Alpe Veglia, from San Domenico
Edited by:
Nino Malavenda
Access
By car: Take the A26 motorway, which continues as the SS36 Simplon road. Drive past Domodossola and take the road to Varzo and continue to S. Domenico, pass the signs for the chairlift (a variant of our itinerary) and finally reach the Ponte Campo car park.
By train you arrive in Domodossola and continue by public transport.
Introduction
One-day itinerary in the Alpe Veglia plain, a place that is not only very beautiful from a landscape point of view, but also very interesting from a geological (glaciers, potholes, lakes) and naturalistic (especially fauna) point of view. Alpe Veglia cannot be reached in winter for this route due to the presence of avalanches on the access road. The period we recommend is October, a month that offers many opportunities to observe fauna (deer, eagles, chamois and alpine galliformes).
Description
From the Ponte Campo car park (1420m), cross the stream and start climbing along the dirt road or along a path that rejoins the dirt road just above. The road climbs with many hairpin bends to the Gropallo chapel (1723m). From the chapel, the path moves in a false level to the bridge at the entrance to the plain. From here the loop trail starts, which crosses the entire Alpe Veglia. Turning left, you reach the village of Cianciavero (1751m); from here you can reach the Marmitte dei Giganti in a few minutes along the path to Lago d'Avino. Just past Cianciavero is the junction for Lago delle Streghe (1800m), which is well worth a visit. Back on the main trail, we pass the villages of Alone, Ponte and Isola to reach Cornù. From here we take the diversions to Lago Bianco (2157m), the path initially climbs into a larch wood and then along the mountainside until we reach the lake, which is set in a truly impressive mountain crown. From the lake we descend along the ascent route to the Città di Arona hut; we take the main path again and complete the tour of the plain, passing the junction for La Balma and returning to the bridge at the entrance. From here along the outward route we return to Ponte Campo.
Galleria fotografica
