Day 11: Travel by train & bus to Rodi & walk to Faido. Travel by train to Lavorgo & walk to Giornico. Travel by bus & train to Bellinzona (MAPS 3 & 4).
After breakfast they headed to the railway station of Airolo (1141m a.s.l.), which is the highest railway station of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) (BAHNHOF AIROLO). There they boarded the "Treno Gottardo" to Faido. In Faido they changed to a bus and got off at Rodi "Dazio Grande".
The "Dazio Grande" is a building from the middle of the 16th century. It served as customs house for goods, transit traffic, hoarse-changing station, guesthouse, hostel and warehouse until 1803, the year when the Ticino became part of the Swiss Confederation. It remained in operation, until the Gotthard railway line was inaugurated in 1882. Nowadays, it is still open for the public as a museum and provides a rustic restaurant and overnight accommodation (DAZIO GRANDE).
From there they started their hiking, which took them along the "Via Gottardo Süd", passing by the two most impressive gorges ("Piottino" and "Biaschina"), which are shaping the landscape of the upper Ticino, and ending by the village Giornico.
Day 11: Travel by train & bus to Rodi & walk to Faido. Travel by train to Lavorgo & walk to Giornico. Travel by bus & train to Bellinzona (MAPS 3 & 4).
After breakfast they headed to the railway station of Airolo (1141m a.s.l.), which is the highest railway station of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) (BAHNHOF AIROLO). There they boarded the "Treno Gottardo" to Faido. In Faido they changed to a bus and got off at Rodi "Dazio Grande".
The "Dazio Grande" is a building from the middle of the 16th century. It served as customs house for goods, transit traffic, hoarse-changing station, guesthouse, hostel and warehouse until 1803, the year when the Ticino became part of the Swiss Confederation. It remained in operation, until the Gotthard railway line was inaugurated in 1882. Nowadays, it is still open for the public as a museum and provides a rustic restaurant and overnight accommodation (DAZIO GRANDE).
From there they started their hiking, which took them along the "Via Gottardo Süd", passing by the two most impressive gorges ("Piottino" and "Biaschina"), which are shaping the landscape of the upper Ticino, and ending by the village Giornico.
Day 11: Travel by train & bus to Rodi & walk to Faido. Travel by train to Lavorgo & walk to Giornico. Travel by bus & train to Bellinzona (MAPS 3 & 4).
After breakfast they headed to the railway station of Airolo (1141m a.s.l.), which is the highest railway station of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) (BAHNHOF AIROLO). There they boarded the "Treno Gottardo" to Faido. In Faido they changed to a bus and got off at Rodi "Dazio Grande".
The "Dazio Grande" is a building from the middle of the 16th century. It served as customs house for goods, transit traffic, hoarse-changing station, guesthouse, hostel and warehouse until 1803, the year when the Ticino became part of the Swiss Confederation. It remained in operation, until the Gotthard railway line was inaugurated in 1882. Nowadays, it is still open for the public as a museum and provides a rustic restaurant and overnight accommodation (DAZIO GRANDE).
From there they started their hiking, which took them along the "Via Gottardo Süd", passing by the two most impressive gorges ("Piottino" and "Biaschina"), which are shaping the landscape of the upper Ticino, and ending by the village Giornico.
Day 11: Travel by train & bus to Rodi & walk to Faido. Travel by train to Lavorgo & walk to Giornico. Travel by bus & train to Bellinzona (MAPS 3 & 4).
After breakfast they headed to the railway station of Airolo (1141m a.s.l.), which is the highest railway station of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) (BAHNHOF AIROLO). There they boarded the "Treno Gottardo" to Faido. In Faido they changed to a bus and got off at Rodi "Dazio Grande".
The "Dazio Grande" is a building from the middle of the 16th century. It served as customs house for goods, transit traffic, hoarse-changing station, guesthouse, hostel and warehouse until 1803, the year when the Ticino became part of the Swiss Confederation. It remained in operation, until the Gotthard railway line was inaugurated in 1882. Nowadays, it is still open for the public as a museum and provides a rustic restaurant and overnight accommodation (DAZIO GRANDE).
From there they started their hiking, which took them along the "Via Gottardo Süd", passing by the two most impressive gorges ("Piottino" and "Biaschina"), which are shaping the landscape of the upper Ticino, and ending by the village Giornico.
Day 11: Travel by train & bus to Rodi & walk to Faido. Travel by train to Lavorgo & walk to Giornico. Travel by bus & train to Bellinzona (MAPS 3 & 4).
After breakfast they headed to the railway station of Airolo (1141m a.s.l.), which is the highest railway station of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) (BAHNHOF AIROLO). There they boarded the "Treno Gottardo" to Faido. In Faido they changed to a bus and got off at Rodi "Dazio Grande".
The "Dazio Grande" is a building from the middle of the 16th century. It served as customs house for goods, transit traffic, hoarse-changing station, guesthouse, hostel and warehouse until 1803, the year when the Ticino became part of the Swiss Confederation. It remained in operation, until the Gotthard railway line was inaugurated in 1882. Nowadays, it is still open for the public as a museum and provides a rustic restaurant and overnight accommodation (DAZIO GRANDE).
From there they started their hiking, which took them along the "Via Gottardo Süd", passing by the two most impressive gorges ("Piottino" and "Biaschina"), which are shaping the landscape of the upper Ticino, and ending by the village Giornico.
Day 11: Travel by train & bus to Rodi & walk to Faido. Travel by train to Lavorgo & walk to Giornico. Travel by bus & train to Bellinzona (MAPS 3 & 4).
Day 13: Visit Locarno & walk to castle "Visconteo", church "Madonna del Sasso" & "Piazza Grande".
Take bus to Losone & walk to Ascona center via the "Maggia" estuary & "Terreni alla Maggia" farm. Return back to Locarno by bus (Map 4)
A rich breakfast buffet was served in the beautiful garden, then the group started their walk direction to the historic city of Locarno.
On their way, they passed the historic church "San Francesco chiesa e convento", which was a former monastery founded in 1229 and restored in 1583 (SAN FRANCESCO). From there they walked to the castle "Visconteo" (Figure 77), a medieval building from the year 1342, which used to be a significant fortification built by the Milanese ruler Luchino Visconti (VISCONTEO).
Figure 77: Castle "Visconteo" in Locarno
After the castle they walked further through narrow streets until they reached the "Piazza Grande". From there they went through a steep path upwards to the church "Madonna del Sasso" in Orselina (Figure 78), which is one of the most visited religious places in the Ticino (MADONNA DEL SASSO). When they reached the "Madonna del Sasso" after approximately 30min, they were rewarded by a splendid view to the city of Locarno, as well as to the "Magadino" plain and the "Bolle di Magadino" (Figure 79).
Figure 78: Pilgrim church "Madonna del Sasso"
Figure 79: View from the "Madonna del Sasso" church to the "Lago Maggiore" lake, the "Magadino" plain and nature reserve "Bolle di Magadino"
After visiting the pilgrim church, they continued walking along a high path till they reached 10min later the "Monti della Trinità" site.
There they enjoyed a clear view up to Ascona. They could see as well the whole catchment area of the "Maggia" delta and the "Lago Maggiore" lake with the two islands of "Brissago" (Figure 80).
Figure 80: View from the "Monti della Trinità" to the "Maggia" delta, the village of Ascona and the islands of "Brissago"
Leaving the "Monti della Trinità" they returned back to the "Piazza Grande" following another narrow steep path through an area with beautiful villas. At the bus station "Debarcadero" they boarded a bus to Losone "Ponte Maggia". They got off after 10min and continued by foot through the "Maggia" delta to the estuary area. The walk went through a marvelous floodplain forest, rich in biodiversity, which is part of the nature reserve "Foce della Maggia" and is similar to the "Bolle di Maggadino" landscape. The "Maggia" river builds in its estuary a fan-shaped delta, which fills up a volume of approximately 2.6km3, including parts of the settlement and agricultural area of Locarno and Ascona (MAGGIA DELTA).
In the estuary area they found a small bay with a sandy beach and decided to have their pick nick lunch (Figure 81).
Figure 81: Pick nick place by the estuary area of the "Maggia" river
As soon as the lunch break was over, they walked direction to the "Terreni alla Maggia" farm, which went through an area with lots of vineyards (Figure 82).
Figure 82: Vineyards at the "Terreni alla Maggia" farm in Ascona
Since more than 90 years the fertile ground of the "Maggia" delta has been cultivated. The microclimate of the delta allows a rich biodiversity. In 1930 the farm "Terreni alla Maggia" was founded. It covers a surface of 150ha and is in close proximity to the nature reserve "Foce della Maggia".
In 1942 the entrepreneur from Zurich, Emil Bührle, has acquired the "Terreni alla Maggia". His aim was to promote the use of this fertile land under a sustainable manner and to secure at the same time its natural diversity.
Years later the Family Anda took over the "Terreni alla Maggia". Their goal was to gradually change the former land use into biological cultivation, which should be maintained in future.
In the year 1997 the cultivation of rice started in the "Maggia" delta, which is together with the "Magadino" plain one of the few places in Switzerland, where rice is planted (TERRENI ALLA MAGGIA).
The group walked through the area of the farm and visited the small shop, where several local products were exhibited and sold. Claudia and Bettina bought a small sack of Ticino rice.
After the short visit to the farm they continued direction to the center of Ascona (approx. 3km). On their way they passed by a yacht port and a golf course. The promenade was very pleasant and the chestnut trees provided them with lots of shade, which was appreciated on this hot day. Then, they passed by the lido and several luxurious villas with huge and attractive gardens. To reach the center of Ascona, it took them about 45min. Near the harbor they walked through a lovely promenade with lots of restaurants and cafés (Figure 83).
Figure 83: The center of Ascona with the harbor and "Piazza G. Motta"
In Ascona they did a short tour through the historic village centre, which has several memento from the medieval period and the Renaissance (ASCONA).
The former fishing village Ascona is nowadays a popular touristic place with Mediterranean flair. In the charming "Piazza G. Motta" they admired the artistic and colorful painted houses. In one of them, the "gelateria l'Angolo dei Golosi", they went for a delicious gelato.
They enjoyed as well the nice view to the lake with the sailboats and the "Brissago" Islands (Figure 84), which are famous for their beautiful unspoiled nature and can be visited by boat only (BRISSAGO INSELN). Unfortunately time was too short to do it this time. In the late afternoon, they headed from the piazza back to the centre of Ascona and returned with the bus to Locarno.
Figure 84: View from Ascona harbor to the "Brissago" islands
As it was their last evening together, they wanted to celebrate it. So they decided to have a barbecue at the lake shore. Before getting back to the hostel, they went first to shop for some food, beverages and other stuff for their dinner barbecue. At the "Coop" shop, they bought some sausages, among others a typical barbecue sausage from the Ticino "Salsiccia Ticinese" (SALSICCIA TICINESE).
Back in the hostel, they refreshed themselves and got ready for the evening. Then they took the bus to the center of Locarno and followed the path along the lake direction to Minusio (approx. 1.5km from the city center of Locarno), where they found a cozy pick-nick place (Figure 85).
Figure 85: Pick nick place in Minusio
Enjoying their barbeque they talked about the highlights of the past two weeks and were happy that everything ended well. To end the evening, Daniela handed over to each one of them a pamphlet with Swiss folkloric songs and they all started to sing. They drew the attention of several pedestrians and bikers, who were passing by. With their spontaneous formed concert they received lots of applauses, especially when they sang the final song, "Aprite le porte" (APRITE LE PORTE), a folkloric song from the Ticino. After that unforgettable evening they returned quite late back to the hostel.