The Dorio mountains and the lower Valvarrone

The loop runs through the woods of the lower Valvarrone and the small places scattered on the mountains above Dorio.

From the sports ground at Vestreno, a hamlet of Valvarrone, Via al Bacino climbs steeply to the reservoir that feeds the Corenno hydroelectric plant; then the road turns to level gravel, and on the left there is a small chapel and, below it, the trenches and machine-gun posts of the Cadorna Line. Through the woods you reach a headland with a view over Dorio and Olgiasca, where the stations of the Way of the Cross begin, leading pilgrims to the sanctuary of the Madonna di Bondo, at 745 metres, with a picnic area. Among chestnut and birch woods you pass Piazzo and climb by path to Vercin, at 900 metres, and then to Sommafiume, a summer resort at 1097. Higher up, at the Roccoli d'Artesso, at 1209 metres, beside a small lake among larches with picnic tables, you can visit the Cadorna Line gun emplacements, built for heavy artillery. You go down by Letee and Loco Tocco to Sueglio, through stepped lanes and old houses, to the parish church of San Martino, medieval in origin, consecrated in 1583 by San Carlo Borromeo, and by the mule track back to Vestreno.

1. 01An 11.4-kilometre loop with 620 metres of climb, from the Vestreno sports ground up to 1209 metres, four to five hours. It is of moderate difficulty, for March to November.
2. 02Vestreno is reached by car from Dervio on provincial road 67, with parking at the sports ground, or on the D125 Bellano–Tremenico–Avano bus.
3. 03There are picnic areas at the Madonna di Bondo and the Roccoli d'Artesso; the Cadorna Line positions are along the way.

WhereDervio · Dorio