The Confident Hiker

March 2024

For my 37th birthday we decided to travel to Ticino and embark on a 2 day hike in the mountain area of the Valle Verzasca. It was absolutely beautiful weather (something that I haven’t experienced my past couple of birthdays) and in the Ticino the temperatures were already almost reminiscent of early summer. I was still recovering from an injury of my knees and therefore we had to keep the length of the two hiking days open. The sections were planned out but with various shortcuts and premature end points if necessary. We had booked a hotel in Corippo, so we knew where we ultimately had to end up. But despite everything I was motivated to reach our destination by foot and was looking forward to be hiking in the Ticino again – it has been almost 7 years after all.

Day 1: Locarno to Verzasca dam

We arrived in Locarno by car, parked by the trainstation and immediately made our way to the “Funicolare” up to Orselina, Madonna del Sasso. For the first part of todays section we would follow the “Sentiero Verzasca”, which leads from Sonogno to Locarno, only that we followed the route in the opposite direction. The section between Locarno and Lavertezzo is partially a T1 and partially a T2 hiking trail, so the plan was to get off the route as soon as the label would change, which is around Tendrasca.

From the the impressive looking sanctuary of Madonna del Sasso, at an altitude of 370 meters above Locarno, the path first lead through a charming suburban area, where the houses were competing for the most amazing view over the Lago di Maggiore below. Having seen where we ultimately would get to we knew there as an ascent ahead of us and it was not long in coming, relatively short but intense. As soon as we left the houses behind us, we entered the forest. We followed a wider trail, sprinkled with leaves crunching under our footsteps. The trees didn’t carry many leaves yet and allowed for the afternoon sun to break trough, illuminating the pathway and everything around us in a golden warm light.

The path wound its way along the mountainside and offered the occasional breathtaking view into the valley below and the surrounding mountains. While I could feel myself being alert due to the height and the characteristics of the path, I was never scared. The path is wide enough, flat and well maintained and on the more narrow exposed parts, there were railings installed to give a sense of security.

In between the mostly still bare trees the occasional blossom tree popped up, like a little joyful firework immediately evoking joy. A little birthday firework.

While the trail stays relatively close to civilization and we encountered various people on our way – joggers, dog walkers and other hikers of course – it still had that sense of adventure and secludedness and something very archaic, which I often associate with the Ticino. And at the same time, I haven’t walked this effortlessly in a while. Maybe I also just newly discovered my legs’ and feet’s ability to carry me after the injury based break; but whatever it was, it felt great.

Passing above Brione sopra Minusio, we came across the Cappella Rotta where we made a stop to pay a visit to the this path chapel. It is listed as Cultural heritage and is only referred to as a broken chapel, remaining unfinished due to the plague. It was previously consecrated to San Rocco, who even though never canonized, is still considered one of the 14 helpers of the plague as a so called “plague saint”. The Cappella Rotta used to be a sanctuary for plague refugees.

While never finished, to me the chapel seemed like a good place to make a little pilgrimage to up the mountain. Nestled in the forest, overlooking the lake, it had a very calming and serene energy surrounding it and I was once again fascinated by the building type of those stone houses; how much carefulness and patience it must have taken to build them so firmly to endure any conditions that nature can bring.

Back on the hiking trail we continued on to the village of Tendrasca and crossed the river Navegna via another architectural and cultural highlight of todays section: the Pont del Sipp, an old stone arch bridge build in 1750, named after a farmer who used to spend his summers close to the bridge.

To imagine, how for the past 274 years people have been passing this same bridge on their travels is amazing.

Right before entering the village of Tendrasca, we got off the “Sentiero Verzasca” as planned and instead headed down through the forest towards Contra. Small, colorful flowers decorated the edge of the pathway of the deciduous forest, which was otherwise still lacking in color. The air in this shadowy part of the mountainside was crisp and I could almost smell the beginning of spring.

Having arrived in Contra, we decided to treat ourselves to a cold beverage in the Albergo San Bernardo while figuring out if and how we would continue.

Since the car drive to the Ticino already cost us a lot of time, we started our hike rather late in the day and it being only mid March, the sun would still set relatively early so we came to the decision, that continuing all the way to Corippo was rather unrealistic. It is however a section that I would still like to catch up on and I will share it here once we have!

To end our walk already in Contra on the other hand seemed premature and we settled on the Verzasca Dam as our end destination, from where a Bus would be driving all the way to Corippo. This added only another short 30 minutes to our hike. So around 5 o’clock we packed up and started walking again. Delighted by the little charming houses of the village, we couldn’t help but dream of our own little Tiny House in Ticino.

The first part of this final section was rather unspectacular and even slightly uncomfortable, as it followed the car road direction Mergoscia. Luckily it soon branched off into the forest with a short but steep descent.

Ending up on the Dam felt quite epic. And it was not necessarely, because this is where once James Bond’s stuntdouble jumped down on the bungee rope for the movie “Golden Eye”; but rather because the huge man made structure stood against a backdrop of even more impressive nature made structure, the mountain massifs of the Cima di Cagnone and the Cima di Bri, their snowy peaks reflecting in the rippling waters of the Lago di Vogorno.

We arrived perfectly in time for the bus at the stop right at the dam and enjoyed a busride full of contently chatting locals through the Valle Verzasca all the way to Corippo Bivio, where we got out. Up to the village it was another short walk of about 20 minutes. I was very happy, that we after all got to reach the village and our hotel by foot.

Corippo was placed under monument protection in 1975. It is a very small village and as of July 2018 was the smallest political municipality in Switzerland with only twelve permanent residents. Since the village was unable to attract new residents, it was converted into an “Albergo Diffuso” – a so-called scattered hotel – with the help of a foundation. This made it possible to preserve the structure, houses and streets of the village in their original form. And this is, where we would spend our night, the Albergo Diffuso di Corippo.

We fell in love with the village and the hotel instantly; the archaic that I like so much about in Ticino was ever present here and the hotel did a wonderful job in keeping this simplicity in their design and concept. A perfect combination of adventure and comfort.

The room was so cozy that the only thing keeping us from immediately going to sleep was the promise of a 3 course dinner by a chef that was said to be fantastic. We are happy to say, that those reviews are absolutely true and our expectations were definitely exceeded.

We started our seasonal menu with a complimentary Birthday-Prosecco and Bruscetta with homemade Pesto Rosso and goat cheese, followed by a Lemon Carpaccio with fish and rucola. The main course, a Radicchio Risotto topped with goat cheese and roasted palm kale was followed by a light dessert in form of a Kiwi Panna cotta with crumble and mint.

With very full and happy bellies and in the complete absence of any streetlights we made our way back through the dark winding alleys to our room and enjoyed the murmuring of the river in the peaceful evening silence.

Going to bed always feels rewarding after some hours of walking but in a setting like this it was somehow more than that. Even though there was a roof above our heads and warm fluffy blankets covering us, it felt as if we were sleeping among the wild animals, in the mountains, under a starry sky. It was simply magical and we were sure we would sleep peaceful surrounded by forests and majestic mountains.

Click here to see this section on SchweizMobil

Day 2: Corippo to Lavertezzo

We started the day with sunshine, our feet well rested and heads laying comfortably in the fluffy cushions. Still remembering the dinner from last night very clearly, we were naturally equally excited for the breakfast. And we were not disappointed. Locally sourced honey, bread from the local bakery a village down, homemade jam and freshly prepared scrambled eggs were just a few of the things that made this breakfast so perfect or “perfetto” as I kept telling the waiter every time he came by, bringing fresh coffee.

Leaving the hotel and the village was not easy. Even though we were eager to continue discovering the Valle Verzasca a bit further, we could have both easily spent another couple of nights here. So we just promised ourselves, that we would be back soon.

As per my dads recommendation we planned to take a detour back home over the Furkapass, which would turn the usual 3.5 hours into over 5 hours cardrive. Therefore and in favor of my still slightly achy knees we decided to keep the hike today relatively short and only go as far as Lavertezzo, continuing to follow the “Sentiero Verzasca” further into the Valle Verzasca.

The path lead down the same way we came up the evening before and down at Ponte di Corippo we stayed left and followed the small trail down towards the wild and loud rushing river.

The narrow path stuck close to the water; and once it got calmer we saw how crystal clear and beautifully emerald green it was. It must be an absolutely amazing experience to take a swim on a hot summer day. But, even though it was warmer than back home, that was still a couple of weeks away.

We walked gently uphill through a beautiful quiet piece of forest, occasionally passing by old abandoned and broken down Rusticos and over little mountain rivers. Almost always in our sight: the mountains at the end of the valley, which almost seemed to be calling us to them.

After having passed through Oviga di Fuori, a charming hamlet, with little well maintained rusticos and carefully curated gardens, Lavertezzo was only 20 minutes away.

All the way from Corippo to Lavertezzo it was such an easy inviting path, that I could have continued to walk on forever without getting tired. Sam too was contently marching a couple of meters ahead of me, seemingly fully immersed in the Ticino experience. A canton he has frequently visited with his family vacationing in Switzerland as kids, he looked truly at home.

It was not long until the famous Ponte dei Salti, also known as the “Roman Bridge”, appeared in our sights, leading in a double arch over the river Verzasca. In actuality the stone bridge was built after the Roman period in the Middle Ages and was then rebuilt in 1960 after being partially destroyed. And not only the bridge was impressive to see but also the big rocks in the river bed, that have been shaped and polished by the water over the years.

Even though the Valle Verzasca still called us to come explore it all the way to Sonogno, we felt like keeping it for our next visit to Ticino and give ourselves enough time to comfortably make the long trip home. So we decided to take the next Bus in Lavertezzo direction Locarno instead but to get out a bit before and hike back down to Tenero.

While we originally wanted to get out at the dam again (as kind of a “full circle moment”), the bus driver drove by our busstop without stopping and we instead had to get out in Gordemo. A rather uninteresting walk, I would’t recommend it and I have to admit, that it took me a moment to get over my frustration about this failed plan. The view from Gordemo over the Lago di Maggiore and the surrounding mountains however was beautiful.

As we sat in the train from Tenero to Locarno, we decided to get out a stop earlier in Minusio and enjoy a little stroll along the lake. Being a warm sunny Friday afternoon, the lakeside promenade was busy with both tourists admiring the mountain panorama across the water and locals ringing in the week-end with some well deserved sun bathing and an afternoon Aperitivo. Upon arriving back in Locarno, feeling as though we were gone not for just two days but rather two weeks, we were met with the most beautiful majestic magnolia tree in full bloom; standing underneath it felt like being showered with celebratory confetti, only better.

The drive over the Lukmanierpass was just as amazing as my dad promised it to be. And while we were not hiking anymore, it still felt very much like an integral part of this two-day journey.

The scenery was breathtaking and absolutely out of this world. A sea of white peaks spread out around us, tiny soft clouds swept through the sky, the air through our open windows was bitingly cold and clear. While standing on a parking lot at the top of the pass, taking in the atmosphere, we swore to come back up here for a hike. Over peacefully winding roads we drove on, down into the Canton of Graubünden, where we still took the time to have a coffee and a piece of Apfelstrudel in Müstair, before heading all the way home, where, as always and as eagerly hoped, a happy Yuki awaited us.

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This birthday hike could not have been any more perfect; sure we had to shorten the sections and missed out on some parts of the path but it was complete in this incomplete version. A beautifully intimate and simultaneously monumental walk through a wild area of a canton that I visit not nearly enough.I am forever grateful to have rediscovered the Ticino and newly discovered those very special places together with Sam – my fellow adventurer.

The seemingly endless panoramic walks, the warm friendly sunlight, the flowers in all shapes and colors – there are many elements, that turn this hike into a form of wellness for both body and soul and make you leave, feeling a little bit wider and softened and inspired.

But it is much more than that; it is being in an environment that has seemingly not changed since decades and is less determined by humans but rather by nature; the unruly rivers, the vast forests and first and foremost the monumental mountains which we so much long to explore but also truly respect as something we can never fully conquer, even if we do manage to climb them. Mountains have my respect, if only because of my fear of heights but not only because of that. They are like ancient sages that I admire. And even if at this point I often admire them only from a distance or at their foot and not on their peaks, I always leave them and their realm with a little more foresight.

Route overview

• Duration: 2 Days
• Total distance: 12.6 km
• Total ascent/descent: 583m/519m
• Highest point: 643m 

Day-by-day breakdown

Day 1: Orselina to Verzasca Dam	Difficulty: T1 (Hiking Trail) Length: 09:07 km Duration: 2:45 h Ascent/Descent: 447m/354m
Day 2: Corippo to Lavertezzo	Difficulty: T1 (Hiking Trail) Length: 03.48 km Duration: 1:00 h Ascent/Descent: 136m/165m The parts from Gordemo to Tenero and stroll at the lake are not included in the map or the above mentioned time and distance

Some more useful facts about this hike

Best season: While I am sure that both Summer and Autumn can be beautiful, the blossoms in early Spring make this a very special experience.

Trail exposure: Minimal. If you follow our route, you will have no height exposure whatsoever.

• The whole hike between Corippo and Sonogno (how we originally intended to do it) would be 4 hours and 51 minutes and 16.74 km.
• Along the Valle Verzasca there are many bus stops, if you were to cut your walk short for any reason. They only stop if you are clearly at the stop waiting.
• It is worth to book your room ahead of time in Corippo. I highly recommend you also book the 3 course dinner for 45.- per person (excl. drinks). The breakfast is also included in this price.