views – INLUGANO

Mendrisiotto / seseglio

This was a spur of the moment decision. It finally stopped raining after 2 days and we wouldn’t or better yet couldn’t stay at home any more.

This hike is part of Mendrisiotto vineyards itineraries. They are 3 in total. We have chosen the one that starts in Seseglio. We knew right away we will not be able to finish it [10,5 km]. We started our journey at 3 o’clock and don’t forget we have a 4 year old and a baby in the carrier.

Anyway, in the end we hiked 8 km and miss only a bit of the official itinerary.

I would definitely recommend to do this hike NOW. It’s just gorgeous. Still sunny and warm and green everywhere you look. I’m sure there are poems about the perfection of strolling through the vineyards.

We started in Seseglio and followed the trail. We did the suggested shortcut after point 5 through Pedrinate where we connected with the original path again.

The first half of the hike is a mix of going uphill through the woods until you reach beautiful vineyard, because of which you forget about the sweaty part only to start climbing up again to see new one

From Pedrinate is basically only going down back to Seseglio where everything began.

FOROGLIO – CALNEGIA

Foroglio waterfall is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Ticino. We came to see it numerous times. It’s a perfect day trip with yours out of town guests. For a possible itinerary you can check my previous post: https://inlugano.com/2018/06/21/foroglio-waterfall-vallemaggia/

This time we wanted to have a look to the Val Calnegia so we chose a part of “Percorso della transumanza” from Foroglio to Gerra. (unfortunately we didn’t have time to reach Calnegia village)

After we fuelled our energy levels (we had a coffee and a fantastic home made chocolate cake in Grotto La Froda) we tackled the 30 min. climb to Puntid. (Just to remind you we hike with a 4 year old and a baby in the carrier.) You basically hike to the top of the waterfall.

It looks like much, but you can do it (have some chocolate cake before) and what’s more, it is soooo worth the climb.

How cute is the stone bridge? Shorty after Puntid we had fun exploring Spluia Bela

From there the path slightly climbs up to Gerra. This village was truly magical. On the way there we ate tuns of alpine strawberries, I took it as a sign that there are not that many tourist around here. That and the fact we met only 2 other hikers.

Gerra represents for me Ticino. Beautiful, ever so green, rocky and bit unappreciated.

Since this is not a circular walk, at this point, we had to start thinking of the way back, the time and the hunger. We leave Calnegia for another time.

Before going home we had a super late lunch in Grotto La Froda (thank God they serve hot meals all day long.) It’s really a must if you visit Foroglio. Not only the view (wow), the food (mmm) but the history of this place (whaaat???) that is worth stopping.

LA STRADA DEI FORMAGGI DEL LUCOMAGNO/ CHEESE ROUTE

First of all, this is NOT the name of any of the hikes that start from Lucomagno. The official name is SENTIERI NATURALISTICI DEL LUCOMAGNO. There are 7 of them of different length and points of interest. (I mention it because I have found various websites mentioning the cheese route of Lucomagno and was very confused when we couldn’t find any)

There are a lot of hikes you can do from Lucomagno pass. We have chosen from the sentieri naturalistici: numbers 3 and 2: Golene del Brenno (floodplains of river Brenno). We didn’t do it as a circular path but we started in Lucomagno and finished in Acquacalda where we took a bus to come back. In total easy 8 km.

As mentioned we left our car on the parking lot next to the restaurant in Lucomagno. From there we followed the path “Sentieri naturalistici”. The first part of the hike is just incredible. This upper part has a different feel to it than a typical Ticino hike. It’s very alpine, rocky and now in full bloom.

When we reached the first crossroad of the paths we took path number 2 and climbed down to the Brenno river.

Here you can find, visit and most importantly buy amazing alpine cheeses from l’Alpe Petrusio.

The rest of the hike the path more or less follows the road. We were there on a hot Sunday and the river banks were full of people running from the heat of the city and having a picnic or just enjoying the beautiful day in the mountains.

The very last stretch of this hike crosses the “Selvasecca” and you can admire the ancient pine trees.

In Acquacalda we had a lunch in Pro Natura centrum and catched a bus to it’s final stop Lucomagno pass. As my son told me numerous times this was his favourite part of the hike.

parco giochi pian piret

This beautiful playground with breathtaking views might be a destination itself or a great stop on the Sonvico nature trail. https://inlugano.com/2020/05/01/the-historical-sonvico-nature-trail-part-ii/

It has all kinds of swings, climbing structures, picnic tables, water fountain and barbecue.