The Path of the Wayfarer: trekking from town to town. Or strolls and a fascinating tour by train: choose your ideal trip on beautiful Lake Como!
"That branch of Lake Como that turns to … ”East in my case, because it was in this part of the great Lombard lake that I spent a few days. The Wayfarer's Path was my goal, a town-to-town trekking carried out on the side of the lake, but in height since the coast is not flat. The walk was also an opportunity to visit some fascinating places that I will tell you about.
The Path of the Wayfarer
The Path of the Wayfarer is a trekking for experts, which can be done in three or four days and which connects Abbadia Lariana with Colico (several kilometers to the north). The peculiarity of the trekking route is that it often climbs towards the Grigne, the mountains that overlook this part of the lake, and then descends towards the villages, which instead are all at water level. The ups and downs make the stages quite challenging. The trail is carefully marked with orange signs.
I am not going to describe in detail the walk, which I did in three days: Abbadia Lariana - Lierna; Lierna - Dervio; Dervio - Colico with stages of 13; 25; 18 kilometers. Anyone wishing to know more information can write to me privately or through the portal. I point out that you are walking in the countryside and among oak woods. The lake always remains at the bottom, it can be glimpsed in the mist that always seems to hide it.
The handy thing is that the stages that can be covered on foot are equally connected by the Valtellina railway line, with very frequent trains that make all the stops: Abbadia Lariana, Mandello del Lario, Lierna, Fiumelatte, Varenna, Bellano, Dervio, Dorio, Piona, Colico. The railway line, created in the late nineteenth century, is very winding, full of galleries and characterized by the station buildings, all the same with terracotta decorations. One possibility is also to reach the various locations thanks to the navigation provided by Navigazione Laghi. An experience that I can recommend, also to easily visit the western shore with places like Bellagio or Villa Carlotta.
A brief overview of the various locations.
lierna
Lierna is a very pretty town with a beautiful white beach. The oldest part of the town is the castle, which juts out over the lake like a tangle of small streets, narrow houses close together and walls. There are few accommodations, mainly bed & breakfasts, and a quiet and elegant atmosphere.
Varenna and Fiumalatte
Varenna is undoubtedly the most touristic center. Before getting there, however, you will find Fiumelatte, a small and perched village overlooking its river and which has a peculiarity: it is the shortest in Italy, only 250 meters. It has a very steep bed, so that when the water flows, from March to October, it has such a force that it nebulises and becomes white… just like milk. In Fiumelatte there is a railway station that has a documentary exhibition inside, both on the birth of the railway line and on the disastrous landslide that in 2004 saw huge boulders fall on the station and on the town. There were two deaths.
But it's Varenna the real star of this part of Lake Como: characteristic, well-kept, full of clubs, full of tourists, with elegant hotels with a slightly fané look… in short, just what you expect from a holiday on the lake. There is no shortage of historically relevant monuments, such as the Vezio Castle, a low medieval fortification that rises on a hill above the town; or like the wonderful Villa Monastero, a house-museum with a sumptuous botanical garden overlooking the lake. Here you can admire the vegetation that grows thanks to the microclimate of the lake: palm trees and banana trees, olive trees and oleanders: incredible, given that we are just a few kilometers from the Alps.
In the center of the town there is also the beautiful Cathedral, in Romanesque style. But the best thing is to stroll through the narrow streets of Varenna, stop for an aperitif in a room overlooking the lake, or, for an easy but interesting walk, take the Greenway of the Patriarchs, a circular walking route, within everyone's reach, which descends towards the south and then climbs up to the city center - it is 10 kilometers, well marked.
Piona and Colico
Finally, the last leg of my tour, Piona and Colico. TO Pawn, a sort of peninsula that falls back on itself, as if to isolate a piece of the lake, I must point out the Cistercian Abbey but of very ancient origin. A magical place, of pure Romanesque architecture, with naive but elegant medieval frescoes. Absolutely not to be missed.
[photo Varenna: Diego Delso]
