Once again, the Canton Ticino (Switzerland) gives us a beautiful day in the mountains. This time, we took a scenic hike to Cima di Gaggio, starting from Mornera, just north of Lake Maggiore. 

 

Trekking: Cima Gaggio (Canton Ticino, Switzerland) from Mornera

 

The mountains of the Maggia, Verzasca, and the Ticino Valley, between Locarno and Bellinzona, are definitely worth exploring. On this site, you'll find several interesting suggestions for exploring the Canton Ticino. After the wonderful hike to the Capanna Gambarogno a few weeks ago, we immediately wanted to relive the emotions and rediscover the views of these mountains by climbing to the Cima di Gaggio, gaining a bit of altitude via the Carasso-Mornera cable car.

 

 

 

The hike isn't technically difficult, but it's not trivial either, with a 900-meter elevation gain and some rather steep sections of the trail, which will challenge you both uphill and downhill. A much more technically and time-consuming hike in this area is the one leading to the Cima dell'Uomo, which we plan to hike as soon as possible.

The first thing to note about this hike is that it's best to book the cable car in advance, both for the outward and return journeys. The cabin is small and can seat about six people; once it's full, operators won't let you board. Therefore, to avoid being left behind, book on the cable car website. Also keep in mind that if you can't find a spot on the first leg from Carasso to Curzutt, you can take advantage of a free, alternative shuttle service that offers about ten spots (after arriving in Curzutt by shuttle bus, you'll then have to walk for five minutes to the charming little village of San Bernardo - a hostel is available - where one of the cable car's two intermediate stations is located, the other being Pientina.) Many people come here on their way to the Tibetan Bridge.

 

 

 

 

Once you've solved the problem of reaching Mornera (where you'll find a restaurant/bar), to the left (south) of the cable car's mountain station you'll find signs indicating the accessible trails, including the one to Capanna Albagno, which you should take. The trail to the Tre Signori via ferrata also begins here.

The trail enters the forest and climbs with a moderate gradient to the small Pian di Nar lake.

Continue uphill through the pine forest (shortly afterward, you'll find signs for the via ferrata access), with a steep initial section, until you emerge onto a gently sloping traverse on a south-facing slope, and then reach a saddle, where the via ferrata exit also ends. Pass to the Gorduno Valley, then head north and then northwest, arriving near Capanna Albagno UTOE, 1,864 meters above sea level (about 1.5 hours from Mornera). After the saddle, the summit of Monte Gaggio, with its large summit cross at 2,267 meters above sea level, becomes clearly visible.

The hut is small (basically a cabin), but charming.

Then continue briefly on a flat section, in a northwesterly direction (signs here) and follow the trail that passes west of another small cabin (where we stopped for a quick picnic lunch), shortly reaching a fork: to the left, you climb towards Bocchetta d'Erbea and Cima dell'Uomo; to the right, you take the trail that climbs with a very steep gradient, along a path often marked by boulders, towards the summit of Gaggio Mount. Red and white trail markers on the rocks will guide you to stay on the right path, which follows the southeast ridge that leads to the summit; the summit cross becomes increasingly visible (the top is about 1 hour from Capanna Albagno).

From this summit, too, you can enjoy a magnificent view, although you can't see Lake Maggiore, as you can from Mount Gambarogno. We took particular care to identify the peaks of the Valtellina (Badile, Cengalo, and Disgrazia), and some of our frequented peaks and passes in the watershed between the Ticino Valley and Lake Como (San Jorio pass, Mount Marmontana), even spotting Mount Legnone.

The descent follows the same route in about two hours. The area is also ideal for beautiful winter snowshoe hikes.

Enjoy your hike. Fabio

 

Click here, for the excursion's slideshow