Hiking in Switzerland – Gabrielle and Urs

March 7, 2017

Two-Day Trip to the Sunny Ticino (out of the rain...)

March 7 & 8, 2017 -- On this special weekend we did an overnight trip to near the Italian border, as far South as we could go, because that also happened to be the only place it wasn't cold and rainy. We had super weather (although a bit of a North wind blowing) and tramped around the countryside discovering new things about an area where we've often been before.

On the first day we wandered the chestnut forests of the Malcantone region near Lugano, starting in Miglieglia with its old Church Santo Stefano with colourful paintings from the 15th Century, then just by accident we came across an old forge built in 1860, the last one of its kind in Switzerland (powered by water). The 12-km hike ended in Cademario, and from there we traveled to nearby Caslano for the night.

Monte Caslano is a promontory that juts into one of the many arms of Lake Lugano, and just across from our Albergo was a narrow strait which separated us from Italy. It was quiet and isolated and there was only one other guest, and our hostess Maria even picked us up in the village after our dinner so we didn't have to walk the 2 km to the hotel!

After a simple buffet-style breakfast we headed on the first of our 3 hikes of the day: We walked the 3.5-km from the hotel around the promontory on the sunny East side through the old part of Caslano and then on to the train station (weirdly there are no buses here).

Our next destination was the Muggio Valley (in this valley, the excavation power of the Breggia River has exposed layers of Earth millions of years old) near Lake Como, where we first walked out of the Valley (Bruzella to Morbio), then took a bus up the mountain to Sagno, and hiked down to Chiasso at the border crossing. Those were two more 5-km walks, so altogether almost 14 km of walking the second day!

With the new Gotthard Base Tunnel, we can make it back home by train from the most Southern point of Switzerland in just 2.5 hours! Back to the rainy weather...

To get from Lugano to the Malcantone, the bus goes up a super windy road...

Going up the mountain, the bus driver had to simply wait till these little guys got out of the way.

Village of Miglieglia, the starting point of our 12-km hike

Santo Stefano al Colle, the paintings date from the 15th Century.

View South from the Church in Miglieglia

Our 12-km hike from Miglieglia at the foot of Monte Lema, to Cademario

Ahead is the village of Breno, our next stop. Life was really hard here hundreds of years ago. Documents date the village back to the 11th Century.

I don't know if this is a swing I would like to try.

The Church in Breno, built in 1233, rebuilt in 1596

Artwork in the Breno Church

In the Valley of the Magliasina River

The old Forge of the Malcantone

This old forge, the only one of its kind still in existence in Switzerland, was built in 1860, and production of the iron tools was driven by water energy (revolving a large hammer). Production ceased in 1951 when the forge was flooded and partly destroyed.

A good place to eat lunch at the old forge picnic grounds.

At the old forge on the Magliasina River

Next stop up the mountain: Aranno

Aranno in the Malcantone

All these cobblestone roads are done by hand, a work of art, really.

From Aranno we get a view of Miglieglia on the other side of the valley. at the base of Monte Lema.

On the Lugano side of the hill is Cademario, the end of our hike for this day.

Signs of the coming spring: Magnolias are starting to bloom.

At the back on the left is Lugano below Monte San Salvatore. On the right on the lake is where we are spending the night.

Gorgonzola and pear pizza in the restaurant in Caslano, on the lake.

Our Albergo in Caslano. The lit up church is in Italy not 100m away.

Our view from the hotel window: Across the strait is Italy, not 100m away.

On Wednesday morning we walked 3.5 km to the train station via old town Caslano.

The trail around the East side of the promontory, Monte Caslano

Charming old town Caslano

Our second hike, 2x5 km in the Muggio Valley and along the border to Chiasso (bus in between)

Our hike started in the village of Bruzella in the Muggio Valley

It's looking like spring.

Layers of earth exposed in this valley are millions of years old

We decided to go up the hill to Sagno by bus instead of walking. By the way, Lattecaldo means "Cold Milk"

Walking down the hill from Sagno, we harvested some palms for our balcony

Chiesa di Santa Croce in Vacallo on the way to Chiasso

This building in Chiasso is called the Centro Ovale and is a shopping center.

We were at the very southernmost tip of Switzerland to escape the bad weather.

All our hikes in the Lugano area in the last 3.5 years.

March 1, 2017

On the “Via della Vose”, the old Mule Trail from Loco to Intragna

March 1, 2017 -- In the Middle Ages, the old mule trail “Via delle Vose” was the only road connecting the villages of the wild and steep Onsernone Valley with the harbour and markets at Ascona and Locarno on Lake Maggiore, where the residents traded their goods (mostly hats and baskets made of straw) for items they required for everyday life in the remote valley.

This historical trail is paved with stones across the entire 6 km from Loco to Intragna, an impressive undertaking as this was all done by hand along very steep mountainsides. It is extremely sobering to realize that in our day and age, we can easily travel three hours with public transport on our day off to walk a 6-km trail that hundreds of years ago was a lifeline for the residents of this area.

After the always breathtaking bus ride into the valley, we started our hike in the village of Loco, descending the terraced hillside where a unique organic wine is produced, and then crossing the Isorno River at the bottom. As far back as the 16th century, there was an impressive stone bridge across the river, but the bridge was swept away during a storm in 1978 (the river rose 30 meters) and replaced in 2016 by the current architecturally unique modern wood and cement one (by Swiss bridge builder Christian Menn).

The trail then follows the mountain flank high above the steep valley to the village of Intragna, which lies at the entrance to both the valleys Onsernone and Centovalli. The view as you descend into Intragna (with its 65m church tower, the highest tower in the province of Ticino) is always a stunning one as the two rivers meet and make their way to the Maggia Delta on Lago Maggiore....

Bus ride into the wild Onsernone Valley

We started in the village of Loco in the Onsernone Valley, descended to the valley bottom and walked back up to the other side to walk out of the valley. This is how they had to do it 500 years ago or more.

The 6-km trail is fully paved with stone, work done by hand hundreds of years ago.

These are Snowdrops as opposed to the Snowbells we saw last week

Hillside hamlet called Niva, where a 400-year old grape press still exists

Hillside hamlet of Niva near the valley bottom below Loco.

We surprised a couple of Roe Deer in the vineyards

Hillside hamlet of Niva near the valley bottom below Loco.

The dry-stone walls are always fascinating

After descending from Loco and walking through Niva (unique terraced vineyards in this wild valley.... a special organic wine is produced here, and a 400-year-old lever wine press still stands at the far end of the hamlet) we crossed the Isorno River and walked out of the valley on the other side).