Another beautiful day in Ticino and the Vallemaggia – I
wanted to go to the end of a valley I had not been to before, so we set out in
the little Smart car to head to the town of Cimalmotto. As we head up into the
valley from the town of Cevio, I need to zig zag up 10 tight switchbacks. It’s
nerve-wrecking!
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We are finally up at Cimalmotto. The area is also called
Campo Vallemaggia. The altitude is 5282 feet. I just drove up from the turn in
Cevio, which was an altitude of 1381 feet. What a climb!
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Many summer vacation homes in Cimalmotto. |
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The interesting thing about Campo Vallemaggia and
Cimalmotto…… noted over the last 200 years, is that the land is shifting and
breaking off! The land is unstable and there have been efforts over the last 20
years to stabilize it by trying to control the flow of water underneath the
surface. It is the largest slipping of land in all of Europe.
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It is really a frightening sight! As Rick and I walked to
see the view, all of a sudden we can see THE EDGE! It looks like quite recently
chunks have fallen off. I don’t think I would like to have my vacation home
here.
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| We are really not sure where to hike, so we just head in the direction of the snowcapped mountains. |
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| Our hike follows a gravel road, which I'm sure will lead almost to the top, but of course, that is still so far away, so at this point we decide to hike back to the town. |
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| Sure looks like this area could fall off one day. So sad! Hopefully the Swiss will be able to control it. |
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| A beautiful view looking back to Cimalmotto |
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| On our drive back down, we get this view of Campo Vallemaggia. You can really get an idea of how high these towns are. Not sure what that "hole" is over on the edge. This area is also slipping. |
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