Val Vogna

Val Vogna is a side valley branching south from Riva Valdobbia, about 8 kilometres south of Alagna, and one of the most beautiful and least-visited parts of the Valsesia landscape. The valley is narrow and steep-sided, with a torrent running through its base and a series of Walser hamlets and abandoned high pastures (alpe) rising up the flanks. The architecture of the surviving hamlets — stone and timber Walser farmhouses in various states of repair — is remarkably intact.

The walking in Val Vogna is excellent. The main trail through the valley leads up past a series of chapels — there are fifteen oratory chapels along the route, built by the Walser settlers over the centuries — to the high pastures and eventually to the Colle di Valdobbia, one of the traditional crossings into Switzerland. The round trip to the upper chapels takes half a day; reaching the col requires a full day and some scrambling experience.

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A story
Val Vogna was once on one of the main Alpine crossing routes between Piedmont and Switzerland. The old mule path that climbs through the valley — the Sentiero dei Walser — passes through a series of abandoned high pasture settlements (alpe) that were occupied every summer until the 20th century. The combination of dramatic scenery, near-total absence of other tourists, and the ghostly pasture farmsteads makes it one of the most atmospheric walks in the western Alps.

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