Val Rezzo: Trails, Summit Views and Oratories

You can discover Val Rezzo through its hiking trails, mountain landscapes and religious buildings. If you are looking for a hotel for your trip, the excursions you have planned may determine which aspects of the destination matter most to you. The trails mentioned differ in their starting points, destinations and described landscapes. Looking at these details can help you plan your trip around specific interests.

Hiking routes and their different scales

The Sentiero delle 4 Valli is about 45 kilometres long and passes through Val Sanagra, Val Cavargna, Val Rezzo and Valsolda. It starts in Breglia and ends in Dasio. For planning purposes, the approximate total distance and these two reference points go together. This distance should not be confused with the time needed for a single hike to a place of interest: for example, the hike from Buggiolo to San Lucio reaches a chapel after about 30 minutes from Dasio. You can therefore consider a route across several valleys and a shorter excursion to a specific destination as different travel plans.

On the Sentiero delle 4 Valli, Passo Stretto lies at an altitude of 1,102 metres; the crossing between Val Rezzo and Valsolda runs through it. The section between these valleys passes through a beech forest dotted with limestone blocks. The trail then reaches Pralungo at 1,116 metres: an elongated, flat meadow with a stream. The forest passage, crossing and open meadow provide different landscape features along this section of the route.

Chapels and mountain oratories

The hike from Buggiolo to San Lucio starts in Dasio and reaches, after about 30 minutes, the Chapel of Our Lady of Cep, dedicated to the Madonna del Cep, at an altitude of 1,330 metres. The chapel, also known as Madonna del Cepp, is a stone building with a distinctive bell tower on a circular base. If you want to pay attention to the building as well as the route during your excursion, its altitude, dedication and tower shape offer specific points of interest for your visit.

The San Lucio mountain oratory stands at an altitude of 1,542 metres on the Italian side of the Swiss-Italian border, about three metres from the boundary stone. Its frescoes date from the 15th to the 18th century. The location and the frescoes offer two different perspectives on the site: its position right by the border and its artistic decoration, which spans several centuries.

Summit views and trails through the forest

The Giro del Monte Garzirola runs from Buggiolo in Val Rezzo along an agricultural and forestry road to the Oratorio di San Lucio. There is a place to park in Dasio, just above Buggiolo. Surface and weather conditions can vary; check conditions before setting out and also check the current parking situation when planning your trip.

From the summit of Monte Garzirola, you can see large parts of the Swiss area of Val Morobbia, the Lombard lakes and the peaks of the Central Alps. Another viewpoint is Sasso della Porta. The hike there starts in Dasio, a hamlet in Val Rezzo; from the summit, the view extends over Val Cavargna, the surrounding mountains and the plain between the lakes of Piano and Lugano. The two summits therefore offer different panoramas, which you can distinguish by the respective areas of landscape mentioned.

A trail also leads from Dasio to Rifugio San Lucio through beech and birch forests. Together with the described excursions to chapels and summits, it offers another way to discover the landscape along a specific route.

Plan your hotel search around your travel plans

The starting points and destinations mentioned can help you plan your search for a hotel in Val Rezzo. First, consider whether the Sentiero delle 4 Valli, an excursion to a chapel or one of the summit viewpoints will be the focus of your trip. Then compare the respective hotel offers based on their specific details and your own accommodation preferences. This way, your choice of accommodation remains connected to the excursions you actually plan to take.

Discover more destinations: Como, Musso, Domaso, Valmorea, Pusiano, Germasino, Castiglione Dʼintelvi, Civenna.

Return to the main travel overview: Como.