TREKKINGTREKKING ININ LOMBARDIALOMBARDIA discovering the central Alps Turismo ASSORIFUGILOMBARDIA Assorifugi Lombardia (Association of the Alpine Refuge Operators of Lombardy) brings you for the first time a selection of itineraries for your excursions in the mountains of Lombardy. This project was promoted and co-funded by the Lombardy Regional government, which has been recently paying particular attention to mountain tourism. Our proposals are targeted at hikers with no special mountaineering skills. All excursions will be conducted by a professional guide. Along the treks participants will have the opportunity to enjoy the warmth of the hospitality of alpine refuges managed by members of our association, and taste the best traditional foods the Rhaetian Alps and Lombardy Pre-Alps have to offer. Assorifugi Lombardia is also readying all kinds of proposals for you: learning tours and short theme stays, visits and classes to suit all needs and tastes. If you wish to keep up with our new proposals and the latest news, please visit our website: www.rifugi.lombardia.it and sign up to be on our mailing list. We are looking forward to seeing you in our alpine refuges! If, in the meantime, you wish to receive additional information, please send us a message at [email protected]. Giacomo Baccanelli President Assorifugi Lombardia ASSORIFUGILOMBARDIA • Trekking in Lombardy: Excursions, nature, and culture Sky-scraping peaks, softly rolling hills, and vast plains: the region of Lombardy offers its visitors all of these diverse landscapes and many more. Lake excursions and trips along the banks of rivers are just a few of the countless opportunities excursionists, hikers, and bikers can choose from to experience an outdoor adventure just a stone’s throw from Milan. All the trails are clearly marked and equipped with signs. The mountains of Lombardy are a bountiful source of inspiration for outdoor activities: relaxing walks on peaceful trails, where you can encounter alpine marmots, deer, and chamois, or adventurous hikes along inaccessible ridges offering you the chance to admire breathtaking views. Trekking is perhaps the best way to gain a true appreciation of the landscape of our region. It brings you into close contact with nature and the environment: rocks, trees, and plants, medieval hamlets, countryside dotted with old parish churches, mills, and towers: Trekking is environmentally-friendly tourism, a practice that combines excursions, nature and culture. It is an unhurried trip through the attractions and aromas of our region, during which the guest has a unique opportunity to experience local traditions and meet local people. This kind of tourism is the perfect way to breathe new life into our old rural communities and keep their customs alive. There are also lots of places where you can stop to taste local food and wine, as well as many mountain refuges and tourist farms where you can enjoy the warmth of local hospitality. Then why not take the opportunity to spend one or more wonderful days in close touch with nature under the magnificent skies of Lombardy? Plenty of trails and itineraries are ready to take you on a journey of discovery through our unique region. Region of Lombardy - 1 - • Contents Introduction page 3 Camonica Valley page 5 Adamello Park page 6 – Adamello Trail 1 - Adamello Northern Park Trail page 7 – Valle delle Messi - Ercavallo Lakes and Case di Viso page 8 – Ercavallo Lakes and Gavia Pass - Avio and Venerocolo Lakes page 9 – Val Grande, where the deer fall in love – From Tonale Pass along the Smugglers Trail page10 – Loop around the Aviolo Mountains - From the Aviolo Basin to the Avio Valley page 11 – Summit of Mount Adamello - Sant Antonio Valleys Natural Reserve page12 Valtellina page15 – Val di Mello - Valmasino page16 – Valfurva - Ortles Cevedale Trek page17 – Upper Val Malenco - Val Malenco Tour page18 – Sasso Nero Botanical Trail - Vittorio Sella glaciological Trail page19 – Valchiavenna page20 – Stelvio National Park page21 Lake Como page23 – Grigne Mountain Tour - Western Orobic Alps page24 – Lecco Mountains - Via Ferrata Tour page25 – Northwest Orobic Alps page26 Orobic Alps page29 Orobic Alps Park page31 – Orobic Alps Trail (7 and 10 days) page32 – Carona Alpine Lakes - Flower Trail page33 – Carona Alpine Lakes and Flower Trail - Lake Area Trek page34 – Presolana page35 Bibliography page36 Informations page37 General Terms page38 - 2 - • Introduction For all trips, the price includes: • Bed and continental breakfast, mineral water; • Packed lunches (two sandwiches and a drink); • A professional guide (licensed and registered member of the national association); • Insurance; • Transportation to the starting point and back from the ending point. The price also includes one free participant for groups of over 12 members. Prices are given for the off season (from June 1 to July 15, and the whole month of September), mid season (from July 16 to 31), and peak season (month of August). For details on pricing of scheduled treks, please click on www.rifugi.lombardia.it Groups may consist of a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 20 people. For smaller or larger groups please contact the organization. All groups must be accompanied by a professional guide. Groups that already have a guide of their own can waive the service of a guide provided by the organization, subject to mutual agreement and submission of the proposed guide’s credentials. For the price, request a special quotation. The organization reserves the right to turn down a group without a guide provided by the organization itself. During the entire excursion, the guide will be the person in charge of the group: the decisions of the guide are binding for all group members. Proposed changes to the route, provided they do not increase the number of overnight stays or create problems for transportation logistics, can be agreed upon with the guide, who will first evaluate them based on the level of fitness and training of the trekking group members. Before deciding on a trip, we recommend that you thoroughly consider both the duration of the various stages of the trek as well as the difficulty level. Unless otherwise specified in the text, the times given are the averages for hikers with average training. The level of difficulty corresponds to the CAI (Italian Alpine Club) system, which provides for the following categories: T - tourist, suitable for everybody E - excursionist, suitable for everybody, but moderate training required EE - expert excursionist, good fitness and mountaineering training required. Difficulty Duration of stages Trek lenght in days - 3 - - 4 - Innsbruck LIECHTENSTEIN AUSTRIA SWITZERLAND Bolzano ITALY Lago di Como Lago d' Iseo Milano Lago Verona di Garda • Camonica Valley Over 100 km long, the Camonica Valley is wedged between the Adamello mountain range and the western Orobic Alps. Inhabited for over ten thousand years, as evidenced by the largest concentration of rock carvings in Europe, the valley is rich in artwork from through the ages, commissioned by both the church and private individuals. There are numerous churches of all periods starting from the Romanesque period (XII century): over two hundred noteworthy monuments have been catalogued. The sides of the Camonica Valley are studded with bastions and castles, while the old hamlets have many stately residences, evidence of a time when this valley was a rich and thriving area thanks to its production activity and trade with for the Venetian Republic. Drop-forges, mills, melting furnaces, waterworks, and mines still bear witness to the hard work of the Camonica Valley inhabitants throughout history, hard work that still goes on today in the many artisan businesses that have sprung up all along the valley bottom. As soon as you leave the banks of the Oglio River and hike up the forested valley sides, or venture into the side valleys rising up to the perennial snow of the glaciers, nature becomes the undisputed king of this fortunate valley in the heart of the Alps. There are plentiful flora and fauna and myriad streams, which, aided by a vast system of lakes and basins, provide the water power needed to run the many hydroelectric power plants built in the area. - 5 - • Adamello Park Adamello Park lies in the Rhaetian Alps, a section of the Central Alps, and stretches over the entire Lombard side of the Adamello range in the northeastern part of the province of Brescia. The park extends from Tonale Pass to Crocedomini Pass, over an area of 510 km2. On the east side, it is bounded by the border between Lombardy and Trentino, while on the west the boundary runs just above the left bank of the river Oglio, the fifth longest river in Italy. Adamello Park is also very important due to its unique position. It bridges two neighboring parks: Trentino Adamello-Brentan Park on its eastern boundary and Stelvio Park to the north. The latter, in turn, borders on still another important park, the Swiss Engadina National Park. Thus, at the very heart of Europe, a 2,500-km2 protected area was created, the largest in the Alps and one of the most fascinating and enchanting spaces in the entire Alpine range. Adamello Park occupies the southern section of this greater park area. http://www.parcoadamello.it - 6 - • Adamello Trail 1 One the most beautiful in the Alps, this seven-day itinerary at elevations above 2,000 m, crosses the entire Adamello Park, in a south to north direction, following 80-year-old communication pathways along the World War I battle lines. During the trek you will travel from the limestone/dolomite areas of the southern part of the park, to the areas where tonalite, a geologically more recent granitic formation, is the predominant rock. We suggest planning this excursion for the months of June and July, when the high-altitude blooming season is at its peak.