Monastero Santa Maria Assunta and a Visit to the Onsernone Valley

(Hike on Dec.9, posted Dec.23...)

December 9, 2017 -- In winter there are still places South of the Gotthard to explore (even though sometimes they also get snow here) like the hillside near Bellinzona where is perched a very old monastery (Santa Maria Assunta sopra Claro) that we see every time we ride past here. The hike up there takes only an hour, so that was the plan for this excursion, and from there we continued North along the hillside past a couple of mountain hamlets, and back down to the valley for our standard 10km 4-hour hike.

After climbing on the steep and windy cobblestone mule trail we were somewhat disappointed to find that the monastery was a closed one, not open to visitors (except the church) as the sisters live here in seclusion. The sisters make and sell their own jams, cookies and honey, but we must have caught them at lunchtime because no one answered the bell.... So after a short peek at the interior of the very old church (Anno 1300) and a quick glance across the valley from this lovely perch, we headed into the cold North wind (but we had sunshine!) along the road and through the forests past a couple of settlements and back down the steep trail into the valley, in order to complete our "requisite" 10 kms... 

Without the wind it would have been a perfect winter hike...

***UPDATE:  One week later this area had about 20 cm of snow, and with this cold weather, not about to melt soon. See further down for photos from the trip we took a week later...

When we travel through this valley we always see the monastery perched on the hill, and I always wanted to walk up there. There is a steep mule path on the far side of the promontory.

The hike starts in Claro in the valley, past the Church in Claro, then up along the mule track.

Monastero Santa Maria Assunta, the oldest monastery in Canton Ticino. 

Here starts the old mule track up to the monastery.

This part was open to the public. The little shop is in the building to the right, but no one answered the bell.

They have their own little charming cemetery here. 

There is a nice view North along the Riviera Valley, but there was a COLD North wind blowing.

We thought we might be able to visit inside the courtyard, but the gates are closed.

So we just continued on our walk along the hillside heading North. This is a view southward.

It took us an hour to walk up to the monastery, and then another almost 3 hours through the forest and back down to the next community

A pleasant surprise was this large open clearing with a scattering of small stone homes: Moncrino

A pleasant surprise was this large open clearing with a scattering of small stone homes: Moncrino

Just before descending into the valley we came across another cluster of homes, where we pulled out our thermos coffee and enjoyed the last rays of sunshine. A goatherd approached us and asked if we had seen some goats. They roam free in the forests and he was collecting them for the winter. We then heard their little bells tingling above us, then to the South, so we called out to him that they were coming... and there they were, whipping along the hiking trail following the sound of his call....

Just above Cresciano (the next community to the North) we headed back down into the valley. By about 2:30 p.m. there was no sun in the valley any more.

Heading back down along the steep forest path to Cresciano at the valley bottom.

 

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UPDATE: Shortly after this excursion it snowed in the Ticino (caused a bit of chaos as it's not usually so cold here) so no more hiking here for a while. We came this way again eight days later with our Aunt Ruth for a bus excursion and lunch in the Onsernone Valley. Here are a few photos of that excursion. This is one of the wildest Ticino valleys, 22 km long from Intragna, steep and narrow, with hundreds of curves on a very narrow road connecting just 8 small villages which hang precariously on the steep mountainside.

This is one of the curviest roads in Switzerland. We went about half-way to the back of this steep and wild valley and had lunch in the Ristorante Posta in Russo, before heading home again.

Last glance eastward from Intragna along the Melezza River toward Locarno, before heading into the Onsernone Valley.

Bus ride along the curvy road in the Onsernone Valley, heading toward Russo for lunch.

This is Russo, one of several small villages glued to the steep mountainside. This is where we stopped for lunch.

A glance westward to the back of the Onsernone Valley (that mountain is in Italy).

Ristorante Posta in Russo where we had lunch (at the triple-window next to the palm tree)

Lunch at the Ristorante Posta in Russo

Heading back by bus. The juxtaposition of palm trees and snow is always intriguing in this area.

The bus has no problem passing through these narrow passages, but other drivers were not so adroit.

And when you meet head-on along this road, the bus always has the right of way, and the car must find a place to give way....

The road from Intragna to Spruga is 22 km long. We went only as far as Russo.

Panorama Trail Calanca Valley

November 22, 2017 -- The Calanca Valley is a remote, wild and narrow valley, with the Italian influences from Canton Ticino, but is actually located in a Southern Arm of the neighbouring Canton Grisons, accessed from the Ticino side. The valley is not well-known, and has suffered the typical loss of inhabitants through emigration to more populated areas.

The Valley has earned its name "Calanca" which means "Steeply Sloping" and although the valley opens up slightly at the back to allow for a scattering of villages, there are a couple of villages on sunny terraces that are accessible only on foot or by cable car, and those are the ones we visited on Wednesday. We did a quasi Round Tour, ascending with the cable car on one side of the valley, walking back down to the Calancasca River, and then ascending with the cable car on the other side and walking down again.

Although most of the trees are leafless at this time of year (all dumped on our trail so we had to tread carefully), this means we had better visibility. Plus the larches hadn't lost all their needles yet so the air was all golden and mysterious. Even though the valley was steep and our destination village of Cauco and the final descent were already in shadow, we enjoyed a sunny afternoon and were quite satisfied with this, another 10-km mid-week hike.

Interesting note: The first village we visited, Landarenca, although originally a community of farmers who have worked these slopes for about 800 years, had pretty progressive ideas, being one of the first two communities / cities (Zurich being the other) to allow Swiss women the vote in 1960.

Our tour starts with a cable car ride from Selma in the valley to Landarenca 330m higher up. We could walk this, but the cable car ride costs only 4 SFr. 

View North up the valley, this village is Cauco where we ended our tour (walked down from the other side of the valley) but by then it was in shadow.

View South down the narrow Calanca Valley

Sleepy, sunny, vehicle-free Landarenca. From here we headed South. (At the back on the other side is the high plateau where we started the second part of the hike, heading North).

 

Landarenca is accessed only on foot or by cable car, so it is peaceful and quiet up here.

Landarenca, high above the Calanca Valley

Landarenca, high above the Calanca Valley

From Landarenca, we walked an hour back down to the river, then took a second cable car up the other side of the valley, to Braggio

On the way from Landarenca to Arvigo in the Calanca Valley

Looking backwards to the chapel that we passed by

Arriving in Arvigo. We still have to walk down through the village to reach the river and the cable car station.

 

The church at Arvigo, another lovely village near the valley bottom.

Down at the Calancasca river is the other cable car, the one that takes you up to Braggio on the East side of the Valley.

 

Calancasca River in the Calanca Valley

Village of Arvigo in the Calanca Valley

Cable car from Arvigo to Braggio, 500m higher than the valley bottom

From here we can see Landarenca on the West side of the valley

After hiking another 150m uphill we found this nice place to have lunch while admiring the view and basking in the sunshine.

We found the perfect sunny spot to have our picnic lunch!

From our sunny lunch spot we also looked down on the village of Braggio.

Church and Cemetery in Braggio (Zoomed View).

High above Braggio with a view of Landarenca on the other side, and our trail continues northward through the golden Larch forest.

I did not see this house in the forest until Urs brought it to my attention.

Golden larches and snow-covered craggy peaks: Simply Stunning.

And a view southward down the Calanca Valley. More than likely, that high peak in the background is in Italy.

The second leg of the hike was longer, about 2hrs 30mins, first through larch forests, then into the shady Auriglia Canyon (ice-covered cliffs) and past sunny hamlets before the descent to Cauco (in shadow since about 2 pm)

In the shady Auriglia canyon the cliffs were covered with ice.

On the other side of the Auriglia valley are sunny terraces which we continue on before descending to Cauco in the shadows below.

On the descent to Cauco, we're hoping to have sunshine as long as possible...

In these narrow valleys the lower villages have only about 3 hours of sunshine per day.... This is Cauco, and our bus stop is across the street.

Calanca Valley is in Canton Graubünden, but here the influences are Italian, and the language is also Italian. It takes us only 2 and 3/4 hours to travel here.

   

Hikes we have done in the southern part of Switzerland in the last four years.