In the valley of the sun

In the valley of the sun

Difficulty: T2 / ✶✶✶
Distance: approx. 17 km
Duration: approx. 6 h
Ascent: 788 m
Descent: 1’799 m
Highest point: 2’121 m
Stations: Dagro – Gordone – Cascina di Dagro – Alpe di Prou – Alpe di Cióu – Prato di Cüm – Vipéra – Russin – Anzano – Bacino Val Malvaglia – Rasóira Bacino Val Malvaglia – Canè – Ponte di Canè – Pontei di fuori – Rongie
Best time to hike: May – November

In the canton of Tessin, the Valley of the Sun (das Tal der Sonne) stretches from the village of Biasca to the Lukmanier Pass. It features an extensive nature park with more than 500 km of hiking trails.

The Filovia Malvaglia cable car

First, however, you’ll have to take a ride on the small Filovia Malvaglia cable car, which will take you more than 1’000 m up to the Dagro sun terrace. It is from here that this beautiful route begins.

Stone houses (Rustico)

The trail takes you through forests and mountain settlements with stone houses (Rustico), characteristic of the region. Granite stone was used in their construction, as well as crystalline slate, especially gneiss, which is readily available in Switzerland.

Every time I see these houses, I am surprised by their strength and the precise arrangement of the stones. It can be assumed that the Tessin craftsmen have reached an exceptional level of skill in this technique.

Rusticos were formerly used for agricultural purposes. Nowadays, they are mostly comfortably furnished holiday flats with a preserved outer wall. If it weren’t for the modern windows, it would be hard to tell the difference.

In addition to the stone houses, along the way one discovers amazing views of the surrounding peaks, including the Rheinwaldhorn (3’402 m) – the highest peak of the Adula Alps, which is located on the border between the cantons of Tessin and Graubünden.

The final section of the route

Towards the end of the route, you pass Lake Malvaglia and the impressive arched dam, which was built in 1959.

The hike ends in the district of Rongie (Malvaglia), from where a bus will take you back to the village of Biasca. The hike can also end at the upper or lower station of the Filovia Malvaglia cable car.

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