Ticino-Switzerland : April 17, 2017 - Vallemaggia hike above Brontallo and Piano di Peccia

We stay a third night in Vallemaggia because we are really having a nice time. On this last day, we decide to visit a few other communities in the valley. We first go to a valley area nearby called Piano di Peccia.

At the last little town in the Piano di Peccia, San Antonino, we find a great restored "Torba", which is a stall which held the animals and the hay was stored on top. The top building was lifted up with large, round rocks under the top part, to prevent rats from reaching the food!

San Antonino in Piano di Peccia

We leave Piano di Peccia and go up a switchback road to the town of Brontallo. It is very unique for the number of animal stalls which were built all the same and all facing the same direction. The town is slowly being totally restored and many of these old stalls are now summer rental homes.

A beautiful, restored former stall. The restoration is thanks to many Swiss Germans who have been restoring Brontallo to a summer destination. The town was also well marked with a walk one can do to learn about the history of the town.

Inside one of the buildings I see an old funnel type basket "una gerla" (gerlu-gerlo in Ticinese dialect) or more exactly "CARGANSC", which is very typical to this region. The one pictured would be called Cargansc because it has a more open weave for carrying grass and hay. The tighter woven baskets of this type, gerla, would carry fruit and vegetables and chesnuts. The Ticinese farmers wore them on their backs. It's rare now, but from time to time we have seen someone still using these!

We are following the historical walk signs. View of Brontallo

Rick admiring the old buildings.

We are slowly moving higher in the town.

We begin to follow a rocky path which indicates that it leads up to Margonegia. I don't really know what to expect up there, but we see a cross and lookout point, and we head up to get the view. At one point, the hiking path indicates for us to go to the right, but it looks narrow and scary! The stone trail also goes to the left. I choose the left path, which takes us through the forest, but the path becomes more difficult and the stones slippery. Maybe we should have followed the indication to the right?

We finally get to the "top", well, in Switzerland you're never at the top unless you REALLY go to the peak of the mountain! There are always more paths, more homes. Here, we have a beautiful view down the valley, and we find that we are above a group of homes, and that on this side of the mountainside there is actually a road! And here we thought we were going somewhere only accessible by foot. Switzerland always surprises me! The town in the distance on the left is Menzonio.
The path we took actually took us much higher than the cross and "lookout" point we had seen from below.

I suppose this area of the mountain is called Margonegia, or I think that is the name of the mountain. Here, there is a path that links the group of homes we came upon, to more in the distance and up higher. Can you see the homes just ahead and also up high? Up higher there is an "agritourismo" farm - a farm that hosts guests who can relax, learn about the farm, and help out if they wish.

How hard must life have been on these slopes - and the making of so many stone terraces!

Rick in the meadow!

We actually have to hike back down to this area (which had the cross). We had passed a woman and her son and asked her about the hiking path we had seen that seemed to be "on the edge" and more dangerous. She said that was the path with the view and the one we should take. We follow the signs then to go back to town on that path.
In this picture, I'm kind of sitting on the "edge" on the bench, but the green of the mountain blends with the mountains on the other side of the valley. Too bad you can't see the depth in the photo.

Looking back at the first group of homes we hiked up to.

The fun thing about Swiss hiking paths is that they will pass through farm meadows and even private property. Here, you can see a couple of yellow hiking signs on the left of the house. We have to open the gate, walk past the house and a patio, where a man and woman were sitting outside in the sun! We say hello and continue, feeling so silly to walk right through their patio! Antoher gate and we continue down the path. I love it!

We begin to take the "scenic" path that the woman had recommended. Wow! Great view of Brontallo and the switchback road that leads up to it. The town in the distance is Bignasco.

Let's head down! The big flat rock face you see is used for rock climbing.

I definitely feel more secure with my hiking poles!

The zigzag of the path

It's really a drop off here - scary, but really, you won't fall - it's a great path!

Arriving back in Brontallo

Looking back at the little chapel lookout point to which we hiked -actually, remember we took the other path and ended up higher in the group of homes on the other side of the hill.