Mountains of Dorio and lower Valvarrone

Mountains of Dorio and lower Valvarrone


Dorio | Sueglio | Valvarrone 500-1000 m over 10 Km over 4 hours

Route
The route starts from the Sports Centre in Vestreno (district of Valvarrone). We take via al Bacino, a steep slope paved road leading to the reservoir of Corenno hydroelectric plant. Here the road becomes flat and dirt and, going ahead for a little bit, we run into a small chapel and some underlying trenches and machine guns of the Cadorna Line on the left.
Then the route enter the woods and we come to a promontory whence we can admire a beautiful view over Dorio and Olgiasca; hence Via Crucis panels that accompany pilgrims towards the small Shrine of Madonna di Bondo (745 m) start, where there's a picnic area.
The itinerary continues in the midst of chesnut and birch woods and forests and, following the main road, it skirts the village of Piazzo (750 m); shortly after the junction, we turn right following indications to "Vezzèè - Vercin" and a little later we leave the road open to vehicles turning left. We take the path that goes beside a hunting station and then we turn right towards "Bedolèe"; keeping the left, the route continues until we reach the village of Vercin (900 m).
Once we have passed through the core of cabins, we take a dirt road that climbs up to Sommafiume (1097 m), a sort of summer resort for people who leave nigh. In the upper part of the built-up area, we take the paved road southward and then the path that leads to Roccoli d'Artesso fortifications (1209 m). Here, near a beautiful lake surrounded by larches and picnic planks, we can visit a number of gunboats fitted to host big artillery calibers of Cadorna Line.
Taking the road or the trail crossing the path descending towards Dervio, we go right at the intersection towards Sommafiume. Crossed the village of Letee (1144 m), on the left there's a trail that descends to the valley touching the location of Loco Tocco (926 m) and reaches the town of Sueglio (775 m).
Through the stepped narrow streets in the middle of the ancient and characteristic houses, we go down to the medieval Parish Church of St. Martino, consecrated in 1583 by St. Carlo Borromeo. Admired the works of art inside, we go ahead towards Vestreno following the trail that reaches the upper part of the town. We pass through the village along the narrow streets of the old town and we reach then the starting point.

Details

Starting point Sport Centre in Vestreno - VALVARRONE
Arrival point Sport Centre in Vestreno - VALVARRONE
Maximum altitude 1209 m
Height difference 620 m
Length 11,4 Km
Duration 4/5 hours
Difficulty Medium difficulty
Recommended period March-November