Walserweg Gottardo

The second stage of the Walser hike takes place entirely in Italy. Crampiolo is located in the heart of the Alpe Devero Natural Park, the oldest natural park in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The stone houses here are set harmoniously in the alpine landscape – a picture-book Italian alpine village. The first climb begins right behind Agriturismo Crampiolo: the narrow path initially winds up through a larch forest and later joins a tractor track that goes to Alpe Sangiatto. This is surrounded by three lakes and small moors. The path continues to climb in a zigzag through sparse forest to the first pass of the stage, the Bocchetta di Scarpia. As you descend along the valley flank towards Alpe Pojala, Lake Agaro comes into view. Its damming up in 1938 saw the disappearance of the Walser community of the same name, which had been inhabited for 700 years and was the highest in the area. Back then, the Walser people cultivated the small areas of land between the rocks with scythes and axes, and they built their houses in safe places below the barrier woodland. The Alpe Pojala was an important economic pillar of the high-altitude Walser villages, which primarily practised livestock farming.

The path across the alp is difficult to find. The path then reaches the shoulder of the terrain a little more distinctly, follows the steep valley flank in the upper part of the Agaro Gorge, and reaches the barren Passo del Muretto, which is set between boulders. This was an important connecting route that linked the Walser villages of Pomatt (Formazza) with Alpe Devero and Binn. You reach the first terrace, first descending along the valley flank, then steeply down past rugged rocks. It is littered with boulders from landslides and pieces of wood from avalanches. This is followed by a short, steep climb to the northern shoulder. You reach Alp Salecchio through a dense larch forest and pastures, and go steeply down to the dilapidated huts of Cortic.

Surprisingly, you soon find yourself in front of the original settlement of Saley, now known as Salecchio Superiore. Like the other settlements in the valley, it was also founded “am obru Bärg” (high on the mountain) in the 13th century by migrant Walser people. The village never had more than 100 inhabitants, which corresponded roughly to the available resources. If the population increased, some families had to move on. Because of its isolation, the traffic-free village was abandoned in 1966, but is now partially inhabited in summer. The settlement is accessed by a material cableway and is carefully maintained, as evidenced by the gardens and floral decorations. The barns and houses made of larch wood, which were built as log constructions, are also attractive to look at. The Rifugio Zum Gora is located in one of these traditional groups of houses. From the destination for this stage, there is a broad view across the lower Val Antigorio and the border mountains to Ticino in Switzerland.