Alpe di Brunescio

Some mountains in the Lavizzara valley are still populated by stubborn shepherds. In sprintime they leave their home and climb to the higher pastures with the herds. Their lives are deeply bound to the cyclic breath of nature, and even if the methods of transhumance have changed, the motivation is always the same: hunger. Maybe today it is not physical hunger anymore, but for sure it's still hunger for freedom.

Route

Broglio - Monti di Rima - Alpe di Brunescio - Monti di Rima - Prato Sornico - VedlĂ  - Broglio

Data sheet

Region: Vallemaggia
Altitude: 1618 m
Ascent: 969 m
Length: 18 km
Time: 2 - 3.5 hours
Unrideable time: 2 - 15 minutes
Season: May - November
Skills: 3
Strength: 3
GPS Data: download
Map: show

Map

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Alpe di Brunescio

Date: 21 June 2008

More information...

A due ruote dal cielo

The details of this track are described in the book!

Description

In Broglio you start climbing between the chestnut trees on a nice secundary road. After a few U-truns you reach Monti di Rima. This villages lies on a hump that overlooks a wide land, and between the small stone houses you can find some ancient barns that were built over stone mushrooms to prevent the rats from eating the grains. The old stone church on the lower part of the village is also worth a visit.

Monti di Rima

The road goes past the village. You should look for a bifurcation on the right. Ater crossing a wood the paved roads turns into a gravel road, and reaches Alpe di Brunescio.

Alpe di Brunescio

The meadows form a natural amphitheater. In the center of the scene there are three small stone houses, where every day the ritual of the milking takes place. Below the houses there's a small path that enters the wood. It is pretty difficult to find, and it's technically very demanding, so if you feel unsure you should rather follow the road backwards.

Alpe di Brunescio

The path crosses a thick pinewood, then the descent gets steeper and there are some no rideable sections. Finally it will merge in the main road again.

Pinewood below Alpe di Brunescio

Follow the road backwards until you reach Verzetto. On the left, past the houses, there is a technical single-track that is almost completely rideable. During the descent it crosses the road a couple of times, then a fast and flowy section will take you back to Rima.
Continue to follow the road until you reach the first hairpin turn below Rima. Start looking on the left: you will find another single-track with many tight hairpin turns that will take you down to Prato. Head to the church, you will find some signs that indicates the beautiful mountain bike track that heads towards Broglio.

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