GTA: Stage 17 Antrona, hamlet of Cheggio - Della Colma Refuge

Highlights and tour details

From Cheggio you descend along the well-marked mule track that leads to Antronapiana (908 m). From here a section of the route retraces Via Antronesca, a historical road once used to pass through Valle Antrona into Valle di Saas in the canton of Valais. You leave the village of Antrona going along a stretch of path flanked by chapels placed on the perimeter of the ancient church buried by the landslide of 1642 that destroyed part of the original village. You then quickly reach the ancient village of Rovesca with its oratory and the fresco of St. Christopher on the façade. Leaving Rovesca, you pass through the village of Locasca and, a little further on, through the hamlet of Prabernardo. Remaining always on the hydrographic right of the Ovesca stream, continue to descend into the valley and after passing the hamlet of Prato di Viganella (571 m). At the sports field, take the path on the right that leads to the Colma. The path soon becomes a mule track that climbs with narrow hairpin bends. After Alpe Baitone (706 m), the path develops with a succession of turns, which rise steeply on the mountain ridge on the side of the Conca valley. You pass the ruins of Alpe Lamporiggia (1148 m) and continue going up in the woods to Alpe Prei (1413 m), perched on a beautiful meadowy ridge that opens out onto the head of Valle Antrona. Following the signs, turn right going back into the wood. Once out of the wood, take the last hairpin bends and reach Rifugio Alpe Colma (1570 m), located on the watershed between Valle Antrona and Valle Anzasca.