Val Codera on foot, the valley with no cars

Some valleys stay quiet by chance, and some are quiet by nature: Val Codera belongs to the second kind. No drivable road reaches it. To get in you have to shoulder a backpack and climb on foot, and it is precisely this physical barrier that has shielded it from mass tourism. No cars means no traffic, no rush, no noise except the sound of water and wind. The valley is home to only a few people, some of them permanent residents who have chosen a life against the grain, and this gives it a suspended atmosphere, almost from another age.

The climb on foot

The starting point is Novate Mezzola, at the mouth of Val Chiavenna, easy to reach. From here you climb up to the hamlet of Mezzolpiano, where the trail proper begins: a long mule track made largely of stone steps, patiently built to connect the valley's villages. The initial climb is the most tiring part, through woods and terraced slopes, but at every turn the view over Lake Mezzola and the plain opens wider. You pass small clusters of stone houses, fountains, chapels, until the path softens and reaches Codera, the main village: roofs of stone slabs, narrow lanes, an inn-refuge and a church. It is a place where time seems to have stopped.

Those with more time do not stop at Codera. The valley continues higher up toward Bresciadega and the settlements of the upper valley, in an increasingly wild, alpine setting, right up to the refuges that serve as bases for high-altitude excursions in the Masino group. You can plan a single-day outing, climbing to Codera and heading back, or a two-day or longer experience sleeping in the valley, which is the best way to grasp its spirit.

How to get there

To reach it, you get to Novate Mezzola by train on the line heading up toward Chiavenna, or by car; from the village you continue toward Mezzolpiano, where the trail begins. From there on, only the strength of your legs counts: everything needed in the valley is carried up on people's backs or by the service cableway. This also means you should climb up self-sufficient in water and snacks, even though refreshments can be found at Codera. Hiking boots are essential, because the stone steps can be slippery when damp.

When to go

The ideal time is late spring and early autumn: May and June bring lush green woods and swollen streams, while September brings crisp light and pleasant temperatures for tackling the steps uphill. These are also the months when the valley is quietest: in high summer a few more hikers appear on weekends, but Val Codera will never know a crush, simply because those unwilling to walk never get in. Avoiding the heart of summer also helps you escape the heat on the first part of the climb, exposed and demanding, the stretch that most tests those who are not used to it.

What strikes you on the way up is the human labour layered over the centuries. The dry-stone walls, the terracing, the paved paths tell of generations who wrested cultivable land from a steep and stingy mountain. Many of these structures have been restored by volunteers and by those who chose to repopulate the valley, in a patient work of care that is part of the place's charm. To walk here is to cross not just a landscape, but a story of resilience and of a bond with the land that has been lost elsewhere.

Respecting the valley

A practical tip: plan carefully if you want to stay overnight, because the beds in the valley are limited and should be checked in advance, especially on weekends. And then really slow down. Val Codera is not crossed to reach a summit or to tick off a destination: it is the destination itself. Stop and talk with those who live here, look at the terraces reclaimed with such effort, listen to the silence we have forgotten in the city. Carry your rubbish back down to the valley, respect the houses and gardens, and walk slowly. In a valley where everything arrived on foot, you too are a guest of a fragile and precious balance.