The Val Grande Loop, the Wilderness of the Verbano
In the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, a stone's throw from Lake Maggiore, the Val Grande National Park guards the largest wilderness area in Italy: no roads, no permanent inhabitants. A wilderness so close and yet almost unknown to hikers.
Foto: Moroboshi (CC BY-SA 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons
It's one of the most fascinating paradoxes of the Italian Alps: a very short distance from the elegant, crowded shores of Lake Maggiore lies a territory where no road passes, where no one lives anymore, and where you can venture in for days without meeting a village. The Val Grande National Park, in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, is often called the largest wilderness area in Italy. And yet, precisely because of its harshness, it remains little known: few hikers really take it on, and this makes it a world apart.
The territory
The Val Grande isn't a high mountain, but it is a deep and rugged one. For centuries these valleys were places of alpine pastures and subsistence activities; then abandonment let the forest and nature take everything back. Today what remain are the ruins of the pastures, the worn mule tracks, the names of the uninhabited hamlets. To cross it on a loop means to enter this silence. The classic access points lie along the edges of the park, in places like Cicogna, considered the gateway to the Val Grande and one of the last hamlets still reachable by road, or the areas of Premosello and the Val Pogallo that lead toward the wild interior. From these margins the trails push inward toward the historic pastures and the most hidden gorges.
What makes this trek different from almost any other is the total absence of services once inside. There are no comfortable refuges at regular intervals, no bars, no roads from which to call for a lift. You sleep in spartan bivouacs or alpine shelters, you manage water carefully, you proceed along paths that in places the vegetation tends to reclaim. Signposting exists but requires attention, and the rugged terrain means you must never underestimate the walking times. It's a true wilderness, and it must be tackled with the mindset it deserves.
How to get there
Getting there, on the face of it, is extremely easy: Lake Maggiore and its towns are nearby and well connected, and from the villages that serve as the park's gateways you enter on foot within a short time. But it's precisely this closeness that creates the contrast: in half an hour you pass from the tourist shores to the heart of alpine solitude. For logistics it's best to rely on the Verbano towns and reach the park's access points, remembering that the roads to gateway hamlets like Cicogna are narrow and parking is limited. Inside the park, naturally, you move only on your own legs.
When to go
The right period is late spring-early summer and early autumn, roughly June and September. In these months the temperature is manageable, the trails are in better condition, and you avoid both the summer heat of the closed gorges and the risks of the shorter, damper days. The Val Grande, it must be said, almost never suffers from overcrowding: its very rugged nature and lack of comforts filter out visitors. Even on fine-weather weekends, once you venture beyond the park's gateways you quickly find solitude again.
History and abandonment
What makes the Val Grande special is also its recent history. These gorges were the scene of harsh events during the war and, even earlier, a place of brutally hard labour for the woodcutters and shepherds who exploited its resources. Then total abandonment allowed nature to reconquer everything, turning ancient pastures into silent clearings and mule tracks into faint traces. To walk here is also to read this arc of human presence and the return of the wild.
A practical tip, which here is also a matter of safety: plan each stage carefully and don't improvise your overnight stops, because shelters are few and spartan and self-sufficiency is the rule. Carry enough water and find out about springs, check the weather because in bad weather the escape routes are long, and always leave your itinerary with someone. The Val Grande rewards those who respect it with an experience that, so few kilometres from one of Italy's most touristy lakes, seems impossible: to be truly alone in nature.
Practical guides for Udine
Practical info
When is the best time to visit The Val Grande Loop?
The recommended time is June and September, when it is less crowded.
Where is The Val Grande Loop?
The Val Grande Loop is located in Val Grande National Park, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy.
