Hike to Monte Generoso

How to reach the starting point

• From San Fedele: by car from Piazza G. B. Carminati, San Fedele (Centro Valle Intelvi), continue on the provincial road in the direction of Alta Valle Intelvi - Lanzo; after the shopping center turn left on via Monte Generoso (second street on the left after the shopping center - bus station visible). Take via Monte Generoso and go straight on until the location Alpe Grande where there is a wide parking with picnic area; from here turn right, following the sign "baita di Orimento", and go straight on until the end of the road.
• From Casasco: by car from Piazza G. B. Carminati, San Fedele (Centro Valle Intelvi), continue on the provincial road in the direction of Alta Valle Intelvi - Lanzo; after the shopping center turn left on Via Casasco (first road on the left after the shopping center) and go straight on until loc. Before reaching the town center, turn right onto Via Fratelli Terragni (at the Bar Trattoria Pizzeria Bellavista on the crossroad).
  Go straight on until C.se La Bolla; when you reach the restaurant turn right (follow the signs for "Ristoro Alpe Grande" and "Baita di Orimento"). Once you reach Alpe Grande (you will find a large parking lot with pic-nic area) turn left (follow the sign "Baita di Orimento") and go straight until the end of the road.

Hike to Monte Generoso

There are two pathway options:

• High route, more exposed but more panoramic and with the possibility of a variant for the via ferrata with EEA difficulty (obligatory via ferrata kit) - Botanical path.
• Lower path, simpler and easier, it passes through the Caverna Generosa.
  The low path is certainly the most suitable for families with children, the slope of the path is always modest and almost never tiring.
  Near the summit, the low path takes the name of "Path of the Planets" and allows to reach the Astronomical Observatory (mt 1600): inaugurated in 1996, it is available to the public in the evenings organized by the Monte Generoso Railway or for private groups who request it.

High Way Trail

From the Baita di Orimento follow the cartroad until you reach a small bridge over the Breggia torrent. Follow the indications for "Monte Generoso-sentiero alto" and continue until you reach a small bubble. Continue on the path passing in front of a big farmhouse on the right.
You arrive at Barco dei Montoni and the path turns uphill on the left towards a very steep wood that leads to a wonderful fir forest. Continue up to Murelli (1499 m), continue on the left, towards the clearly visible summit up to Cima della Piancaccia (1610 m), continue up to Monte Generoso.

Via Bassa trail

From the Baita di Orimento follow the cartroad until you reach a small bridge over the Breggia torrent. Follow the indications for the low path "Monte Generoso - via bassa".
Continue until you reach the ruined farmhouses of Alpe Pesciò.
A little further on there is a deviation towards the Bear Cave (25 minutes to reach it).
This is a karstic cave where many fossil bones have been discovered, in particular of the cave bear (the cave is temporarily closed).

Continuing on the main path you can enjoy a splendid panoramic view and glimpse the spurs of Monte Generoso.
Walking along the path you will meet a small slope, turning right, you will be able to glimpse the station of the Trenino del Generoso.

Shortly after, the crest of the mountain (1701 m) awaits you, from whose summit you can admire both Lake Lugano and Lake Como.

For those who wish, it is possible to continue up to the nearby peak on the top of which there is a metal cross. The ferrata also ends nearby.

Insights

Monte Generoso

Monte Generoso is the main panoramic peak of Canton Ticino and is among the most fascinating in Switzerland. The enchanting view sweeps from the Apennines to the Alps, allowing you to admire from above northern Italy, with the region of the lakes and the Alpine chain of Gran Paradiso, from Monte Rosa to the Matterhorn and from the Jungfrau to the Gotthard massif.

Information boards give you the opportunity to recognize valleys, lakes, towns and peaks. The sunsets and the auroras, when the sun transforms the sky and the earth into an endless expanse of colors, are an emotional spectacle.

La Grotta dell'Orso

The Bear Cave is located in Italian territory, a few hundred meters from the summit of Monte Generoso. It can be reached on foot along the path that starts near the station of the Ferrovia del Monte Generoso (CH) or along the path that starts from Orimento. Situated on the eastern slope of Monte Generoso, the Bear Cave has preserved for millennia an important deposit constituted by a good number of finds of the Cave Bear (Ursus spelaeus), which lived in the area and which has been extinct for about 20,000 years.

The cave, discovered some years ago, was opened to the public in 1999. In it you can see several bones found of bears "of the caves": mandibles, skulls, tibias, humeri, teeth. Since the excavations are not yet finished, the visit also allows to observe the work of the researchers.

The horses of Bisbino

The horses of Bisbino graze on the slopes of Mount Generoso. During the summer months, those who follow the paths that lead from Orimento (in Val d'Intelvi) up to the summit of Mount Generoso may be lucky enough to come across the horses of Bisbino, a group of 22 free-ranging Haflinger horses that graze on the slopes of the mountain, usually around Costapiatta. Looked after by the Associazione Cavalli del Bisbino ONLUS, an association that has been lovingly taking care of them for almost ten years, the horses spend the winter months on the land and in the shelters made available free of charge by the Municipality of Lanzo d'Intelvi in Pian delle Noci, where they are trained and lovingly cared for by volunteers and treated by trained personnel and the association's veterinarians. In spring, the horses are taken to the high pastures of Monte Generoso, where they remain until late autumn, in a truly fascinating ritual: transhumance.

Monte Generoso Railway

The cogwheel train, for 130 years, leaves from Capolago on the lake of Lugano to reach the summit at 1704 m covering 9 km through the picturesque mountain setting of the natural park of Monte Generoso.
The steam train from 1890, the oldest in circulation in Switzerland, and the vintage trains from 1950, allow you to relive the times of the Belle Époque.

Link utili

Valle Intelvi Turismo: https://www.valleintelviturismo.it/
Monte Generoso: https://www.montegeneroso.ch/it

Possibility of parking near the Baita di Orimento.