Uriezzo Gorge

Access

From Domodossola SS659 to Val Formazza. Immediately after Premia take the diversions for Crego and Uriezzo. Leave your car at the end of the tarmac road near the Santa Lucia oratory, and continue on foot following the hiking signs with yellow arrows.

Introduction

Description

The large circular cavities (cauldrons) connected by narrow passages have been the subject of various studies and the formulation of different theories. The most accredited and certain one considers the intense action of the subglacial waters of the Toce glacier, which must have been very abundant in these areas.
With the retreat of the glaciers, the course of the hydrographic network would have changed, and the deep gorges produced by the erosion of the torrents remained dry, allowing the exploration of their interior.
The most spectacular gorge is the Orrido di Uriezzo Sud, called the 'Tomba di Uriezzo' by the locals. It consists of a series of potholes set on two levels and separated by a rockfall some ten metres high, which can be overcome by means of an iron ladder. The length of the two formations is about 200 m; the depth is about 20-30 m; their direction is SSE-NNW and their formation called Orrido Ovest is its presumed natural continuation.
At the entrance to the Orrido, explanatory panels guide the visit.