A TINY MOUNTAIN VILLAGE THAT’S WORTH A VISIT

Leaving the shores of Lake Maggiore and heading north, on the Swiss border, you will find Val d’Ossola: a wide open valley from which many of our mountain valleys depart.

• Val Formazza
• Val Vigezzo 
• Valle Antrona
• Val Bognanco
• Val Divedro
• Valle Anzasca

They are all very picturesque, and definitely worth a visit, but the one we of Lake>Life have in our heart is the Anzasca Valley, which leads directly to the foot of the majestic Monte Rosa, the second highest mountain group in Italy, 4634 meters high with its breathtaking views.

Macugnaga is the village that you find at the end of the Anzasca Valley- 1327 meters above sea level. It is a place that those who visit our territory cannot miss!

THE HISTORY

Macugnaga is one of the few mountain villages that has preserved intact the original characteristics of the ancient civilization that colonized it in the thirteenth century: the Walser, German farmers and shepherds from the Swiss canton Valais (Walser is in fact a contraction of Walliser, the inhabitants of Wallis, the Valais).

The 12th century saw the first migration of Walser (from the word Walliser, referring to someone originating from Valais) people, who thanks to the particularly favorable climate conditions, set out on a long journey from the high plateau of Goms (Swiss Valais) across the alpine passes during an ice-free period, in search of new potential places to settle in the neighboring highlands.

Because of their knowledge of nature and farming in the harshest Alpine environment, the Walsers managed to settle and live permanently on the high slopes never before occupied due to their adverse climate and conditions. In the process, they gathered a profound knowledge of the surrounding nature and developed methods and strategies for extracting all they needed to survive (traditional environmental knowledge), at the same time learning to preserve natural resources and biodiversity for future generations.

All the Walser villages (over 150 permanent settlements were created during the following periods, in the Central Alps of Switzerland, Italy, Austria, France and Liechtenstein, covering more than 300 km), were interconnected by a network of paths – even across borders – some which existed already before the permanent houses were built, tracing their most frequented transit routes through the Alps, which had allowed the Walser people to travel and offer their agricultural produce and crafts at markets and fairs, often held in places far away from home.

Here you will find houses still made of wood and stone, with their typical Walser architecture.  You will walk the old smugglers’ paths, and you will lose your gaze on steep slopes covered with larch and centennial firs. 

WHAT TO DO IN MACUGNAGA

• Horseback riding
• Hiking or trekking
• Skiing
• Visit to the old “Dorf” (village) and the centennial Linden tree
• Lunch in characteristic huts 
• Visit to the “Guja” Gold Mine

The Gold Mine deserves a few more words, because it is the first “mine-museum” in Italy open to people: thanks to an interesting guided tour you will experience “live” how, with which tools and in which situations miners worked in the gold mines. 

A 1.5 km path, fully illuminated, that will allow you to enjoy the naturalistic spectacle of  caves and tunnels into the most hidden veins of the mountain.

The Pearl of Monte Rosa has so much to offer, let yourself be captivated by its beauty!