Walserweg Gottardo

The first 400 metres of altitude difference for this stage are not as straightforward as they seem: from Alpe Vannino, the path climbs very steeply along a slippery stream ditch to the barren pass crossing. A glance backwards is also worthwhile: the lake sparkles far below, and in the distance the Ofenhorn towers over the valley basin. The descent from the Passo di Nefelgiù – together with the Passo di Cristallina, the highest point on the entire Walserweg trail – is also characterised by a torrent ditch until the path then turns into the side slopes. You reach the Alpe di Nefelgiù via a wide valley floor with alpine meadows. A drivable dirt road high above the large Morasco dam leads slowly westwards towards the valley. Moraschg (Morasco), an entire Walser village, also disappeared in the floods in 1940. A photogenic oratory on a hill in front of Riale commemorates the “buried” village and the workers who lost their lives building the dam.

Descending via meadows and through sparse forests, you then reach the residential area of Riale di Sotto. The original Walser village of Riale or Chärbäch is worth a detour. Its houses made of wood and stone are crowded together on the edge of the plain. This is also where, coming from the Gries Pass, the Via Sbrinz meets the Walserweg Gottardo trail. The big mule festival takes place in town each year in late summer. Away from the road, you now hike across meadows, forests and hills to the Cascata del Toce. The waterfall was once an imposing landmark of the valley and a much-visited attraction. This is what it is now, especially on special summer days: that is when the lock is opened and the water rushes down 143 metres over the rocks across a width of 60 metres. Normally, most of the water is supplied to the Ponte power plant headquarters through pressure pipes. The trail leads down from the traditional 1863 hotel next to the waterfall. Memorial plaques remind us that numerous artists and musicians visited this natural spectacle and were inspired by it.

On the way along the path that crosses the wide stream in the valley floor, there are always new views. On the right side of the valley, it now leads down to the large Walser village of Ponte (Zum Schtäg) with slight inclines and via further valley steps. Numerous restaurants in the neighbouring valley towns of Ponte and Valdo invite you to stop and take a break. The wooden buildings and the addresses on town boards, administration offices and school buildings indicate the German-speaking ancestry of the residents. The construction of power plants and roads also enabled tourism to develop. Migration from the south probably led to a gradual loss of Walser traditions, cultural identity and Walser German. The Pomatt finally became the Italian Val Formazza. If you want to find out more about Walser culture, visit the historically important “Casa Forte” stone house in Ponte, which is home to an ethnographic museum.