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. 

Round Tour to Passo San Lucio at the back of Val Colla

Wednesday September 1, 2021 -- First hike of September with some very nice weather all over the country, but cold winds forecast for the mountains, which we've experienced before, and it's not pleasant. Did we want to risk it? We chose a safer option for our midweek hike, namely in the Ticino once again, where we were sure it would be warmer.

We hadn't been to the Val Colla near Lugano in many years, and have long wanted to hike from the back of that valley up to the San Lucio Pass on the ridge which forms the border with Italy, so that was the plan and it all worked out wonderfully! But in the Ticino there are not a lot of cable cars, so after a week of barely having to hike uphill (all five hikes on our five-day trip to Valais started with bus rides to the back of the valley, followed by cable-car or chair-lift rides to the starting point of our hikes, and long sections of downhill...) it was a tough uphill climb for us! 477 uphill meters practically straight up, an hour and 15 minutes, and it was warm! But we really earned the view this time.

Another four kilometers on a very nice high trail and we arrived at the San Lucio Pass for a fabulous view down into the Cavargna Valley in Italy! There are two hostels here at the pass, and a very old chapel which unfortunately was locked. Before heading back down, we had something to drink at one of the restaurants. We were able to make a loop tour for another four-hour hike with a total of over 700m of uphill!!!

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As usual, the excursion starts with a very interesting bus ride through many small villages along narrow hairpin turns:

On the way into Val Colla. In the background is Lake Lugano

Near the back of the valley we had to change buses in Maglio di Colla

Our bus connection in Maglio di Colla

In this part of the country there are always many interesting old churches.

Our bus was held up by the "mower". There is no way to pass in these narrow curvy roads, and you just have to wait till the other vehicle moves out of the way!

In cozzo we started our hike. 2hour 30 minutes to the pass (Capanna San Lucio) and then other 1 hour and 15 minutes back down (To the next village over)

We started our hike in Cozzo, a tiny village with a couple of rows of houses, and walked almost straight uphill for over an hour, a total of 480 altitude meters.

Tiny church in Cozzo

Some pretty flowers

The only property we passed on our long hike up the hill 

A bit of a break after a long climb. 

Almost there! We can just make out the high trail we are going to follow

The worst of the climb is behind us, and look at this magnificent view! We really had to work hard for it this time.

Once we reached the high trail (also a themed trail called "Cattle Trail") we had a fairly comfortable 1:15 walk slightly up and down to the San Lucio Pass, with constant view into Val Colla. Obviously the view kept changing, especially as the mountain range from Monte Lema to Monte Tamaro came more and more into view.

This is where we had our picnic lunch

A very nice high trail along the back of Val Colla, to Passo San Lucio

Up ahead is the distinctive massif called "Denti della Vecchia", or "Old Lady's Teeth". We hiked beneath there several years ago.

VIDEO:

Urs walking along the high trail, with the mountain massif called 

"Denti della Vecchia" in the background:

A very nice high trail, and it was not too hot a day for this walk.

Way in the distance we just get a little glimpse of the Monte Rosa Massif in Canton Wallis, where the highest peak in Switzerland is located (Mt.Dufour). 

Zoomed view of the Monte Rosa Massif

Up ahead is the San Lucio Pass, the goal of our hike

This trail is also called the "Cattle Trail" because this valley has earned a reputation for its Highland Cattle... as we were soon to discover.

Our first encounter with the Highland Cattle on the "Cattle Trail". Literally. On the trail. And there is a baby, so we had to do some climbing to the left. We never risk getting close to any cows with babies. 

A look back at the cows after we made a large detour around them!

And this lovely creature is watching us from above!

Near the San Lucio Pass now, this is a look straight up to the peak of Monte Gazzirola, whose flank we were walking all day. 

And then we arrived at the Passo San Lucio, with a fabulous view down to the valleys in Italy.

A fabulous look into the Cavargna Valley in Italy. I am basically sitting on the border between Switzerland and Italy. 

From the San Lucio Pass, we get this magnificent view to the East: This is Italy

Cavargna Valley, Italy

VIDEO:

Panorama of the Italian side of the San Lucio Pass

The San Lucio Chapel is actually in Italy

The chapel was locked, unfortunately, but through the window I could see some wonderful frescoes. It was very disappointing that we could not go inside

The building in the back is called the Rifugio San Lucio, and is pretty well on the border of Switzerland and Italy. The chapel is on the Italian side of the border, as am I at the moment! 

Sitting on the border of Italy

As it was still early in the afternoon and a wonderful day, we decided to stop at the Capanna di San Lucio (on the Swiss side) for something to drink, before descending back to the road with the bus stop. (We decided not to return to Cozzo, but to one village over: Bagno).

Enjoying a nice cold drink at the Capanna San Lucio

This was a really nice set-up for a terrace. No umbrellas needed to provide shade! And protected from the wind. 

Time to head back down the mountain. We returned to Bogno instead of Cozzo, but took a longer way, which was also one hour and 15 minutes. 

Heading back downhill in the Val Colla. The house below is part of Alpe di Cottino. They are the people who farm the Highland Cattle up here. 

A large part of the descent is through the forest. 

Thick lush forests here in Val Colla

Heading back down the mountain. Ahead below are two other villages back here: Colla (from which the valley gets its name) and higher up: Signora (what a cool name for a village). 

Below us slightly to the West we get a glimpse of Cozzo, where we started the hike. We decided not to return there, but rather to the village of Bogno to the East.

The village of Cozzo below on the left. And the red line is approximately the 1 hour, 15 minute ascent we did in the morning!

Down below, at the little church in Bogno, is where we caught the bus to return back out of the valley

A round tour at the back of the Val Calla Valley, to the San Lucio Pass where we go a nice look down into the valleys on the Italian side of the border. About 4 hours total, and altogether over 700m of ascent involved. 

How the hike looks on Google Satellite Maps

Val Colla is in the boot of Switzerland, near the border of Italy