We are traveling to the Lake Como area in middle September. We need some information on how to travel to the starting points of various hikes. We are staying three nights in Varenna and three nights in Como. We would like to do some moderate hikes and maybe some easy hikes.
1) Greenway del Lago from Varenna.
2) Hiking in the area around Menaggio, also from Varenna. There seem to be several hikes. Would anyone have a suggestion of a moderate scenic hike, and again how to get there without a car.
3) Possibly the walk from Varenna to Bellano following the historical Pilgrim Path
4) Hikes from Como.
.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Do you have lodging? If so, have you asked your hosts? They would be the most likely to have that kind of information.
Good luck.
Posted by
Seattle
119 posts
Here is a website for the Greenway which is on the other side of the lake from Varenna. You could use a combination of ferries and the C10 bus for this hike. Have not done it yet but am planning to later this summer.
Posted by
Seattle
119 posts
Here is a hike that starts from the Griante ferry dock:
I found the above hike on this website which has quite a few hikes. http://www.menaggio.com/contenuti.php?PADRE=473
Some of the hikes that are accessible by bus rely on a bus (I think the C12) that does not run very frequently.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thank you so much. The sites you have given me are quite helpful. Now all we have to do is make up our minds as which hikes to take!!!!
Posted by
Seattle
119 posts
https://mylakecomo.co/en/attractions/sacred-mountain-ossuccio/
I don't know if the Sacred Mountain of Ossuccio is part of the Greenway walk, but if not, it looks like it would be an easy detour to view these 14 chapels.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11827 posts
Your #3 is, I believe, the Sentiero del Viandante. We did it a few years ago following directions in Rick’s guidebook. The walk is absolutely lovely but it took us a bit longer then Rick indicated. We hiked up from Varenna (the most strenuous part) and occasionally had to do some guessing on the way to go through a village as the markers, at least in 2014, were not as consistent as one might hope. 😉 It is always fun for us to take a hike then return to go by train. Gotta love it.
BTW, check out the restaurant Il Caminetto for a gustatory experience. They will pick you up in Varenna, whisk high in the hills to their restaurant, and the bring you back. Fabulous experience.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thank you!
Posted by
Seattle
119 posts
We returned from our trip a couple of days ago. We hike up to San Martino and really enjoyed it. A lovely path with good views along the way. We might have taken a slightly different route to start the hike than is shown in the description. We began at the bus stop in Cadenabbia and walked up through the old part of the town which I really enjoyed.
We also did the Greenway del Lago hike using the C10 bus to get to the beginning. The walk ends in Cadenabbia near Villa Carlotta. We did a side trip, walking up the Sacred Mountain, which was interesting.
The TI office in Varenna was very good. They had a map that showed several short walks or hikes right out of town.
Send a message if you want more information.
Posted by
Renton, WA, USA
39 posts
Do you have this link:
A new "issue" just came out and talks about hiking around Argengno, but if you scroll through the articles you'll find other walks, including one to Palanzo.
Lots of fun info in this newsletter.