valley along these roads, which we then walked back along later. There was not a lot of traffic, and the forest colours were pretty.

We got off the bus at 11:10, at the very back of the valley in the village of Cozzo, where we had started on a different hike up to Passo San Lucio in September 2021. The church was locked (we had a quick look).

Lots of cats here (and dogs). These ones are also enjoying the sunshine, as are we!

This was only a 2½-hour walk and less than 10km (our usual stretch), mostly on paved roads where the bus runs to the back of the valley. There was little traffic, but walking on paved roads is tiring. Most of the trails here are steep up and down, and that is tricky with all the fallen leaves on the paths. We started in Cozzo at about 11:15, and caught the 15:10 bus from Bidogno for the 40-minute ride back to Lugano. 

This was one of only two small stretches where we walked on soft trails instead of paved road. We were heading up the hill to the Church of St. Peter and St.Paul, which perches on the hillside above the village of Colla, a building we had often seen on our trips into this valley. 

As we head up the hill through the forest, this is a look back down at the village of Cozzo, where we started our hike. On that hike back in September of 2021, we walk up to above the tree line, and then on a high trail toward the pass on the right. 

A closer look at the village of Cozzo where we started on our hike. 

Lovely forest just above the Church of St.Peter and St.Paul. It took us 25 minutes to walk here from Cozzo.

Details of the church of St.Peter and St.Paul, which was locked, but we could look through a window to see a golden altar inside and the frescoes of St.Peter and St.Paul. The church was first mentioned in documents of 1264, but has its current form since 1662. 

We are always a little disappointed when the churches are locked. It had a really nice cemetery, though, and a lovely view down the valley. The church has its current form since 1662, but the bell tower is from the Romanesque period. 

Great view from the church cemetery! 

From here we descend to the road where the village of Colla is located below, and then we walked to the next village with the cute name of "Signora".

Interesting details on a house we passed on the way down to the road. 

Below in Colla is another church called Oratorio di San Lazzaro. We walked to the front door, but this church was also locked. Information from the Internet says it was built in the 19th century with the aim of being able to celebrate functions during the winter season without having to climb up to the main church.

Following the road now for just over a kilometer to get to the next village called Signora. 

A close-up look at the previous church of St.Peter and St.Paul, as we head to Signora

We arrived at the Oratorio di San Giuseppe in Signora from higher up in the village. This church was open so we could look inside. It apparently dates from 1819 and had bright yellow painted walls and ceilings. According to the internet, the wooden altar carved in Baroque style is a masterpiece. 

Across the valley we can see the winding road from valley bottom to the village of Bogno, one village over from where we started. The bus actually goes up and down this road, on those narrow switchbacks!

Across from the front of the church in Signora was a perfectly-placed bench with a view, where we had our picnic lunch at 12:30.

From Signora to the next village called Scareglia, we had to walk another kilometer (15 minutes) on the paved road. This cute little vehicle passed us and parked here. We had a good laugh as the sign on the window states the maximum speed this vehicle is allowed to travel on the road, which is 10 km/hour, but someone drew in another zero, and now it can go 100 kms/hour!

Along the way we get views of the back of the Colla Valley and the pass called San Lucio where we walked to in September 2021. The entire crest forms the border between Switzerland and Italy. 

Heading off the main road now into the village of Scareglia

Scareglia has a little church as well. This one is called Oratorio di Santa Maria della Neve and was built in 1617.

At this point along the road to the next village of Corticiasca, we are apparently leaving Val Colla, and heading into the region called the Capriasca. 

The first glimpses of the massif called "Denti della Vecchia", which means "Old Lady's Teeth". We walked along that massif in 2015.

One big disappointment of the day is that the air was very hazy over the city of Lugano. Usually you can see the mountains much better than this. Here you can just barely make out the lake. The main mountain of the city of Lugano is Monte San Salvatore, and you can just see the communication tower on the summit. 

Unfortunately, the church in Corticiasca would have required a detour to go have a look. We decided to skip this one, as it probably would have been closed as well!

A look a the "Denti della Vecchia" past the rooftops of Corticiasca. 

Here next to the road was an easy forest trail which we were able to walk to Bidogno, where we were going to catch the bus back out of the valley. There was another Oratorio along the way, which we also wanted to look at, just 15 minutes from here. 

Finally, a bit of a trail off the paved road!

Another look at the mountains of the Capriasca Region, past the rooftops of Bidogno.  

We had high hopes for the "Oratorio della Divina Maesta" at the north end of Bidogno, but it too, was locked, and we could not even see inside the windows! The church was apparently built between 1644 and 1646.

This is one of those "Via Crucis" paths, or "Stations of the Cross". We descended from here into the village of Bidogno. 

Walking through the alleyways of Bidogno. 

Some cute little details in the village of Bidogno. There was a date above the archway (upper right), it read 1659 or 1689. 

The landscape is looking lovely in the late afternoon sunlight (3 p.m.!)

And the final church, across from the bus stop in Bidogno, is the parish church called San Barnaba. According to Wikipedia, It was built in the 15th century on the foundations of an older building. In the 17th century three side chapels were added. The bell tower is from the 18th century.

This church was open and I still had a few minutes before the 15:10 bus, so I had a look inside. It was decorated with a lot of stucco sculptures

These are all the hikes we have done in the region of Val Colla and the upper Capriasca. This is very close to the Italian border. The light pink trail is the one we did this day. (Had we had ten minutes more, we could have continued our walk to join the orange trail, but had we missed this bus, the next one wasn't till two hours later.)

A final look to Mt.Gazzirola and the villages at the back of the Colla Valley as the bus heads back out of the valley to Tesserete. 

This interesting-looking villa is a house we pass each time we head into this valley. In fact, we even walked past it on one of the other hikes (photos HERE). 

It has been determined that these palm trees are an invasive plant (from China, naturally) in this region. But they do look pretty and add such a Mediterranean flair in this region!

A final look at the beautiful Denti della Vecchia mountains on our way to Lugano. 

We got to the train station in Lugano at 4 p.m., a little early for supper, but we had long wanted to try out the pizza here. There was only a small selection (four choices), but good and relatively inexpensive. We also had a salad, but I made the mistake of pouring chili-infused olive oil on the vegetables, and my lips burned when eating them! Urs had tiramisu for dessert as well.

This is what the pizzeria at the Lugano train station looks like. This is NOT my own photo, but an image which I took from the Internet. 

Location of Val Colla within Switzerland, in the very southern part and near the border with Italy. 

An Easy Hike in the Valle Capriasca near Lugano

Sunday March 14, 2021 -- With cold weather, lots of snow and no sunshine in most of the country, our go-to place for a sunny hike was, once again, in Canton Ticino, fairly South, to the area around Lugano (It takes us only 90 minutes to get to Lugano by train!).

We knew there would be a cold wind blowing, and as long as the sun was shining, it was fine. But it WAS cold!

Nevertheless, we still managed a 12-km hike, starting at Roveredo (at the entrance to Val Colla) and walking into and out of the Capriasca Valley toward Tesserete. We have done several hikes in this area (usually in winter, it seems), and this was just a walk in the forest with visits of various villages. We didn't go up to the pass (Gola di Lago) at the back of the valley, having crossed there twice before, but turned back down the valley shortly before the pass, and continued at that point along National Trail no.7: VIA GOTTARDO.

Highlights were the sighting of a HUGE beetle (about 3 cm) -- an oil beetle it turns out -- and probably a female getting ready to lay eggs. We found out later that the oil secreted by these beetles is poisonous and was used by ancient Greeks to administer the death sentence.

And the other main highlight was the colours! Flowers are blooming now: Magnolias, Forsythias, Rhododendrons, Japanese Cherries, Daffodils, Crocuses, Snowbells, Violets and more! And a breath of green in the otherwise brown branches. Spring is slow in coming this year, with so much cold weather and snow, so these flowers and leaves are a promise of things to come. 

Some of the many flowers and colours we saw!

(Here are photos from a hike we did two years ago in the same valley, but higher up: CLICK HERE)

(And another walk around the Capriasca region a year earlier, where I discovered the valuable painting of "The Last Supper":  CLICK HERE)

 

Heading up by bus from Tesserete to our starting point of Roveredo, we pass this iconic villa with the most fantastic blossoming tree in its yard. Besides the palm trees, which are also beautiful.

Before heading into the Valle Capriasca, we admired the view from the church terrace in Roveredo. This view is South to Lake Lugano and Monte San Salvatore.

Lots of nice forest trails. In this region, we get a better view of the countryside in winter, because the foliage is so thick in summer, that it blocks any views.

On the way into the valley, we alternate between forest and open clearings, which usually contain a few stone houses.

We were very lucky actually. At the start of the trail we had come across a sign that until March 12th (two days earlier), this trail had actually been closed in order to repair this particular bridge. 

It was actually quite windy. In the sun OK, but when the clouds covered the sun, it was very cold!

Every once in a while we run across a pretty house like this one.

The goats were roaming free. This baby had a silky soft coat. It probably smells cheese on Urs' hands because we had our picnic lunch just shortly before this

Higher on the hill on the left is a small cluster of houses. It was at that altitude that we walked here in December 2018 

And this big billy goat was all by himself in the middle of the unfenced meadow!

These are some large horns to carry around. I believe this is a special type of goat from this region, called a "Nera Verzasca" (a black goat from the Verzasca Valley)

A view toward Lago di Lugano from the back of the Capriasca Valley

Above us the flanks of Monte Bar have a new dusting of snow

Such little clusters of houses dot the hillside. We seek these out, even if we can only reach them on "unofficial" trails

One very short "exciting" piece, where we had to watch for falling rock

The furthest up the valley we went is called Luera. From here we turned back and headed South along the valley bottom.

This little chapel would have made a nice place for a coffee break, but it was too windy cold here. 

The pass into the next valley to the North is only 10 minutes from here (Gola di Lago). But we crossed that pass twice already, so we are headed down to Tesserete along National Trail no.7: Via Gottardo

Local farmers have a cheese and sausage stand at a strategic spot in the road down the valley. We bought some salami here.

Neat little trail near the river

We discovered these two beetles along the trail. They are called oil beetles, and the one on the left is probably a female getting ready to lay eggs. The oil these beetles secrete is poisonous.

As we get lower down the valley, there are more and more flowers blooming! This is a type of magnolia.

In the village called Lelgio, this farmer just barely made it through the narrow road with his hay bales (further on it got even narrower, he had only a couple of centimeters to spare on each side)

And here is a whole hill full of primroses

A short climb and we got to the little chapel in the next village called Odogno

Heading through Odogno

Just before our descent into Tesserete is another small village called Campestro

From here a superb view of the "Denti della Vecchia" (= "Old Woman's Teeth") mountain range, which we have also crossed a few years ago.

Passing by the interesting villa which we passed on the way up in the bus (the one with the fantastic blossoming tree). In the back again are the "Denti della Vecchia"

Another view of the fabulous blossoming tree and the massive palm trees.

Some newly-opened Japanese Cherry blossoms

The church in Tesserete (here we got back on the bus to return to Lugano). Unfortunately, the magnolia buds were not yet quite open.

At the bus station in Tesserete, another look at the "Denti della Vecchia".

Another 12-km hike of about four hours. We started in Roveredo, and walked in and out of the Capriasca Valley back to Tesserete.

Lovely afternoon sunshine in Lugano, before we got on the train for the 90-minute ride home. 

We have done lots of hiking in this region near Lugano (called the Capriasca) including two crossings of the Gola di Lago Pass. (The bright blue-green one is the one we did today).

The hike was in the very far South of Switzerland near Lugano. It takes only 90 minutes to get from Zug to Lugano, because of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.