Taking advantage of decent weather during our last days in Ticino for this year, we rented a car and drove to Val Bavona - a side valley of the main Valle Maggia. Val Bavona is quite narrow with very steep, rocky mountainsides. Over the years many HUGE boulders, many larger than large suburban homes, have fallen all over the place. It's impressive - and frightening at the same time!
Val Bavona is know for its rustic, historical nature, as there is no electricity in the valley. Well, some. At the deepest part of the valley is an electrical plant in San Carlo, and a cable car will take you up to the dam at Lake Robiei. Much electricity is produced by the dam, and it seems that the last town San Carlo is hooked up, but the other towns decided to remain more natural. We learned that many places use solar panels or generators - especially for some restaurants which need to run equipment. And then there are still telephone lines.
Even so, time has stood still in the entire valley and it is a treat to see.
We stopped at this roadside shop, selling all kinds of souvenirs. We bought some traditional Ticinese wine bowls!
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| Looking back where we entered the Val Bavona from Valley Maggia |
Inside the shop. This is a typical "dry stone" construction - just stones laid on top of one another, fitting them together like a puzzle. Many homes would plaster the inside, but this one is stone in and out. Look closely at the roof in the upper left corner of the picture - even the roof has "stone shingles!"
The blue-green waters of the Bavona river.
Don't forget to notice the huge boulders everywhere.
Stone bridge near the town of Fontana. There is also a wide waterfall nearby. We see a couple of bikers taking a rest.
At the stone bridge
One of the bikers, who was from Strasbourg, France, hops on top of the edge of the bridge to take our picture. We had watched them take a quick swim in the VERY COLD river! Much caution is required in these rivers, and signs are posted everywhere. They seem inviting but can wash you downstream quickly, especially if the dam uphill releases some water!
A goodbye to the French bikers! They told us they had hiked 4 days up in the mountains and now were biking for 3 days. I'm tired just thinking about it!
We stop to walk around the town of Sabbione. This is the old public wash basin.
Following the stone wall path to Sabbione. Look at that huge rock in the middle!!
Cute little house next to a big rock. Hardly anyone lives in this valley year around. Many of these stone homes, called "rusticos", have been made into summer homes.
I think one of those Swiss "garden gnomes" lives here!
It's actually just cool storage under one of the big rocks.
Another view of the cute house. It uses that big rock as one of the walls.
Another view of the 'gnomes' house.
Cute house again.
We arrive in Foroglio, with its misty, thundering waterfall!
We take a table at the Ristorante La Froda. Can we have better atmosphere??
We order Pizzochieri - a pasta made from buckwheat. This is a recipe from the western end of Switzerland and includes also potatoes, greens, cheese, and sage. Delicious!
Just enjoy!
A little sun peaks through. We noticed some clouds kept hanging over the waterfall area. Probably because of the constant mist.
The view down the valley.
Foroglio on the right, waterfall on the left.
Foroglio and the Ristorante La Froda straight ahead in the middle.
We hike the short lower path to the waterfall, and I see a large, green lizard. There are millions of these little brown lizards scurrying everywhere in the woods in Switzerland, but this is only the second time I spot a big green/blue one!! So pretty!
Foroglio - restaurant is in lower right area.
Waterfall view from below.
After the short hike to the bottom of the falls, we come back and walk around town. There is a little "artigianale"artisans shop in this old grain storage building. I buy some very comfortable, hand-made wool felt slippers!
And notice the flat rock on the supports - so the mice fall off and don't reach the grain!
A summer home in a renovated animal stall and grain storage building.
We find another path leading to a higher view of the falls. Here, we look back on Foroglio and the valley.
This is about as close as we can get to the falls. The rock face becomes steeper, with rails and chains to hold on to as we move along the path. It actually looks like path continues, but I see no ledge to walk on, so this is far enough for me!
The waterfall with the valley in view.
The valley from the path. See the rockslide on the right?
Awesome summer home in Foroglio
Homes with a view.
Back in town, and the restaurant where we ate.
Next town is Roseto.
Another wash basin in Roseto. The mountain way back with the snow is where Lake Robiei and the dam is.
Zooming in, you can see the little white building in the middle of the picture. That is the Robiei aerial tramway above San Carlo which takes you up to Lake Robiei. It's quite a trip - about 2 miles by cable!
We drive up to the aerial tramway. I was driving the entire way up until half-way up this winding, narrow road. Rick had to take over - I was too scared! It really wasn't THAT bad, but I panic when another car comes and the road is so narrow.
As you can see, the POSTAL BUS does the route!
Also, see the landslide in the upper right? I'll get back to that....
The power station from the dam is inside the mountain! We peak in - the lights go into the tunnel a long way, and we see another opening way deep in there. The camera doesn't capture that.
Back down the mountain a bit, just near the town of San Carlo, we see a hiking sign for an abandoned nucleo (old town center) called Prèsa. It's a 5 minute hike. The homes that once stood here are among the oldest in this valley (13th century). This cappella is from the 16th century.
Remember the landslide from a few pictures ago? This town sat under that area, which has been sliding and falling for quite some time. These slides covered this area where the cappella is, and has been cleaned up many times. The cappella was restored in 1997.
The sign at the beginning of the path warns hikers to leave if the weather turns bad, as there is a continued threat of rockslides.
We hear a noise, and I thought it was a couple other hikers. No - there are two horses here!
The one on the left is rocking forward and back - to scratch his belly on a dry plant! Smart horse!
When we entered the area, it was surrounded by an electric ribbon fence. At the "gate", we just grab the plastic handle, pass through, and re-hook it. I just love how hikers can go just about anywhere in Switzerland!
Just close the gate behind you!
Getting a nice belly scratch!
The ruins of Prèsa. You can see the "horse trails" all over.
We follow another path a bit higher, which was leading to an old "fornace", a furnace that was used to make lime plaster. We turn back when we start hearing thunder! Don't want any rocks falling on us!
Enjoying the horses before we go.
I feel like I should get on one of these horses, wearing a flowing princess dress, and ride off with my prince!
We take a quick hike around the town of San Carlo. In this view you see the rock slide again.
Typical Swiss garden gnomes. (They grew up under the rock in Sabbione!)
Little chapel along the road. Just on the right side of the road is a HUGE, fallen rock, and there is one behind the church.
Huge boulder behind the church - it's bigger than the building, for sure.
View of the other boulder across the street. I'm sure it had been bigger and had to be cut to make the road.
On the road back, we stop in Sonlerto and walk over another old, stone bridge.
The stone bridge leads to the Grotto Bavona, but it had closed at 3:00pm. Too bad, the garden seating was adorable!
Old homes of Sonlerto in Val Bavona.
Another old, restored grain storage building, with the flat rocks to prevent mice from going up. Here they call it a Torba. It's part of the Valle Maggia museum.
Here in Sonlerto is an example of an old "prato pensile" - like a roof garden on top of this big rock.
A closer look at the prato pensile. You see how the edges of the rock were built up with stones. This gave the town more "surface" to cultivate. In the museum back in San Carlo, there was an old picture of a woman gathering hay from on top of this rock!
Sonlerto, Switzerland, with its grain storage building in the center. A fresh garden is planted in front of the stone wall.
Good-bye to Sonlerto and to Val Bavona.
Next stop, Ristorante Pizzeria Al Torchio in Muralto - along the lake next to Locarno!
