April 6, 2017 Hike from Cardada to Cimetta above Locarno, Switzerland

 Today we went to Locarno, which is on the northern end of Lake Maggiore. Above the city, there is the famous Madonna del Sasso santuary and pilgrimage church in Orselino. It was built on an outcropping of rock after there was a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1480. To get to the mountain above (other than hiking up!) we took the funicular from Locarno to the church level. From there we took a cable up to an area called Cardada. This is not far from where we live, but believe it or not, I've never been up to Cardada! (the church, yes).
It was a beautiful, clear sunny day - of course, that's why we went!

View looking west from the viewing platform in Cardada. The valley you see straight ahead is the Centovalli (one hundred valleys). Lake Maggiore is on the left. 

Zoomed in on the Centovalli. The snowcapped peak way in the distance, slightly to the left of center is the tallest in Switzerland. The Matterhorn is just about in the center and a bit to the right. Probably hard to see unless you zoom in. The road you see winding in the Centovalli is one of the most stressful to drive. It gets very narrow, with many blind curves. A nail biter!

There's actually an area of homes up in Cardada.  I'm sure summer homes, as there is no real road to drive up here. To get from house to house you walk the little sidewalk! 

We began our hike traveling east along the slope of the mountain. 

You can see where we hiked from - the trail along the right. Now Rick is standing in the Alpe Cardada overlooking Lake Maggiore. The Alpe is a meadow where cows will graze in the summer. 

View from the Alpe Cardada looking west. The building on the slope is a restaurant/bar with a terrace. It is a welcome rest stop later in our hike! 

A small stone hut in the Alpe Cardada, looking north, northeast. 

One of many crosses on mountain tops in Swtizerland. Rick is relaxing overlooking the Magadino plain, where Bellinzona is found towards the north of the valley.  The crocuses are blooming!

Better view of these beautiful crocuses! 

From the Magadino plain on the left to Lake Maggiore on the right. 

Originally, we weren't planning on hiking all the way to the top - Cimetta, but before we knew it, we were almost there, so, why not? Here, some people take the Seggiovia (chairlift) from Cardada to Cimetta. 

You cannont imagine how breathtaking this hike was! Pure heaven....

Almost at the top. There are a few buildings up here, but it's mainly a ski station in winter. 

The ski station at Cimetta. We made it to the very top! Phew!

Of course it's always quicker hiking downhill, and we reach the restaurant quickly and enjoy some beer. After, we hiked back down to Cardada - which, by the way, would have been easier if the signs were better. The hiking signs pointed to two other directions - one was a closed trail, the other would have taken us WAY out of our way. We chose the fire road, which was easy and fast, but not indicated as a choice. Hmmm, not like Swiss mountains. Fortunately we chose this route, because the cable car was stopping at 6:15pm and if we had missed it, that sure would have been a long walk down! 

We took the cable car back to Orselina and visited Madonna del Sasso church. It was a good choice to visit in the evening, as we were basically the only ones there. Then we continued the rest of the way down with the funicular. 

A large 3 dimensional display of the last supper at Madonna del Sasso church.