Mount Gambarogno seen from Tamaro

This tour starts in Vira Gambarogno. Following the road signs to Alpe di Neggia you'll pass under the railroad and you'll start climbing right away on a wide paved road. First you'll ride through the sumptuous houses that rise in the magnificent terraces over the lake, then you'll meet humbler cabins and lodges, and finally you'll enter the thick wood. After 13 kilometers of regular climb, with the gradients that are constantly around 9%, you'll suddenly find yourself in the wide pastures of Alpe di Neggia (1395 m), a pass between the Vira Valley (Switzerland) and the Veddasca Valley (Italy).

From the pass' parking lot a short gravel road heads right. Follow it to the end, which is half a kilometer further up, after a U-turn. From here on the only way to proceed is to load the bike on one's shoulders and walk. Following the path towards WNW in 30 to 45 minutes you'll get to the Mount Gambarogno's cross. Although the summit is still a few meters above, from the cross you can already enjoy an outstanding scenery.

At the very beginning of the descent

Past the cross you'll get to a bifurcation. Here you'll have to follow the signs that indicates the path to Cedullo. After a more or less flat section you'll go through a technically hard descent, since the path gets narrower and bumpy. This way you'll loose height pretty quickly, and you'll reenter the wood, where the path is however still bumpy. After a tough sections thorough stones and pebbles, you'll get to Cedullo (1287 m), a small alp where you can also buy local products (during the alp's season).

The descent offers nice views on the Maggiore Lake

In Cedullo you'll have to take the path that heads right and presents many ups and downs. In many places you'll have to push your bike 'cause the mountain is steep and the path is narrow. After another technically challenging descent you'll reach the Monti di Vairano (815 m). Here you'll put your wheels on the paved road, but only for a couple of meters, just the time to cross it, and then you can dive back into the path. The next stop is Vairano (392 m), and after more than 1000 m of rough descent your arms and your back will start to hurt.

But you're almost there. In Vairano you have to take the wide but bumpy trail that begins just past the church and takes you back to the lake in a few minutes of jolting and tossing. Now there's just 3 kilometers of level paved road left to get back to Vira, but after all you've gone through you'll probably feel like you'd be traveling on a cloud...