For various reasons there weren’t too many hikes this winter. Having had the intention to primarily write about my snowshoe forays, it turned out that I was able to do only one and unfortunately that one wasn't too exciting. :( So instead of writing about a rather dull snowshoe hike, I thought I write about a walk I did in our most southern canton of Tessin. :) As I had a few days off at the end of February, I decided to visit Lugano and some of its neighboring peaks. The canton of Tessin experienced one of the driest and mildest winter in history, so I knew that I could go higher up without having to worry about snow. Staying in a hotel in downtown Lugano, I got up early on Saturday morning and started to walk right from the doorstep after a small breakfast. My goal for the day was Monte Boglia and Monte Brè and as I still prefer going upwards over downwards, I opted to head from the bottom to the top, to be able to take the funicular railway down from Monte Brè in the end. So, I made my way through the quarters of Lugano, turning left and right until I had reached its outskirts. A short uphill section through a forest ensued, before I soon was back in the suburbs. Passing by a nice church tower, the path eventually began to lead upwards a few minutes later and walking by one mansion after the other, I slowly started to gain some altitude. Finally, there also was a first view and looking out over Lugano all the way to Monte San Salvatore, it was beautiful enough to take a quick break. :)
Once the last mansions were left behind me, a steeper part up to the small mountain village of Cureggia had to be conquered. Alternating between a proper hiking trail and the main street, I made good way and before long was walking into Curregia. Being a lovely little place with a lovely little church, it marked the perfect spot to take a longer break. Moving on about 15 minutes later, I headed out of the village and soon came across a signpost, telling me in Italian, that there was lumbering done in the area. Luckily I had read about that beforehand and knew that they were only working during the week and not on the weekend. With some help from Google to translate the notification, that was confirmed right there. So I kept on walking, nevertheless taking note where the detour would go through, just in case. Anticipating the lumbering area in about 30 minutes, I was surprised when 10 minutes later a huge sign barred the way of the path I intended to take. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure anymore. Why was there such a huge sign? And why was it barring the way? Shouldn’t it be open on the weekend? Hearing a chainsaw in the distance didn’t really help to answer those questions. :) Thinking about it for a minute, I decided to give it a go anyway. After all, twice I had read that the path was passable on the weekend and the chainsaw sound was fortunately coming from somewhere below and not above me. Ducking underneath the sign, I hurried along the trail and was surprised to suddenly see another hiker coming along. Well, in that case, nothing to be worried about anymore. :) Turning around the next bend I was surprised again, as another sign already marked the end of the lumbering area. Now, I was glad that I had decided to give it a go, as the detour would have been much much longer.
Moving on after that short incident, the trail continued to go upwards in serpentines. As I was hiking in the woods, the views were very limited and as the forest was yet pretty bleak, it wasn’t the most entertaining walk ever. Many dead leaves still covered the floor and were a proof of the mild winter they had had. One more time I had to cross a lumbering area, but there was no uncertainty anymore and I just passed without any troubles at all. Change finally came, when I got closer to the Alpe Bolla. The sun finally made it over the mountainside, while at the same time the trees started to thin out. Alpe Bolla appeared not much later on and being a lovely little plateau with plenty of benches to sit down, the time for another break had come. :)
15 minutes later I was on my way again and when another rise had been tackled, a magnificent view over the surrounding mountains greeted my eyes. If I hadn’t taken a break just before, I certainly would have taken it right there. :)
Turning towards my first goal of today, Monte Boglia was now in full view and I knew that what was awaiting was the steepest part of today's ascent. Once more the slope led upwards in serpentines and being back in the woods, the focus was solely on overcoming that part. About three quarters up, the trees started to recede again and the view that unfolded was even better than the one from the foot of the mountain just before. Looking at the Alps of Switzerland and Italy, the panorama was simply perfect and I was glad that I had chosen to visit Lugano and its neighboring peaks. Even the Lake of Lugano appeared a few minutes later on and marked another wonderful sight where it was difficult to take my eyes off it. :)
Conquering the last rise to the top, the panorama from the summit of Monte Boglia was just mind-blowing. The Lake of Lugano, Lugano itself, as well as the Alps of Switzerland and Italy made for a wonderful 360° panoramic sight.
Being such a nice day as it was, I wasn’t alone on the peak of course, but the amount of people was manageable and I was able to enjoy my hour on the top to the fullest. While the sky was as blue as possible and the sun was fairly strong already, there also was a rather fierce wind. It was basically the only sign of winter and made some of the people that reached the summit, turn around again pretty fast. :)
Starting to descend towards my second goal, the first part of the descent was super lovely as well. The views over the Lake of Lugano and the Alps accompanied me for quite a while and when I eventually entered the forest again, a hidden viewpoint called Sasso Rosso marked another highlight of the day. The gorgeous lake right to my feet, the impressive mountains as a backdrop, all while being sheltered from the wind by some trees, it was impossible to not take another break there. :)
20 minutes later I was back on the main hiking trail and decided to take the shortest way possible to Brè and its mountain. That meant to get down a super steep and rather slippery slope, which easily was the most challenging section of today’s hike. Reaching the village of Brè, I noticed that there also was a bus to Lugano and having a free ticket in my pocket, I spontaneously opted to take the bus instead of the funicular railway.
At first however, I headed up to Monte Brè. That meant to climb stairs and oh boy, there were a lot of it. :) A couple decent views made the ascent easier and coming closer to the top, the sun and the trees presented quite a spectacle that compensated for the effort to get there.
Interestingly enough, the peak of Monte Brè wasn’t the best viewpoint. Heading down on the other side, a lovely mansion with a huge platform offered the most beautiful panorama and definitely was the place to be. Many other people enjoyed the stunning view towards Lugano and lingering there for a while, I simply had to appreciate the brilliant weather I had had for the whole day.
Returning to the village of Brè, I was on time to catch the bus, bringing me back to downtown Lugano and to a well deserved dinner with a refreshing beer. :) What a day that was! As mentioned before, it certainly had been the right decision to pay Lugano a visit, but of course for next winter, I try to include some proper winter hikes in my blog as well. :)
Highlights of the day: the views from Monte Boglia, Sasso Rosso and Monte Brè
This hike is for you if:
- you want the best views over Lugano and the Lake of Lugano
- you’re looking for diversity (suburbs, mountain villages, woods, panoramic views)
- you want to scale two peaks in one day
- you’re looking for a hike that can be done in early spring or late autumn (always depending on the weather of course :))
This hike is not for you if:
- you’re looking for unbeaten paths
- you prefer descending over ascending :)
- you mind to conquer a few steep slopes in between
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