Calanca Valley: Pleasure hike to Osteria Landarenca

-This post contains advertisements for the Swiss Mountain Aid-

Judging by the friendly “Bongiorno” that echoes towards us early Saturday morning in Braggio and the stone rustici along the way, you might think that we are on the road in Ticino or Piedmont. But this is not the case. The narrow, steep Calanca Valley is politically part of the canton of Graubünden, but as one of four Italian-speaking parts of the canton, it forms a cultural bridge to the south. A beautiful area that is definitely not one of the mainstream excursion destinations. And that’s exactly what makes the valley so appealing.

Calanca Valley – Beautifully secluded

By chance, hardly anyone gets lost in the Calanca Valley. But if you consciously accept the path there, you will not be disappointed. The impulse for a trip there was given to me by the Berghilfe Trophy of the Swiss Mountain Aid. As part of my collaboration with Swiss Mountain Aid, I visited three of the 44 projects that are part of the Trophy this summer. In addition to the Leiternweide suspension bridge in the Simmental and the Sentier Pieds Nus in the Jura, I chose the “Osteria Landarenca” in the Calanca Valley as my third project. As is well known, we love nothing better than to combine a beautiful hike with a fine stop for refreshments. And if you have such preferences, Osteria Landarenca in the lower Calanca Valley is the perfect destination.

Once you have the Calanca Valley on your radar, you will notice that the journey is less complicated than you think. We take the train to Bellinzona, take the post bus in the direction of Grono, get off at the “Grono, Bivio Calanca” stop and wait there for the post bus connection to the Calanca Valley. From Zurich, the journey to Arvigo takes just over 2.5 hours. While the valley floor is still in the shade, the sun’s rays make the slopes further up the mountain flanks shimmer golden. This is exactly where we want to go, and since the enjoyable aspect is in the foreground today, we use the Arvigo-Braggio cable car connection to save altitude meters. Whereby our project almost fails. The ticket machine of the cable car, which is fully automated at the push of a button, only accepts coins, 10 and 20 notes. In my wallet, however, there is only a one-franc note and a 50-franc note. Luckily, one of the people in charge of the cable car is on site and can exchange money for me. Lucky!

Shortly after 9 a.m. we reach the car-free mountain village of Braggio and follow the signpost steeply uphill to Mondent.

Here we take a short breather and enjoy the view of the barren summit peaks and the scattered hamlets on the sunny plateau. The short, crisp ascent is followed by a flat high-altitude path, which we follow in the direction of Selma. High above Selma, we are exactly opposite our destination for the lunch stop – Landarenca. A suspension bridge would be very practical, I think at this moment. In the absence of these, our knees are challenged on the steep descent down to Selma.

Osteria Landarenca – A pub for more life in the village

While we didn’t meet anyone on the way from Braggio to Selma on the first stage, a small queue has already formed in front of the cable car station in Selma. Apparently, we are not the only ones who follow the call of the good Haushoste to Landarenca. The small mountain village is confronted with an increasing decline in population. At one time, the village had over 100 inhabitants. Today, there are just over a dozen on weekdays. Noemi Negretti and Valentino Borgonovo contribute with their Osteria to ensure that the locals continue to have a meeting place and that Landarenca is filled with life on the weekends. The simple but good cuisine as well as the warmth of the hosts got around quickly. Accordingly, it is advisable to make a reservation in advance for a guaranteed place on the sun terrace.

There is no map. Noemi and Valentino cook everything fresh with ingredients available on site. This includes serving up something small to nibble on in advance without being asked. For the “aperitivo” we toast this wonderful pleasure hike with a glass of wine. On the way we had the impression that the valley was oriented more towards Bellinzona than towards Chur. The wines on the menu confirm my suspicions. The wines available by the glass (Chardonnay and Merlot) are Ticino wines. Among the bottled wines, in addition to Ticino and Italians, there is a red wine from the Misox.

On this Saturday, the three-course lunch menu includes a salad bowl (with lettuce from one of the gardens in Landarenca) and a creamy mushroom risotto where you can feel the love in the preparation with every bite. For dessert, a homemade semi-frozen necatrine parfait is served. Divine!

Downhill to Arvigo

If you stop at Osteria Landarenca, you should bring enough time. On busy Saturdays – like we catch one – lunch can drag on. Around 2:00 p.m. we start the second stage of our circular hike in the lower Calanca Valley. Directly after the osteria, the hiking trail leads past the gardens, from which the host couple obtains the fresh vegetables. About 50 m further on is probably the best photo spot to capture the picturesque village center of Landarenca with your camera.

From Landarenca we follow the narrow path down to Arvigo. An entertaining section of the route that follows the course of the contour lines for a good 2 kilometres, mostly with gentle gradients. It is only at the height of Arvigo that the steep descent into the valley floor follows. Thanks to numerous stairs, however, this section is much more pleasant to walk on than the one towards Selma.

Cooling off in the Calancasca

The best way to wait for the next post bus is on the banks of the Calancasca. Directly under the stone bridge opposite the Arvigo Paese stop is a natural “bathtub”. The brave jump into the icy cold water to refresh themselves – I, on the other hand, only dip my feet briefly into the cool water.

Practical information about the circular hike “Lower Calanca Valley”

We started the circular hike through the lower Calanca Valley in the car-free mountain village of Braggio. From there we hiked 5.3 kilometers to Selma. Since our version is a pleasure hike, we comfortably conquered the subsequent 350 meters of altitude from Selma up to Landarenca with the cable car. The total length of our version of the hike is 8 kilometres with an ascent of 300 metres and a descent of 1,100 metres in altitude. You can find the route on the map below.

You can reach the starting point of the hike from Bellinzona by post bus. You have to get off at the “Arvigo Filovia” station and buy your ticket at the self-service machine at the Arvigo-Braggio cable car station (note: the machine only accepts cash – have coins ready). A one-way ticket costs CHF 4 for adults. The cable car is in continuous operation.

If you are planning a stopover at Osteria Landarenca, you should definitely note the seasonal opening hours and make a reservation in advance by phone.

[alert color=”FFFFFF” icon=”Select an Icon” title=”Information about the Berghilfe Trophy“] This year, Swiss Mountain Aid is presenting 44 projects spread across Switzerland that could be realized thanks to Mountain Aid. If you visit three projects, find the respective code and enter it on the Swiss Mountain Aid website, you can win great prizes with a bit of luck. All information about the Trophy and the 44 projects can be found on the website of the Swiss Mountain Aid. [/alert]

Note: As part of a collaboration with Swiss Mountain Aid, I am visiting three different projects supported by Mountain Aid this summer and will introduce them to you here on the blog.