Via Alta Vallemaggia

This new high-altitude route in the mountains of the upper Maggia Valley, straddling two regions, offers five exciting days in the great outdoors in a spectacular Alpine lake landscape with countless lakes to discover: from a tiny, hidden pool nestled between the mountains to the ripple on a small lake, drawing your curious gaze from afar and offering a grassy shore for a well-deserved rest, to the mirror-like surface of a basin quietly working to produce renewable energy. The trail also runs alongside watercourses, specifically the springs, waterfalls, rivulets, brooks and streams that feed into the main rivers of the Lepontine Alps, namely the Maggia, Ticino and Toce. Then there is the ice: the landscape is dotted with glistening glaciers large and small.

The trail offers sweeping views: at every turn, your eye is drawn to a new valley between Vallemaggia, Formazza and Leventina as you trek through the spectacular scenery with constantly changing views. The trail runs above the tree line through open spaces, offering a pristine Alpine landscape dominated by the sky. The region is home to countless animal species, from the ibex to the chamois, from the golden eagle to the peregrine falcon, and from the marmot to the stoat, fox and white hare. 

Not to mention the warm welcome, from the typical Alpine hut run by people who know how to spoil you or the mountain hotel with rooms and showers: the evenings provide further opportunities to discover something new. In short, on this tour, water is not the only highlight.