Sonogno Loop: The First Visit

The whole length of the Verzasca valley and back: down from Sonogno at the top, past Brione, Lavertezzo and the dam to the mouth of the valley near Lake Maggiore, then the long steady climb all the way back up. 56km, and my first ride in the valley.

The Verzasca is the kind of valley you see on posters of Ticino: green water, white granite, old stone villages. In July 2015 we stayed at the top end, by Sonogno, and on Wednesday 8 July I rode the whole thing. My note afterwards: "Lovely ride in the Versasca Valley. Will be back there later this year for more. Stunning...." (I did go back, four years later; see the Tenero rides.)

The Verzasca Valley

Valle Verzasca runs for about 25km, north to south, in the Locarno district of Ticino, from Sonogno at its head down to Lake Maggiore near Tenero and Gordola. It's made up of eight municipalities with only around 3,200 people. The river Verzasca carved it, and at the southern end it's held back by the Verzasca Dam to form Lago di Vogorno. The villages strung along it are Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione, Gerra, Frasco and Sonogno; Corippo is Switzerland's smallest municipality.

The traditional houses here are rustici: grey stone farmhouses with white window borders and heavy stone roofs. Life in the valley was hard. From the early 17th century many people left for seasonal work elsewhere, young men were often recruited as mercenaries, and the valley was the home of many of the spazzacamini, the child chimney sweeps who went to work in the cities of northern Italy. Tourism began at the end of the 19th century and is now the main industry. At Lavertezzo the Ponte dei Salti, an old two-arched stone bridge, crosses the river; it was partly destroyed in 1868 and rebuilt in 1960.

The RideSonogno To The Mouth Of The Valley And BackWednesday 8 July 2015

The route, from my GPS track. Green: start and finish at Sonogno. White: the turn near Gordola. An out-and-back down the whole valley past Brione, Lavertezzo and the dam. This ride on Strava →

56.1kmDistance

884mClimbing

1,004mHighest point

259mLowest point (near Gordola)

2h 40mMoving time

08:56–12:17Out on the road (3h 20m)

21.0km/hAverage moving speed

52.7km/hTop speed

111 / 158Heart rate, average / max (bpm)

1,302Calories

21°CAverage temperature

Six13Bike (road)

How The Day Went

08:56 – 09:54

Down the top of the valleySonogno → Gerra → Brione → Lavertezzo

16km910m → 512mphotos all the way

09:54 – 10:02

LavertezzoThe river pools, 512m

8 min

10:02 – 10:34

Past the dam to the bottomLavertezzo → the dam → near Gordola

10km→ 259m

10:34 – 12:03

The long way back upGordola → Lavertezzo → Brione → Sonogno

28km259m → 987m+696m2.5% average

12:03 – 12:17

HomeSonogno

2km

Down The Valley

I set off from Sonogno at 08:56 and let the road take me down. It's 26km from the top of the valley to the bottom, losing about 650m, and I stopped all the time: for the old stone houses below Gerra, for the road where it runs under the overhanging rock near Brione, and for the river, which is the real show. Below Brione it runs through white granite slabs and boulders, into deep green pools.

An old stone house and a newer house with flower boxes beside the valley road in the Verzasca — 09:15, below Gerra: old stone houses right on the road.

A road bike leaning against the rock wall where the valley road runs under an overhanging cliff — 09:20: the road under the overhanging rock near Brione, with the bike.

White granite boulders in the Verzasca river gorge with water running between them — 09:23: the river below Brione.

A deep green pool in a narrow white granite gorge on the Verzasca — 09:41: one of the gorge pools on the way down.

The Verzasca valley with the river running through rocks and steep green mountains rising on both sides — 09:43: looking up the valley.

Lavertezzo And The Dam

At Lavertezzo, 16km down, I stopped for a few minutes at 09:54 to look at the pools by the bridge. Then on down past Lago di Vogorno and the dam, which I passed at about 10:24, to the mouth of the valley near Gordola, at 259m and only a few kilometres from Lake Maggiore.

A dark green pool in the river at Lavertezzo, between smooth white rocks — 09:55: the river at Lavertezzo.

The huge curved concrete wall of the Verzasca Dam seen from the top — 10:24: the Verzasca Dam, 220m of concrete.

The Long Way Back Up

Then the price of all that freewheeling: 28km back up the valley, from 259m to 987m. It's never steep, about 2.5% on average, but it doesn't stop either, and it took an hour and a half. I was back at the top just after midday and took one last photo of the bike outside an old stone house at Sonogno at 12:08. 56.1km and 884m of climbing.

A road bike leaning against a dry stone wall in front of an old stone house with yellow hiking signposts — 12:08, back at the top: the bike at Sonogno.

The Rest Of That Week

We had a few days in the valley. These are from the days either side of the ride.

A tall old stone tower house in the Verzasca valley — A tall old stone house in the lower valley, the day before the ride (7 July 2015).

The old stone bridge over the Verzasca at Lavertezzo — The bridge at Lavertezzo (7 July 2015).

A woman standing by a wooden fence on a mountain trail near a waterfall above Sonogno — My wife on the trail above Sonogno, with the Froda waterfall behind (9 July 2015).

The Froda waterfall dropping down a cliff above Sonogno — The Froda waterfall above Sonogno (9 July 2015).

A clear green pool in the river near Sonogno, a swimming spot — A swimming spot in the river near Sonogno (9 July 2015).

Where It Is

Sonogno (marker) at the head of the Verzasca valley, with the dam and Lake Maggiore at the bottom.