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Ticino’s Most Beautiful: Bavona Valley Day Tour

Enjoy thrilling hike with amazing panoramas of Ticino

Tour Overview

From $395 | Guided Private Day Hike | From April to October

Join us on a Lugano Private Guided Day Hike in Bavona Valley. This valley, one of Ticino’s most beautiful, has been blessed with calm and harmony thanks to the beauty of nature and human labor.

Start your walk through the Bavona Valley in the Sonlerto hamlet and enjoy the 1600 century stone houses, the granite stone paths through the villages, nestled among the towering glacier made 300 ft cliffs that surround the valley. This hamlet is built between boulders of an ancient landslide that form a tight community of well structured stone houses with the chapel and small “piazzetta”, area in the center.

Highlights

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Lugano Private Guided Day Hike Itinerary

This Lugano Private Guided Day Hike has been designed to let you experience the stunning beauty of Ticino. We will start in the town of Lugano, where you will take a train and bus to Bavona. Here we will start a panoramic walk offering stunning views of the valley and numerous peaks.

Lugano Private Guided Day Hike
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Meet the guide at 8:00 at your hotel in Lugano center. If you are not staying in the city center, you can meet the guide directly at the train station. 

We can also coordinate meeting your guide from Locarno / Ascona and other Ticino train stations.

Suggested schedule of the day:

8:35 Depart Lugano with train to Locarno

9:05 Arrive Locarno

9:20 Depart Locarno with bus

10:08 Arrive Bignasc, Posta

10:15 Depart Bignassco, Posta Bus

10:33 Arrive Sonlerto, Hamlet in Bavona

After meeting your guide you will hop on the locial bus and take on a two-hour ride to Bavona valley. After arriving, enjoy walking along the Bavona river through the forest. Soon, you will reach the first traditional settlement where only a few houses and a chapel remains. You will see how big boulders were used to make sheds and support stone houses. Typical barns found only in this region dating back to 1490 are visible. These wooden structures are supported by stilts with granite stones in between to protect the crops and grain from rodents and dampness.

Along the way it’s time for lunch at one of local grottos’ where you experience a typical meal of the area.

Your local guide will explain the importance of the chestnut groves and how the chestnut was one of the “staples” that provided sustenance for the community to survive throughout the year. In Mondada you will see a small “grà”, an oven in the rock where the chestnuts are roasted. Your guide will explain that the dried chestnuts where milled into flour then baked on slabs in front of the fire made into local bread. 

You will see how the many terraces and how they  provided more surface for agriculture offering a wide diversity of plants and animals.

Depending your fitness and interest levels, your guide will continue your walk through the Bavona valley where you experience the other hamlets of Foroglio, Ritorto, Sabbione, Alnedo, Fontana, Mondada etc.

Suggested schedule to come back to Lugano:

3:55 Depart Mondada

4:07 Arrive Bignasco,

4:15 Depart Bignasco

5:10 Arrive Locarno

5:25 Depart Locarno

5:54 Arrive Lugano

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Details and pricing

Adult Standard: US $495 per person, based on 2 or more
Adult Standard: US $685 for one person

Adult with Half-Tax Card Swiss: Standard Rates less US $25 per person

  • Full-day guided hiking tour with with local English-speaking guide
  • All transportation with your Ticino Ticket.
  • Light lunch in a local restaurant. 
  • Wine & alcoholic beverages
  • Items of personal nature

See our Cancellation Policy for more details.

Visa, Maestro, and Mastercard are commonly accepted in Switzerland. American Express is not so popular and many businesses don’t accept it. The country is becoming more and more cashless with contactless and mobile payments (Google and Apple Pay). Still, it’s useful to have some cash on you while travelling. All banks provide currency exchange services at a favorable rate.

  • Refillable bottle of water
  • Comfortable footwear with sturdy soles 
  • Warm layered windproof clothing
  • Sunhat and sunscreen
  1. Click on any of the “Book now” buttons on the page.
  2. You will be redirected to our dedicated booking platform.
  3. Choose a desired date for your trip and add number of participants. Select departure time, if applicable.
  4. Fill out the form with all travellers’ details and click “Confirm booking”.
  5. Once we receive your booking request you will be sent an email with payment instructions from our partner Flywire.
  6. Follow the instructions in the email.
  7. Once the payment is processed, your booking is confirmed.

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